Butler @ Florida

Who will WIN this matchup?

Butler Bulldogs (9-3)

@ Florida Gators (7-4)

Current odds:

Butler Bulldogs: (+175)

Florida Gators: (-210)

• The line for this game game is Florida by 4.5 points.

• Butler looks to match its defensive effort from the first meeting with Florida this season when it visits the Gators on Saturday afternoon for the first-ever encounter between the two schools outside of tournament play. The Bulldogs limited Florida to 34.6 percent shooting from the field in a 61-54 first-round victory at the Battle 4 Atlantis on Nov. 23, and have won two in a row coming into their final non-conference contest. Senior guard Kamar Baldwin leads Butler in scoring (16.2) and rebounding (5.3) – 19 and six, respectively, against the Gators – but depth is something that could carry the Bulldogs far in the Big East race, which opens against Georgetown on Wednesday.

• Florida leads the SEC in scoring defense (61.4) while it has shown balance on offense with senior guard KeVaughn Allen leading five players averaging between 10.3 and 7.4 points per game. The Gators, who start league play against South Carolina on Jan. 5, have won four of their last five contests with the only loss coming against seventh-ranked Michigan State 63-59 on Dec. 8 at home.

• Jorgensen averages 15.3 points and drained 5-of-7 from 3-point range to score 19 last time out in a 71-54 victory over UC Irvine on Dec. 21. Junior forward Sean McDermott has connected on 35 shots from 3-point range – one more than Jorgensen for the team lead – and averages 11.6 points, but has struggled the last two contests while averaging just five on 3-of-10 shooting. Sophomore forward Jordan Tucker, a transfer from Duke who became eligible Dec. 15, adds another offensive threat and has scored 24 points in his last two games.

• Senior guard Jalen Hudson, who led the team in scoring last season but had not scored in double figures since Nov. 14 against La Salle, recorded 14 points in the 77-56 win over Florida Gulf Coast last Saturday. “I just tried to step up and shoot it with confidence,” Hudson told reporters after sinking 4-of-9 from 3-point range. “My coach and my teammates really instill confidence in me, so I just wanted to step up to the plate.” Freshman guard Noah Locke scored 33 points combined in the last two games to push his season mark to 9.2.

• Locke is the first Gator to hit at least five 3-pointers in back-to-back games since Michael Frazier did it in 2013.

• Butler’s 6-11 sophomore F Joey Brunt is shooting 73.5 percent from the field to lead the Big East.

• The teams have played three times before in the NCAA Tournament with the Gators winning two of them.