Top-ranked Gators play host to Rebels

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

01/20/2007 - Gainesville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Florida Gators are once again the top team in the land, and they will attempt to avoid an upset this afternoon as they host the Ole Miss Rebels in SEC action.

Ole Miss has lost four of its last five games after a promising start to the campaign. The Rebels are 12-6 overall and 1-3 in league play, and they are coming off a 62-55 setback at LSU. They are now 1-5 in true road games and are facing a Florida squad that is a perfect 12-0 at home.

The Gators are riding a nine-game win streak, tied for the sixth longest in school history, and they will attempt to go to 4-0 in SEC play for the first time since 2003. The defending national champions are coming off an 84-50 romp over South Carolina last Saturday, and they have had a week to prepare for this afternoon's clash.

Florida owns a 54-41 advantage in the all-time series with Ole Miss, including four straight wins over the Rebels.

Ole Miss shot just 31.3 percent from the floor in the first half against LSU on Wednesday and trailed by six points at intermission. Despite improving to 50 percent in the second half, the Rebels still lost the game by seven points. They only scored one point from the foul line in 40 minutes of action, and a 15-1 deficit in scoring from the charity stripe was the most obvious factor that led to defeat. Clarence Sanders scored a team-high 12 points for Ole Miss in the setback, and Dwayne Curtis finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Bam Doyne, who was held in check by LSU, continues to pace the Rebels in scoring with 16.4 ppg. Sanders is close behind with 15.2 ppg, and Curtis adds 13.0 ppg and 10.2 rpg to the lineup.

The Gators lead the nation in field goal percentage, as they are knocking down 54.5 percent of their total shots, including 42.6 percent from three-point range. The same starting lineup from last season's championship squad is back in place, and all five players are averaging double figures in scoring. Taurean Green leads the way with 13.6 ppg from his spot in the backcourt, and the versatile Corey Brewer is contributing 12.6 ppg to go along with 4.6 apg. Joakim Noah could have been a top pick in the NBA Draft last season, but he decided to return to Florida for another title run. Noah is averaging 12.3 ppg and 8.3 rpg, and he could undoubtedly be one of the top scorers in the nation if not for his unselfishness. Al Horford checks in with 12.2 ppg and 8.3 rpg, while three-point threat Lee Humphrey rounds out the group with 10.4 ppg. In the romp over South Carolina last time out, Humphrey stole the show with 27 points on the strength of a 7-of-8 effort from behind the arc. Florida shot 64.2 percent overall while limiting the Gamecocks to 38.3 percent efficiency from the field.

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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