Florida vs Stony Brook 11/7/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Stony Brook Seawolves and the Florida Gators meet in college basketball action from the O’Connell Center on Monday night.

The Stony Brook Seawolves will hope to start their CAA tenure on the right foot after ending 2021-22 with a record of 18-13 including a 10-8 mark in America East conference play, but because of Stony Brook’s decision to part ways with the America East, the Seawolves were not eligible for the conference tournament, ending their season. Stony Brook will have their work cut out for them to rebuild after losing three double-digit scorers from last year’s squad, with Anthony Roberts (16.3 PPG), Tykei Green (14 PPG, 8.1 RPG) and Jahlil Jenkins (13.5 PPG) all gone. The big get in return for Stony Brook after losing so much talent was Aaron Clarke, a 6’1” guard from Sacred Heart, who averaged 16 PPG and 4.1 APG last season. There are returning pieces like Tyler Stephenson-Moore and Frankie Policelli, both of whom averaged 7+ PPG last season, but it will definitely be a style adjustment for the Seawolves entering the CAA.

The Florida Gators will be out to build on a decent 2021-22 season, finishing the year at 20-14 overall, including a 9-9 mark in SEC conference play. The Gators earned the 9-seed in the SEC tournament, but their stay was short-lived as Texas A&M took out the Gators in the second round of the tournament. The Gators got an invite to the NIT, beating Iona in the first round before falling to Xavier in the second round. The Gators do lose two double-digit scorers from last year in Phlandrous Fleming (11.1 PPG) and Tyree Appleby (10.9 PPG) but do bring back leading scorer and rebounder, Colin Castleton, who had 16.2 PPG and 9 RPG last season. The Gators also had one of the best runs in the transfer portal, bringing star guard Kyle Lofton over from St. Bonaventure after logging 12.8 PPG and 5.9 APG for the Bonnies last year as well as Will Richard from Belmont and Trey Bonham from VMI. The Gators also got a fantastic forward prospect in LSU transfer Alex Fudge, who has two-way potential and a long-reach at 6’9”. Only time will tell if all of these moves can propel the Gators back into the elite in the SEC.

Stony Brook is 1-4 ATS in their last 5 road games while the under is 6-1 in their last 7 Monday games. Florida is 1-5 ATS in their last 6 home games and 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games overall while the over is 11-5 in their last 16 Monday games.

I’ll give the Seawolves credit, they’ve been profitable in spots for me in the past, but the past is exactly that and now the Seawolves move on without a lot of their best players. Getting Aaron Clarke is a help, but it’s still a lot to try to figure out how you’re going to replacing losing that much talent on the fly when the cupboards didn’t really get restocked and Florida’s looking like they’ve improved by hitting the transfer portal and getting Colin Castleton some help. I think the Gators start the season on the right foot and get themselves a big win and cover here.