**Florida at Alabama**

--Las Vegas Sports Consultants opened Alabama (13-8 straight up, 9-8-1 against the spread) as a 1 ½-point favorite. As of early this morning, most betting shops had 'Bama favored by two with a total of 128 1/2.

--This matchup features Billy Donovan vs. Anthony Grant. The former had Grant on his coaching staff at Marshall for two years and then for 10 years at Florida. Grant was instrumental in the recruitment of Taurean Green, Al Horford, Joakim Noah and Corey Brewer, who led the Gators to back-to-back national championships. Also, when Donovan (briefly) took the head-coaching job for the Orlando Magic, Grant was literally on the UF plane prepared to fly back to Gainesville and be hired as Donovan’s replacement.

--Florida (15-6 SU, 9-7 ATS) is coming off a heartbreaking loss Sunday at Tennessee. The Gators dropped a 61-60 decision, although they did hook up their backers as 8 ½-point road underdogs. Scotty Hopson hit a 20-foot fade-away jumper from the right wing to give UT the lead in the final seconds. UF had one last shot at pulling the upset, but junior forward Alex Tyus missed a short jumper with a few ticks left. Tyus had a game-high 18 points and seven rebounds, while Chandler Parsons was also in double figures with 14 points.

--Alabama is 9-4 SU and 5-5 ATS at home in Coleman Coliseum. The Crimson Tide has won its last two home outings, knocking off Mississippi St. (62-57) and LSU (56-37), but its two-game winning streak ended Saturday in a 58-57 loss at Auburn. The one-point loss on the Plains resulted in a push for ‘Bama, which closed as a one-point road underdog.

--UF has won four of its last five games both SU and ATS. Before losing in Knoxville, the Gators won four straight with victories over LSU, Arkansas, South Carolina and Georgia.

--Florida is 2-2 SU and 3-1 ATS in four true road games this year. The Gators are 4-3 in SEC play, trailing the East division co-leaders Kentucky and Vanderbilt by two games.

--UF is led in scoring by freshman guard Kenny Boynton, who is averaging 14.3 points per game. Sophomore guard Ervin Walker is scoring at a 13.1 PPG clip and is also averaging a team-high 5.2 assists and 1.6 steals per game.

--Alabama is 3-4 in SEC play, leaving it one game behind the SEC West co-leaders, Mississippi St. and Arkansas.

--The ‘under’ has been a monster money maker in ‘Bama games all year, as evidenced by its 9-0 run. The Tide has watched the ‘under’ go 14-3 overall, 8-1 in its home games.

--The ‘under’ is 4-1 in UF’s last five games, 8-4 overall.

--Tip-off is slated for 7:00 p.m. Eastern on ESPNU.

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**Tennessee at LSU**

--LVSC opened Tennessee (16-4 SU, 8-8-1 ATS) as an 8 ½-point favorite. As of early this morning, most spots had the Volunteers as 6 1/2-point 'chalk' with a 132 1/2-point tally. Bettors can back the Bayou Bengals to win outright for a plus-240 return (risk $100 to win $240).

--LSU (9-12 SU, 4-13 ATS) is in the midst of a rebuilding year in Trent Johnson’s second campaign in Baton Rouge. His first team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, where the Tigers gave eventual national champ North Carolina fits. They actually had the lead midway through the second half before the Tar Heels rallied for the victory.

--Bruce Pearl’s squad has overcome the dismissal of senior forward Tyler Smith and the ongoing suspension of Brian Williams to thrive in his fifth season on campus. Barring an unforeseen collapse of epic proportions, the Vols are en route to their fifth straight trip to the Big Dance.

--With Smith gone and Williams still unavailable, Wayne Chism, Bobby Maze and Hopson have stepped up their play for Tennessee. Chism is averaging a team-high 7.2 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. He was the catalyst in a come-from-behind win at Alabama two weeks ago.

--LSU has lost seven consecutive games, going 1-6 ATS in the process. The Tigers are coming off Saturday’s 67-51 loss at Mississippi St. as 12-point underdogs.

--LSU had a veteran-laded squad last season, but Tasmin Mitchell and Bo Spencer are the only key holdovers. Mitchell, a senior forward, is averaging a team-high 17.9 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game. Spencer is scoring at a 14.5 PPG clip.

--LSU has been burning the pockets of its backers all year long. The Tigers are 9-4 SU at home but an abysmal 2-7 versus the number at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

--Tennessee will be looking to avenge a 79-73 loss to LSU at Thompson-Boling Arena last year. In that spot, the Tigers went into Knoxville as 7 ½-point underdogs and prevailed behind 29 points from Marcus Thornton. Chism had 19 points and nine boards in the losing effort.

--The ‘under’ is 12-4 overall for LSU, 6-2 in its home games.

--The ‘under’ is 9-4 overall for the Vols.

--ESPN will provide the telecast at 9:00 p.m. Eastern.

**Portland at Gonzaga**

--LVSC opened Gonzaga (17-4 SU, 9-8-1 ATS) as a nine-point favorite. As of early this morning, most books had the 'Zags at 8 1/2 with a total of 145. Gamblers can take the Pilots on the money line for a plus-350 payout (risk $100 to win $350).

--Mark Few’s team saw its nine-game winning streak snapped in Saturday’s 81-77 loss at San Francisco in overtime. The Bulldogs, who were 12-point road favorites, failed to cover the number for the fourth straight time. In the losing effort, Elias Harris had 21 points and eight rebounds, while Matt Bouldin finished with 15 points, 12 boards and five assists.

--Portland (14-7 SU, 11-6-1 ATS) made a lot of noise in November, beating teams like Oregon, UCLA and Minnesota. At the time, the Ducks and Bruins were expected to be better than they have turned out to be, so those wins aren’t as impressive now as they appeared back then.

--Portland has won four in a row, including back-to-back road triumphs at Santa Clara (74-52) and at San Francisco (74-58). Even better, the Pilots are 5-0-1 ATS in their last six outings.

--Eric Reveno’s squad is led by its outstanding backcourt combination of T.J. Campbell and Nik Raivio, who is the younger brother of former Gonzaga star Derek Raivio. Campbell is averaging 13.3 points and 5.6 assists per game. Raivio, who has missed four straight games and is “questionable” for Thursday’s game, averages 14.1 points and 6.1 rebounds per contest.

--Bouldin leads the Bulldogs in scoring (16.4 PPG), assists (4.2 APG) and steals (1.8 SPG).

--Gonzaga has won eight of its nine home games, but it has limped to a 2-4 spread record in the six lined affairs.

--When these teams met at Portland earlier this year on Jan. 9, the Bulldogs captured an 81-78 win as two-point road favorites. The 159 combined points sailed ‘over’ the 144-point number. Bouldin had a team-high 20 points and nine assists, while Robin Smeulders had a game-high 24 points for the Pilots prior to fouling out.

--The ‘over’ is a lucrative 14-4 overall for Gonzaga, 6-0 in its home games.

--The ‘under’ is 10-6 overall for the Pilots.

--ESPN2 will have television coverage at 11:00 p.m. Eastern.

**B.E.’s Bonus Nuggets**

--Duke is unbeaten in 12 home games at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Blue Devils are 8-3 ATS at home. They will play host to Ga. Tech tonight at 7:00 p.m. Eastern on ESPN. LVSC opened Duke as a 12-point favorite, and most spots had the number at 12 ½ early this morning. The Yellow Jackets have covered the spread in each of their last four games, while the ‘under’ has also prevailed four straight times.

--FSU junior forward Jordan Demercy has left the team to “seek opportunities at a different institution.” Demercy scored six points in Saturday’s 61-57 win at Boston College. He was averaging 3.7 points and 14.2 minutes per game. However, he had seen his playing time reduced to six minutes per game the last five contests. The Seminoles return to the court tonight to take on Maryland in Tallahassee at 9:00 p.m. Eastern. LVSC opened FSU as a two-point home ‘chalk,’ but the number was 3 ½ at most spots this morning. The game can be seen on the ESPN Full Court Package.

--Indiana is a 12 1/2-point home underdog tonight vs. Purdue. The Hoosiers are 3-0 ATS in their last three games as double-digit underdogs, while the Boilermakers are 1-3 ATS in four Big Ten road assignments.

--South Florida pulled a stunner last night, going to Georgetown and beating the Hoyas 72-64 as a 13-point road underdog. Bettors backing the Bulls to win outright at the Las Vegas Hilton brought home a generous plus-800 payout (paid $800 on $100 wagers). USF has won four consecutive Big East games for the first time in school history. Dominique Jones paced the Bulls with 29 points and eight rebounds.

--Courtney Fortson is showing the rest of the SEC what he’s all about the last two weeks. The sophomore guard for Arkansas has led his team to three straight wins as an underdog, including last night 72-68 win at Georgia. Fortson scored 19 of his 27 points in the second half to rally the Hogs from a 37-22 deficit at intermission.

--Kyle Veazey of the Jackson Clarion-Ledger has the latest on the ongoing eligibility saga for Mississippi St. freshman Renardo Sidney. The long-story-short version indicates that Sidney -- as expected -- will probably not play for the Bulldogs this year, if ever.

Brian Edwards can be reached at briane@vegasinsider.com.

For frequent betting nuggets and random thoughts from Brian, follow him on twitter at Vegasbedwards.