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It’s the FINAL Saturday of the season!
We’re sad, but we’re happy to see what’s going down today. Let’s jump in.
SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE
(All times Eastern; All odds from FanDuel/Action Network)
Auburn Tigers vs. Tennessee Volunteers
Time: Noon
TV: ESPN2
Watch Online: WatchESPN
Spread: Tennessee -2.5
Total: 137
Moneyline: N/A
Two games separate Auburn and Tennessee in the standings, so 9-8 Tennessee won’t be able to usurp 11-6 Auburn. But, the Volunteers can potentially knock Auburn out of the group of them, Florida and LSU if they sneak out a win here. The Vols are certainly looking for retribution after letting a really big lead slip away just a few weeks ago at Auburn Arena. With wins over Florida and Kentucky in their last two games, they are certainly brimming with some confidence. Auburn, meanwhile, is hoping to be rid themselves of their current losing streak, having fallen to Kentucky and Texas A&M consecutively heading into this one.
Tennessee is a 2.5-point favorite here. They’ve covered and won outright in their last two games of course, but have not done super well on the whole. At home against SEC opponents, they’ve been 3-5 ATS in Knoxville. On the other hand, Auburn hasn’t fared much better. They are 2-6 ATS on the road, and have failed to cover in each of their last three road games.
South Carolina Gamecocks vs. Vanderbilt Commodores
Time: 12:30 p.m.
TV: SEC Network
Watch Online: WatchESPN
Spread: South Carolina -5
Total: 148.5
Moneyline: N/A
South Carolina moved in the right direction on Tuesday with their double-digit win over Mississippi State. They’re now 2-1 in their last three and will aim to make it 3-1 in their last four on Saturday. They take on lowly Vanderbilt, who is coming off an 87-79 win over Alabama, which was a much needed reprieve to say the very least.
With this game coming in Nashville, Vandy isn’t too much of an underdog here. And this game figures to be a grind for that reason. While Vandy’s defense is lacking, South Carolina, on the whole, has lacked a really strong offense They have been mostly average on the interior, but weak outside. And while Vandy’s offense is rock-solid, they’re going against a stingy and tough Gamecock defense. I’ll be intrigued to see if Vanderbilt can be motivated to close the season out on a high note, and give a deft blow to a South Carolina team that really can ill afford yet another whopper of a loss.
South Carolina is a 5-point favorite in this game. The Gamecocks have covered in their last two games and have covered in eight of their last 12 games entering play. In total play, the Gamecocks are 11-6 ATS in SEC play, and at home they’re 5-4. Vanderbilt covered in their last game against ‘Bama, obviously. They are 3-2 ATS in their last five, and 7-4 in their last 11 games. On the whole they are 3-5 at home ATS this SEC season.
Kentucky Wildcats vs. Florida Gators
Time: 1 p.m.
TV: CBS
Watch Online: CBSSports.com
Spread: Florida -2.5
Total: 136.5
Moneyline: N/A
Kentucky has already iced up the SEC. The loss to Tennessee earlier this week did nothing but maybe make their trek for a really high seed in the NCAA Tournament a little more difficult. They’ll head down to Gainesville to face a Florida team looking to grab a much-needed win on Saturday. The Gators came awful close to knocking off the Wildcats a few weeks ago. But they came up a bit short. Since then they’ve gone 2-1 and will now look to flip the script on UK and end the regular season on a high note. Watching the likes of Immanuel Quickley and Kerry Blackshear Jr. should prove to be pretty fun here, if nothing else.
Florida is a 2.5-point favorite here. The Gators have covered in each of their last three home games and won them all outright. On the whole they are 5-3 ATS at the O-Dome against SEC opponents this season. They are facing a Kentucky team that has been great on the road this year though. They are 6-2 against SEC opponents ATS and 7-2 ATS in their last nine road games in general, counting the win over Texas Tech, and are 3-1 ATS as a road underdog.
Georgia Bulldogs vs. LSU Tigers
Time: 2 p.m.
TV: ESPN2
Watch Online: WatchESPN
Spread:
Total:
Moneyline: N/A
LSU’s limp through the back half of conference play continued earlier this week. The Tigers lost by nine to Arkansas on the road. After an 8-0 start, they are just 11-6 in conference play heading into the final game of the season. They will play a Georgia team that has come on of late, going 3-2 in their last five games. That’s certainly up from their sluggish 2-10 start to conference play, as they’re now an even .500 on the season.
This could prove interesting as neither team is all that great from outside. This game feels like it will be won on the interior and LSU has an advantage in that department. They will have to not sleepwalk here though, as they’ve been nipped one too many times in the back half of the SEC season. And since Georgia has been feistier of late, they could present some issues if LSU’s slide continues on.
Alabama Crimson Tide vs. Missouri Tigers
Time: 2:30 p.m.
TV: SEC Network
Watch Online: WatchESPN
Spread: Missouri -2
Total: 151
Moneyline: Alabama +110 | Mizzou -130
Alabama is all but out of the NCAA Tournament discussion right now, barring a run through the SEC Tournament next week. That being said, they’ll be aiming to end the season on a high note on Saturday. They’ll take the floor against the Mizzou Tigers in Columbia, and it might not be so easy.
Despite Mizzou’s struggles this year, they’ve been a really solid team at home. They had even won three games in a row at home prior to slipping up to Mississippi State last Saturday. ‘Bama, meanwhile, has had it rough on the road. In SEC play, they’ve gone 3-5 away from Tuscaloosa entering play on Saturday. Something to watch for in this one will be Alabama’s perimeter offense vs. Mizzou’s perimeter defense. Alabama has shot the ball pretty well from outside this year, but Missouri has done a great job of preventing success from long range this season. Alabama will take a lot of threes, as evident by their very high 3-point rate. So that is likely to be where this game is decided.
Mizzou is a 2-point favorite in this game. As we mentioned, they’ve been really solid at home. While they’re 4-4 ATS at home against SEC opponents, they have gone 3-1 in their last four home games. That being said, Alabama has been a great bet away from Tuscaloosa this conference season. They’re 6-2 ATS against the teams of the SEC. So, we’ll see how this plays out.
Arkansas Razorbacks vs. Texas A&M Aggies
Time: 4:30 p.m.
TV: SEC Network
Watch Online: WatchESPN
Spread: Arkansas -3
Total: 136
Moneyline: Arkansas -180 | Texas A&M +135
At 19-11, Arkansas is looking to hit the 20-win mark under Eric Musselman in his first year as coach. To do so though, they’ll have to defeat one of the hotter teams in the SEC in the back half of the season. That being Buzz Williams’ Texas A&M Aggies. The Aggies, on the whole, haven’t been great. And the vast difference between their 3-point offense and Arkansas’ perimeter defense may create an issue.
But what is absolutely certain is that A&M has been rather good in the back half. They’ve gone 4-2 in their last six games and 5-4 in their last nine, collecting some pretty solid wins along the way. That including a win over Auburn this past Wednesday. Arkansas had best be careful, because A&M will likely make them earn it here.
Arkansas is a 3-point favorite here. They’ve covered in three of their last four games, but have struggled in that category if you widen things out. In the last nine games, they’ve gone 3-6 ATS and 4-7 in the last 11 if you widen it out to that mark. By comparison, A&M has done pretty solid work. They are 4-2 in their last six games ATS and 6-5 in their last 11.
Ole Miss Rebels vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs
Time: 6:30 p.m.
TV: SEC Network
Watch Online: WatchESPN
Spread: Mississippi State -6
Total: 140.5
Moneyline: N/A
Rounding things out is a matchup between Ole Miss and Mississippi State. State can ill afford a bad loss at this point as they are trying to fight their way into the NCAA Tournament discussion. So they will be looking to take advantage of the fact that they’re playing their lowly rivals on Saturday night in Starkville.
State should hold a pretty strong advantage here. Their offense is simply a lot better than Ole Miss’. But it should prove interesting regardless, because State commits a lot of turnovers and Ole Miss tends to force them at a high-ish rate. Ole Miss’ perimeter defense against a mostly average State 3-point offense should be an intriguing watch as well. State’s defense is mostly average, so if Ole Miss has an above average day from the field, they could make some noise happen.
State is a 6-point favorite in this game. But this should be intriguing. Ole Miss has been an absolutely reliable bet through SEC play this season. After failing to cover in their first three games out of the gate, 9-4-1 ATS in their last 14 games. State, meanwhile, has also been pretty reliable. After failing to cover in their first two games, the Bulldogs have gone 9-6 ATS and 10-6 if you count the game against Oklahoma in the Big 12-SEC Challenge. Choose wisely, padawans.