College Basketball Best Bet: Florida, Duke, Alabama Highlights Saturday Picks

We’re all going to get some serious March Madness fever. One of the symptoms is analyzing all the top teams to create a championship bracket.

But do you know who we’re not hearing enough about? Defending champion Florida. Oh, there are whispers, but maybe it’s time to shout out that last season’s champions might take it all again.

The fifth-ranked Gators are heading into the regular season finale against Kentucky. Tobacco Road featured a rematch between top-ranked Duke and host North Carolina. Meanwhile, Auburn is being discussed for other reasons ahead of its battle at Alabama.

Florida Gators AT KENTUCKY WILDCATS

The Gators (24-6) have lost to a trio of national powerhouses – Arizona, Duke and UConn – and also lost to TCU in non-conference play, but that uneven 5-4 start is a distant memory. Florida has won its last 10 straight games by an average of 23.2 points, including a win over Kentucky (92-83), the only team to have lost by single digits during that stretch.

Gators interior dynamo Rueben Chinyelu has recorded 18 double-doubles, leads the nation in rebounding (11.8) and collected 16 or more boards nine times. Kentucky lost the rebounding battle by nine points in the previous matchup, and will also need leading scorer Otega Owe (17.9) to do better than his 13 points on 4-of-14 shooting.

No one outside the Bluegrass State considers the Wildcats the top dog in the bracket. Kentucky (19-11) has dropped four of its last six games and is facing another setback in the rematch.

Florida cover spread -5.5 points, -118 (DraftKings)

North Carolina Tar Heels on DUKE BLUE DEVILS

The Blue Devils (28-2) are worthy of the No. 1 title as they battle one of the two teams they lost 71-68 in North Carolina on Feb. 7. Duke has since won seven straight by an average of 24.3 points. 1 Michigan (68-63) lost by single digits in that span.

Cameron Boozer is a versatile freshman who is averaging 22.6 points, 10.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game while shooting 40.4% from 3-point range. He had 24 points and 11 boards in a loss to the Tar Heels. Of course, No. 17 North Carolina had high regard for then-freshman Caleb Wilson, but he was subsequently ruled out for the season due to thumb surgery.

The Tar Heels (24-6) are 5-1 without Wilson, but their last three wins have come by an average of 4.7 points. North Carolina is a 17.5-point underdog and without Wilson they can’t slow down Boozer (11 games of 25 or more points).

Cameron Boozer scores 25+ points, +125 (DraftKings)

Auburn Tigers at Alabama Crimson Tide

The Tigers (16-14) sit on a soft tournament bubble and, depending on who wants to see a potential 16-loss Auburn team in the NCAA Tournament, this one feels like a must-win. Okay, only Bruce Pearl wants that, but the former coach is a little biased (okay, very biased) and it was embarrassing that he ruined undefeated Miami (Ohio) to justify his son’s team being a part of the field (yes, he’s not embarrassed).

The way to advance to the field is to win a rematch with No. 16 Alabama (22-8) and then advance to the Southeastern Conference tournament. The first matchup was an exciting one, with star Labaron Philon Jr. scoring 25 points as the Crimson Tide earned a 96-92 road win.

Philon has 17 20-point efforts this season and will make Alabama a dangerous opponent during the Big Dance. But first he will try to lead the Crimson Tide to their sixth win in the last eight meetings with the Tigers.

Total score of 176.5 or higher, -110 (DraftKings)