Pregame Shootaround: Florida at Vanderbilt (Tuesday, 9 p.m.)

UF-Vandy will be aired on ESPNU.

Pregame Shootaround: Florida at Vanderbilt (Tuesday, 9 p.m.)

Monday, January 25, 2016 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry

By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer

FLORIDA at VANDERBILT

When: Tuesday, 9 p.m. (ET)
Where: Memorial Gymnasium, Nashville, Tenn.
Records: Florida (13-6, 5-2-); Vanderbilt (11-8, 3-4)
TV: ESPNU (with Rich Hollenberg and Dino Gaudio)
Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network (with Mick Hubert and Mark Wise). Check availability.

STAKES, STARS AND STATS

>>> Florida is in the midst of its first three-game winning streak in Southeastern Conference play since the start of the 2015 league slate and is looking for the first four-game run since the 2014 team went 21-0 against SEC foes on the way to the Final Four. ... UF has won seven of the last nine meetings, but still trails the all-time series 63-65, with a 17-45 record on the road. ... The Gators split the series last year, losing 67-61 at Nashville on Feb. 3 -- where they fell behind 15-0 to start the game -- and avenged that defeat 15 days later when Devin Robinson, then a freshman, threw down a go-ahead dunk with 2.1 seconds left in what turned out to be a 50-47 win at the O'Connell Center. ... After this road game, Florida will be home three of the next four, with dates against two ranked opponents -- at home Saturday against No. 9 West Virginia in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge and on the road Feb. 6 at No. 19 Kentucky -- over that stretch.

>>> A week ago, the Gators were last in the league in field-goal percentage, 3-point percentage and free-throw percentage. Not anymore. After three straight games of decent overall shooting -- a red-hot 57 percent in Saturday's 95-63 blowout of Auburn -- and an uptick from deep against SEC teams, Florida has moved up to 11th from the floor (.428) and 12th from the arc (.318), but still sits dead-last when it comes to free throws (.623). ... UF leads the SEC in rebounds per game (42.2) and is second in scoring defense (64.9) and 3-point percentage defense (.300), plus third in field-goal percentage defense (.386). ... Senior forward Dorian Finney-Smith has been stellar in SEC play, upping his team-leading averages against league teams to 15.9 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. ... Freshman guard KeVaughn Allen (14.4 ppg vs SEC) has hit double-figures eight of his last 10 games. ... Florida is at 39.5 percent from 3-point range in the SEC, with four players over 40 percent: Justin Leon (.565), Finney-Smith (.484), Robinson (.438) and Allen (.400). ... Sophomore point guard Chris Chiozza remains the conference leader in assist-to-turnover ratio (86 assists, 23 TOs). ... Despite a league-worst 61.8 percent from the line, the Gators went 20-for-24 against Auburn. Three games before that, UF made just four of 12 free throws in a loss at Texas A&M, which remains the league's lone unbeaten team, and only three times have reached at least 70 percent from the line in a game.

>>> Vanderbilt, with two potential first-round draft picks in 7-foot center Damian Jones 12.6 ppg, 6.5 rpg) and guard Wade Baldwin IV (14.5 ppg, 4.4 apg), figured to be better than its record to date suggests. The Commodores have lost to some really good teams -- Kansas, Dayton, Baylor, Purdue -- and are coming off a lackluster showing at Kentucky, where they fell 76-57 and never really were in the game. ... Vandy ranks in the top half of the league in virtually every offensive or defensive statistic, including first in 3-point defense (.273, which is third nationally), 3-pointers allowed per game (4.8, fourth nationally) and defensive rebounding (29.3, 12th nationally). Strangely, even with great defense, the Commodores don't turn opponents over very much (11.2 turnovers force and 4.7 steals per, both of which rates last in the league). ... Besides Baldwin IV and Jones, Vandy gets double-figure scoring from both forward Jeff Roberson (11.1 ppg) and guard Riley LeChance (10.4 ppg) and have four players -- led by backup forward Matthew Fisher-Davis -- who are plus-40 percent from deep for the season. ... The Commodores may have the No. 1 individual matchup problem in the league in 7-1 junior forward Luke Kornet (9.4 ppg, 7.3), who can "stretch-4" a defense to death with his long-range shooting. While he's only 23.8 percent for the season, he's capable of changing the game from out there, evidenced by his 40-percent from 3 as a sophomore last season when he made 50 3s.

SOME NUMBERS OF NOTE

* 7.6 -- Assists per game from Chiozza. That leads the SEC and ranks fourth nationally among major-conference point guards.

* 9.8 -- Average 3-pointers made by the Gators over the past four games, the highest for any SEC team in that span.

* 14 -- Points for backup junior point guard Kasey Hill against Auburn, his season-high. Hill went 5-for-7 from the floor, 1-for-2 from 3 and knocked down all three of his free throws to go with four assists in 25 minutes for arguably his most complete game of the year. Or as Finney-Smith said, "That was Montverde Kasey, right there!' As in Montverde (Fla.) Academy, where Hill prepped on his way to a McDonald's All-America career.

* 35 -- Points needed by Finney-Smith to become the 51st player in UF history to score 1,000 points as a Gator.

* 95 -- Points by Florida against Auburn. That's the most by any team in SEC play this season and the second-highest total for UF in Coach Mike White's first season.

WATCH FOR IT

The injuries and/or availability of forward Alex Murphy (foot) and center Schuyler Rimmer (back and flue-like symptoms), by osmosis, have helped White pared down the UF rotation, as junior forward DeVon Walker has two DNPs the last three games and freshman guard Brandone Francis-Ramirez has continued to struggle with his shooting. Florida has found a regulation rotation of eight players getting anywhere from 35 to 16 minutes per guy. So far it's working, but certainly situations (like foul trouble or injury) may dictate otherwise.