Pregame Shootaround: Auburn vs Florida (Saturday, 8 pm)

Gators and Tigers will air on the SEC Network.

Pregame Shootaround: Auburn vs Florida (Saturday, 8 pm)

Friday, January 22, 2016 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry

By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer

AUBURN at FLORIDA

When: Saturday, 8 p.m. (ET)
Where: O'Connell Center, Gainesville, Fla.
Records: UF (12-6), Auburn (9-8, 3-3)
TV: SEC Network (with Dave Neal and Jon Sundvold)
Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network (with Mick Hubert and Bill Koss). Check for availability here.

STAKES, STARS AND STATS

>>> Florida seeks a third straight SEC win, which would match its longest streak of the last two seasons. The Gators opened the 2015 conference slate 3-0, only to follow it with three straight losses on the way to finishing 8-10 in conference play. ... The game marks the second in a row at home for the Gators, who are in a stretch of six home dates over eight games and need take advantage of that. ... UF trails the all-time series against Auburn 76-87, but the Gators have won eight consecutive and 18 of the last 19. Florida is 47-29 against the Tigers at home, with 10 straight wins at the O'Dome, including a 75-55 victory Jan. 15, 2015 when Dorian Finney-Smith led four Gators into double-figure scoring with 14 points. Point guard Kasey Hill had 12 points and seven assists, while Michael Frazier II had 11 points and nine rebounds.

>>> For the first time since early in the season, the Gators aren't last in the SEC in all three shooting categories. Yes, UF remains 14th in field-goal (.420) and free-throw (.611) percentages, but are now 12th in 3-point shooting (.310), thanks to 38.3-percent from deep since Southeastern Conference play began six games ago. ... Finney-Smith (13.9 ppg, 8.0 rpg), coming off a third straight double-double, leads the team in both scoring and rebounding and has taken his shooting numbers up a notch in league play: 46 percent from the floor and 3-point line, plus 76.7 from the free-throw line. ... Freshman guard KeVaughn Allen (11.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg) was great offensively the previous two games, pouring in 27 in the win at Ole Miss and 19 more against Mississippi State. Allen actually leads the Gators in scoring average in SEC play (15.0 ppg). ... Backup forward Devin Robinson is coming off his first double-figure scoring game in two weeks. After totaling 14 points over three games, Robinson had 11 points and grab five rebounds off the bench against the Bulldogs. ... Sophomore point guard Chris Chiozza (6.3 ppg, 4.3 apg) has been terrific with his ball security since taking over the starting job, but matched his season-high with three turnovers against MSU and also had a sub-par effort defensively. That's why he only played six second-half minutes. Look for a bounce-back game from him. ... Junior forward Justin Leon is averaging 10 points and 4.7 rebounds while making 52.4 percent from the 3-point line in SEC play. But that 11.1 percent from free-throw line (based on 1-for-9) has to change. ... Backup center Schuyler Rimmer has been cleared to play after being limited to just 13 minutes over the last 10 games while dealing with back issues and flu-like symptoms.

>>> Auburn, in its second season under Bruce Pearl, is on a two-game win streak, having shocked Kentucky Saturday and chasing that with a win over rival Alabama Tuesday, both at home. Before that, the Tigers had lost three straight in league play, falling against South Carolina at home and Missouri and Vanderbilt on the road. ... Auburn is ranked near the bottom of the league in a handful of defensive statistics -- last in scoring (77.2 ppg) and 12th in defensive field-goal percentage (.436) -- but the Tigers will shoot 3s until their arms fall off. Auburn averages 26 trey attempts per and makes 9.8 (that's first in the SEC and ninth in the country). Oh, and they're also proficient from out there: 37.5 percent for the season. ... The Tigers are led by PG Kareem Canty (19.4 ppg, 5.4 apg), the Marshall transfer who went for 26 in the upset of UK and followed it up with 25 against. He's hitting nearly 44 percent from deep in SEC play. ... The team has dealt with some tough personnel blows, including the loss of point guard Tahj Shamsid-Deen for the season due to a shoulder injury and a knee injury that has sidelined guard T.J. Dunans for four weeks. Both players were starters. ... Auburn has a couple really productive guys up front -- one young, one old -- in 6-10 freshman Tyler Harris (15.2 ppg, 8.2 rpg) and 6-7, 250-pound senior Cinmeon Bowers (11.5 ppg, 9.4 rpg).

SOME NUMBERS OF NOTE

* .000 -- Freshman backup center Kevarrius Hayes' free-throw percentage in SEC play. He's missed all eight of his attempts. For the season. Hayes is just 8-for-26 (.308).

* .587 -- UF's free-throw percentage in SEC play, which is a .247 lower than its overall percentage for the season (.611).

* .750 -- Gators center John Egbunu's free-throw percentage in the last five minutes of games, based on 15-for-20 from the line, including that clutch 4-for-4 effort against Mississippi State. Egbunu, though, is just 54.5 percent from the line for the season. Don't bother trying to figure this stuff out.

* 6 -- Dunks by junior point guard Kasey Hill this season -- anyone see that coast-to-coast throw-down in traffic last game? -- which is four more than he totaled his first two seasons.

* 21 -- Consecutive SEC games the Gators have gone without a three-game winning streak in league play.

WATCH FOR IT

A lot of pressure on Canty in an effort either to force the ball out of hands or make him turn the ball over.