Pregame Stuff: Florida vs Seton Hall (Thursday, 8:30 pm)

Wednesday, November 23, 2016 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry

A nuts and bolts look at the Gators in the AdvoCare Invitational, where they're guaranteed at least three games through Sunday.

By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer

FLORIDA vs SETON HALL
AdvoCare Invitational Tournament

When: Thursday, 8:30 p.m. (ET)
Where: HP Field House, Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
Records: Florida 4-0, Seton Hall 3-0
TV: ESPN2 (Mike Morgan, Brad Daugherty and Andy Katz)
Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network (Mick Hubert and Mark Wise)

STAKES (The Setup)

If you know a kid who's played club sports, chances are you've seen the HP Field House (once known as the Milk House) at ESPN's Wide World of Sports in Lake Buena Vista. The Gators have never played there.

The well-traveled Gators move on, down to Disney World for the AdvoCare Invitational Tournament at ESPN Wide World of Sports. The eight-team field, which guarantees all participants three games (one each on Thursday, Friday and Sunday) with the first day schedule looking like this: Indiana State (2-1) vs Iowa State (3-0) at 12:30 pm; Stanford (4-0) vs Miami (3-0) at 2:30 pm on one side of the bracket; Quinnipiac (0-2) vs Gonzaga (3-0) at 6:30; UF (4-0) vs Seton Hall (3-0) on the other. ... By Sunday night, the Gators will have played seven games in four different Florida cities -- all true neutral-site games, by RPI definition -- and be more than halfway to the 11 away from home they must play before moving back into the renovated Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center on Dec. 21 against Arkansas-Little Rock. ... HP Field House, mostly home to AAU tournaments, seats 5,000. ... Florida and Seton Hall have met just twice before. The first time was a home 43-40 win for the Pirates on Dec. 28, 1939 in South Orange, N.J. The two programs next faced off Nov. 28, 1987 in the Big Apple NIT at Madison Square Garden. The Gators, behind 19 points from forward Livingston Chatman, led by 21 points before a furious rally by the Pirates tied the game with 12 seconds left. But UF guard Vernon Maxwell hit two free throws with six seconds left to secure a 70-68 win. Freshman center Dwayne Davis had eight points and nine rebounds. Several on that Seton Hall team (namely John Morton and Ramon Ramos, plus Coach P.J. Carlisimo) went on to play for the national championship the following season, losing to Michigan in the final. ... The Gators are 17-14 all-time against teams in the current Big East Conference. ... This will mark the first time in UF coach Mike White's six seasons as a head coach (four at Louisiana Tech, two at Florida) that he has faced an opponent from the Big East.

STARTERS (Probable Lineup)

Florida	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Class	Per Game
Devin Robinson	F	6-8	200	Junior	12.8 pts / 6.5 reb
Justin Leon	F	6-8	206	Senior	7.8 pts / 4.0 reb
John Egbunu	C	6-11	255	R-Junior	9.8 pts / 8.5 reb
KeVaughn Allen	G	6-2	183	Sophomore	12.3 pts / 2.3 reb
Kasey Hill	PG	6-1	175	Senior	6.5 pts / 3.8 asts

Seton Hall	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Class	Per Game
Ismael Sanogo	F	6-8	215	Junior	5.7 pts / 2.7 reb
Desi Rodriguez	F	6-6	215	Junior	16.3 pts / 8.0 reb
Angel Delgado	F	6-10	250	Junior	15.0 pts / 13.7 reb
Khadeen Carrington	PG	6-4	195	Junior	21.7 pts / 3.3 reb
Madison Jones	G	6-2	160	Senior	4.7 pts / 5.7 asts

STANDING OUT (One to Watch)

Seton Hall point guard Khadem Carrington has size, skill and a deadly 3-point shot. Try 10-for-15 from the arc through the Pirates' first three games. Overall, he's shooting 60 percent from the floor and figures to use his 6-4 frame against UF's two smaller point guards. In the Big East Tournament last season, he went for 27 in a first-round defeat of Creighton and 23 on 8-for-11 shooting in an upset of No. 5 Xavier. He also has posted several double-doubles in his career, with the ability to bang his body inside for rebounds. He'll be a problem, but so will several other Pirates.

STUFF (Miscellaneous Info)

The Gators have won three of their four games by at least 17 points, with the lone exception the zany defeat of St. Bonaventure when UF broke a tie with 58 seconds left and scored the game's final seven points. Defensively, they've played inspired basketball most of the time, but also have sprung some leaks that trouble White and his staff. This can be a really good defensive team, but right now it's just an OK one that's allowing 38.5-percents shooting from the floor, 33 from the 3-point line and has only out-rebounded its four mid-major opponents -- despite significant size and depth advantages -- by five per game. ... Some of the defensive leakage showed Monday night when Belmont reduced 20-point leads in each half to single digits. The scene was similar four nights earlier when St. Bonaventure two guards vaporized a 15-point second-lead to tie the game. If it happens against a foe like Seton Hall -- with four starters back from a 26-win team -- it could be a long night. ... Backup forward Canyon Barry (13.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg) is leading UF is scoring after going for 16 and 17, respectively, the last two games. He is a microwave scorer, having hit three straight 3s in the win over the Bonnies and scoring 11 of 13 points for the Gators during a 16-0 run against Belmont. He's doing some nice work on the glass, also. ... Kudos to Devin Robinson for his consistency to date. UF's second-leading scorer is the lone Gator to hit double-figure points in each of the first four games -- he's so good with his mid-range game -- but his defense has been taken up a notch and (more importantly) staying there. That's what NBA scouts want to see of the team's best pro prospect. ... Center John Egbunu's field-goal percentage is down (.591 to .483) from last year, but his free-throw percentage (.532 to .688) and rebounds (6.5 to 8.5) are up. ... The point guard combination of Kasey Hill and Chris Chiozza is off to a slow start offensively. Hill is just 8-for-27 from the floor; Chiozza 6-for-17. The UF coaches, though, are very pleased with the defensive tone the two have set when in the game -- and they'll need to do it again against a guy like Carrington (see above). ... ABOUT SETON HALL: The Pirates are coached by Kevin Willard, who is the son of longtime Rick Pitino colleague and confidant Ralph Willard, formerly head coach at Holy Cross, Pittsburgh and Western Kentucky. The younger Willard was a n assistant for Pitino with the Boston Celtics, then followed Pitino to Louisville before taking his first head-coaching job at Iona. Three years later, he was at Seton Hall, where he's 110-89 in seven seasons. ... The Pirates have looked pretty productive on both ends despite the loss of guard Isaiah Whitehead, a first-team All-Big East Conference player and second-round NBA pick now with the Brooklyn Nets. ... Seton Hall opened the season with blowout wins over Fairleigh-Dickinson and Central Connecticut, then went to Iowa, a very tough place to play, and beat the Hawkeyes 81-73. The Pirates average 88 points per game, shooting 54 percent from the field and nearly 42 percent from the 3-point line. ... Carrington has upped his game after averaing 14.1 points and shooting 41.8 from the floor and 33.5 from deep last season. ... Egbunu will have his biggest challenge to date from center Angel Delgado, now averaging a double-double, including nearly 15 rebounds per game. He's made 65 percent of his shots and 14 of his 41 rebounds have come on the offensive glass. ... Freshman reserve guard Myles Powell (15.3 ppg) rates third on the team in scoring and has made nine of his 20 shots from deep.

STATS (Some Numbers of Note)

Scottie Wilbekin was superb when Gators last went to Orlando in 2014.

* 2.8 —Blocked shots per game by UF sophomore backup center Kevarrius Hayes, which currently ranks second among Southeastern Conference players.

* 9 — Players on Seton Hall's roster from either New York or New Jersey, so you know the Pirates are going to be tough-nosed.

* 31.8 — Combined shooting percentage of Hill and Chiozza, which includes 2-for-13 from the 3-point line. Their combined assist-to-turnover numbers show 24 and 13, not quite 2-to-1.

* 75.2 — Florida's percentage from the free-throw line so far this season, an improvement of 10.5 percent over last year's 64.7 that rated third-worst in the SEC.

* 2014 — Last year the Gators played in Orlando. That was as the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, as UF defeated 16-seed Albany 67-55 and ninth-seed Pittsburgh 61-45 in the opening weekend (both games at the Amway Center downtown) on the way to the Final Four.

STATEMENT (RANDOM THOUGHT)

Nice of the AdvoCare folks to give us all Saturday off to watch a big slate of rivalry football. In case no one knew, Florida-Florida State is 8 p.m.