Pregame Shootaround: Florida vs Mississippi State (Tuesday, 7 pm)

MISSISSIPPI STATE at FLORIDA

When: Tuesday, 7 p.m. (ET)
Where: O'Connell Center, Gainesville, Fla.
Records: UF (11-6, 3-2); Mississippi State (7-9, 0-4)
TV: ESPNU (with Rich Hollenberg and Dino Gaudio)
Radio: Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network (with Mick Hubert and Mark Wise). Check for availability here.

STAKES, STARS AND STATS

>>> UF is looking to win a second straight Southeastern Conference game for the first time since late last season. By winning Saturday night at Mississippi, the Gators snapped a seven-game road losing streak in SEC play, the longest league drought away from the O'Connell Center in 25 years. ... At 3-2, Florida is tie in a three-team jumble with Kentucky and Arkansas for fourth place in the SEC, but just a half-game behind third-place South Carolina a one game behind second-place LSU. Texas A&M stands alone at the top of the league with a 5-0 record. ... After playing three of the last four on the road, the Gators are home for three of the next four and six of the next eight, with one of those home dates a marquee Jan. 30 non-conference showdown against No. 11 West Virginia as part of the Big 12/SEC Challenge. ... Florida and Mississippi State will play for the 111th time. The Gators hold a 61-49 edge in the all-time series, with a 38-12 mark at home. After losing four of five in the series from 2008-11, UF has defeated MSU five straight, with the most recent coming last season when guard Eli Carter scored 20 off the bench in a 72-47 win at the O'Dome on Jan. 10, 2015.

>>> The Gators are still ranked last in the SEC in field-goal percentage (.419), 3-point percentage (.304) and free-throw percentage (.612), but they've managed to hit at least nine shots from deep in four of their five conference games, including 11-for-20 in the win at Ole Miss. Those 11 treys were the second-most this season, but they came on the road and against a much tougher opponent (and circumstances) than the 15-for-29 eruption earlier this season against low-major opponent North Carolina A&T. ... Freshman guard KeVaughn Allen is coming off his best game of his young collegiate career. No, he didn't reach his high mark of 32 points like against FSU last month, but Allen went on the road and buried nine of his 11 shots, including 6-for-7 from 3-point range on his way to scoring 27 and regaining some of the confidence he might have lost after a scoreless night at Texas A&M four nights earlier. ... Senior forward Dorian Finney-Smith continues to pace the Gators in both scoring (13.6 pg) and rebounding (7.7 pg) and is coming off back-to-back double-doubles for the first time in his career. ... Sophomore point guard Chris Chiozza (6.5 ppg, 4.3 apg) continues to draw raves from the coaches, most notably for his ball security. In nine games since taking over as starter, Chiozza has 50 assists and just seven turnovers. ... Backup center Schuyler Rimmer (flu-like symptoms) has lost a considerable amount of weight and likely will miss another game.

>>> The Bulldogs come in as lone team in the SEC without a league victory, having lost at home against Texas A&M, then on the road at Arkansas and Kentucky, and most recently at home Saturday against Tennessee. They have the capacity to lose to anyone (like falling at home to Southern) or playing good teams to the wire (losing at Kentucky by just six, then at home to A&M by only one). ... The Bulldogs are in their first season under Coach Ben Howland, who was an NCAA Tournament fixture during 10 seasons (2003-13) at UCLA. ... Mississippi State ranks last in the league in field-goal percentage defense (.445) and rebounds per game (34.1). The Bulldogs shoot it pretty well overall (.469), but not great from deep (.310). They are outstanding at the free-throw line (.739, which ranks first in the SEC), but they rarely get there (12.9 FTs per, which ranks last in the SEC). ... Forward Gavin Ware (17.1 ppg, 8.0 rpg) and guard Craig Sword (12.6 ppg, 3.2 rpg) are a pair of seniors that have logged a ton of games in the conference. They will fight till the end and their teammates will feed off of that. ... Freshman Malik Newman (12.7 ppg, 3.3 rpg), out of Callaway, Miss., was one of the top shooting guard prospects in the nation last season after leading his high school to four straight Class 5A state titles.

SOME NUMBERS OF NOTE

* .375 -- UF's 3-point percentage in SEC play, which is 7.5 percent better than the season's overall mark and includes a dreadful 3-for-18 showing in the victory over LSU.

* .588 -- Junior forward Justin Leon's 3-point percentage against conference teams, one of the biggest reasons for the recent jump in UF's shooting, based on his 10-for-17 SEC efficiency to date.

* 3 -- Times the Gators have faced Howland, with all three coming in the NCAA Tournament and all three ending with Florida victories. UF defeated Howland's Bruins in the 2006 NCAA title game, the 2007 Final Four and again in the NCAA Tournament's second round in 2011.

* 13 -- Years since a UF freshman scored at least 30 points and 25 points the same season. Allen became the first to do it since Matt Walsh in 2002-03.

* 17 -- Florida's Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) ranking, which is bolstered by a schedule ranked as the second-hardest in the nation with five dates still remaining against teams in the current Top 50: West Virginia, Kentucky (twice), South Carolina and Alabama.

WATCH FOR IT

Mississippi State has played zone nearly the entire season, but at his Monday news conference Howland said he planned on scrapping the zone and going almost exclusively to man. In other words, who knows what to "watch" for? Still, it makes sense the Bulldogs will roll out some zone to see if Florida's latest shooting percentages are a fluke or a trend. Also, you better believe Howland's dogged defense is going after UF center John Egbunu (10.7 ppg, 6.5 rpg) when he gets the ball on the block. Egbunu has really struggled against aggression in the post and often looks lost against double- and triple-teams. And with the way Egbunu is shooting free throws (11 of 35 over his last eight games, including 0-for-5 at Ole Miss), there's little risk in fouling him.

Gators Calendar

Pregame Shootaround: Florida vs Mississippi State (Tuesday, 7 pm)

Players Mentioned

KeVaughn Allen

Eli Carter

Chris Chiozza

John Egbunu

Dorian Finney-Smith

Justin Leon

Schuyler Rimmer

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Pregame Shootaround: Florida vs Mississippi State (Tuesday, 7 pm)

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Players Mentioned

KeVaughn Allen

Eli Carter

Chris Chiozza

John Egbunu

Dorian Finney-Smith

Justin Leon

Schuyler Rimmer

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