Free College Basketball Picks Today: Auburn Tigers vs Florida Gators 12/28/22

The No. 20 Auburn Tigers (10-2) and Florida Gators (7-5) open their Southeastern Conference schedules on Wednesday at Neville Arena. Florida was beaten by the Oklahoma Sooners 62-53 at Spectrum Center on December 20. Colin Castleton was a top performer in the loss with 22 points and eight rebounds.

Auburn won in impressive fashion on Wednesday at Alaska Airlines Arena, beating the Washington Huskies 84-61. Jaylin Williams had 18 points and eight rebounds to lead the team. This is the only meeting of the season between the teams.

Florida and Auburn split their matchups last season, each team taking one game. The Gators came out on top in the last meeting 63-62 at Stephen C. O’Connell Center on February 19. Tyree Appleby led the Gators with 26 points, while Castleton played a key role with 19 points, eight rebounds, and three blocks.

Jabari Smith had 28 points and seven rebounds in the loss. The Gators have been led this season by Castleton, who is averaging 15.8 points per game. Castleton also has grabbed 7.6 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Kyle Lofton is dishing 3.3 assists.

Wendell Green Jr. (12.6 ppg) and Johni Broome (11.2) have been the primary providers for the Tigers on offense. Broome also has averaged 7.5 rebounds per game, while Green Jr. has recorded 3.7 assists per game.

The Tigers rank as one of the stingiest FG% defenses in the conference, holding foes to to a third-lowest rate of 38.8%.Florida is 5-5 in the last 10 games with an average margin of +6.6 (74.9-68.3). Auburn has gone 8-2 over the last 10, scoring 74.7 points per game on average while allowing 63.4 (+11.3 margin).

GATORS HOT/COLD

(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Kowacie Reeves: 17.0 | 11.3 | +5.7
Will Richard: 7.8 | 14.1 | -6.3
Points per game:
Kowacie Reeves: 12.6 | 8.3 | +4.4
Will Richard: 4.6 | 9.8 | -5.2
Rebounds per game:
Alex Fudge: 7.8 | 5.4 | +2.4
Will Richard: 2.4 | 3.8 | -1.3
Assists per game:
Kyle Lofton: 2.0 | 3.3 | -1.2