Pregame Stuff: No. 24 Florida at North Florida (Thursday, 7 pm)

Wednesday, November 30, 2016 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry

A nuts and bolts look at UF's second trip to UNF this calendar year.

By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer

No. 24 FLORIDA at NORTH FLORIDA

When: Thursday, 7 p.m. (ET)
Where: UNF Arena, Jacksonville, Fla.
Records: Florida 61, Opponent 3-5
TV: Streaming on ESPN3 (Brent Martineau and Lee Moon, Jr.)
Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network (Mick Hubert and Mark Wise)

STAKES (The Setup)

Florida is back in the Top 25 for the first time in nearly two years after emerging from last weekend's holiday tournament in Orlando with two victories and one narrow defeat against a trio of high-major programs that all went to the NCAA Tournament last season. The Gators beat Seton Hall and Miami, but lost to then-No. 11 Gonzaga. ... Now, UF will play its eighth game of the season in a fifth different venue, only this site won't be neutral; not at all. UNF Arena, home of the Ospreys, figures to be more for more rocking than it was last March 15 when UF was forced to play a "home" NIT game there after the renovation to the O'Connell Center began. That game was played during spring break, so the rowdy UNF students were mostly gone. They'll be there this time -- and the beer concession stands figure to be flowing. ... Florida is 5-0 all-time against North Florida, out of the Atlantic Sun Conference, including that 97-68 demo job in the NIT. In that one, the Gators (uncharacteristically) beat the Ospreys at their own 3-point game, nailing 12 of 18 from the floor in the first half alone and finishing with a season-high 16 treys against a team that hit more 3s than anyone in the nation last season. Forward Dorian Finney-Smith led UF with 15 points and John Egbunu posted a double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds) in what would be his final game of the season. Egbunu played that game with torn ligaments in his thumb and underwent season-ending surgery two days after. ... Florida has won 10 straight against teams currently in the A-Sun, including an 80-59 season-opening defeat of Florida Gulf Coast on Nov. 11, also in Jacksonville.

STARTERS (Probable Lineups)

Florida	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Class	Per Game
Devin Robinson	F	6-8	200	Junior	12.0 pts / 5.6 reb
Justin Leon	F	6-8	206	Senior	6.7 pts / 4.1 reb
John Egbunu	C	6-11	255	R-Junior	9.4 pts / 7.9 reb
KeVaughn Allen	G	6-2	183	Sophomore	13.4 pts / 2.6 reb
Kasey Hill	PG	6-1	175	Senior	8.0 pts / 3. asts

North Florida	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Class	Per Game
Chris Davenport	F	6-8	215	Senior	7.1 pts / 5.0 reb
Romelo Banks	C	6-11	252	R-Junior	10.9 pts / 6.6 reb
Aaron Bodager	G	6-5	200	R-Senior	5.9 pts / 4.3 reb
Dallas Moore	PG	6-1	175	Senior	19.1 pts / 3.3 reb
Nick Malonga	G	6-5	192	R-Junior	2.8 pts / 1.9 reb

STANDING OUT (Opponent to Watch)

Dallas Moore is the all-time leading scorer in UNF history and the reigning Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Year after leading the league in both scoring (19.8 ppg) and assists (6.0) last season. The senior from St. Petersburg, Fla., has started all 109 games of his career. Last April, he toyed with the idea of turning pro, putting his name into the NBA evaluation pool, then opting to return for his senior season. He's an aggressive offensive player, equally good at driving the lane or pulling up from 3-point range, where he is a 38.5-percent shooter for his career. Earlier this season, he poured in a career-high 37 against NAIA foe Edward Waters and is coming off a 29-pount outburt against Wright State. But against UNF's three opponents most comparable to the Gators -- losses to Auburn, Miami and LSU -- Moore averaged just 10 points per game, shot 10-for-39 from the floor (25.6 percent) and 4-for-16 from the arc (25 percent). Against Florida last season, he went 9-for-15 from the floor, hit two of five shots from deep, and also had seven rebounds, five assists and five turnovers.

STUFF (Need to Know Info)

ABOUT THE GATORS: After playing seven games in 16 days, all away from home, UF returned to Gainesville Sunday night, had a day off Monday and will have another one Friday. The unique travel circumstances necessary while the Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center renovations are being wrapped have been tasking on the players, but to their credit they're not complaining. They're also winning. ... Against Miami, which had defeated UF each of the last two seasons, the Gators got a nice all-around game from point guard Kasey Hill, who went for a season-best 16 points, knocked down eight of 10 free throws, plus carded three assists while showing good recognization against ball screens that kept the action moving in the half-court. And he was really good in transition, which is his offensive strength. ... The game was something of a coming-out party for forward Keith Stone, who went for 15 points and a team-best eight rebounds in 25 minutes off the bench. The UF coaches knew that they had something good in the offensively skilled Stone, who redshirted last year to develop his body and game. It was just a matter of him getting an opportunity and letting the game come to him, rather than forcing things and pressing to make something happen. Don't expect that every night from Stone, anymore than expecting backup forward Canyon Barry (12.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg) to go 0-for-6 from the floor in a bunch of games like he did against the Hurricanes. Barry, though, will have some peaks and valleys during the season, as he did during his career at College of Charleston. ... Forward Devin Robinson has hit double-figure scoring in six of UF's seven games, the lone exception when he was limited to just 11 minutes due to foul trouble in the win over Seton Hall. He still had four points and three rebounds in that one. Robinson is playing the best basketball of his career ... The Gators are shooting a sensational 76.4 percent from the line this season. That's great. But they have three fewer assists (75) than turnovers (78). That's not great. For context, through seven games a year ago, UF was plus-17 on assists to turnovers (92-75). ... ABOUT THE OSPREYS: They're coached by Matt Driscoll, now 121-117 in eight seasons at UNF. They're shooting 45 percent from the floor and 32 from 3, but they're nowhere close to the prolific deep-shooting team as last season when the Ospreys entered the NIT game with an NCAA-high 400 made 3s. ... Forward Chris Davenport was a key player on the 2015-16 NIT squad. He had 15 points, five rebounds and two assists in the loss against Florida. ... Also in that game, the Ospreys had problems against UF's pressure defense, as the Gators forced 21 turnovers and allowed just 36-percent shooting overall and 25 percent on the longball. ... Reserve forward Nick Malonga (2.8 ppg, 1.9 rpg) is a transfer from Ole Miss. ... UNF's best of its three wins came 76-75 against North Dakota, currently No. 220 in RPI. The Ospreys check in at 204, which is fourth among A-Sun teams.

STATS (Some Numbers of Note)

* 2 — Future home games the Gators will get in return for playing the Ospreys for a true "road" date. The 2-for-1 deal cut by UF was part of the scramble job administrators had to do to fill out the Gators' non-conference schedule during this very unusual (and barnstorming) November and December. The Gators are scheduled to christen the renovated O'Dome on Dec. 21 against Arkansas-Little Rock.

* 4 — Blocked shots by Egbunu in each of the past four games. It's worth repeating that the three previous games were against the three best teams UF has faced this season, including the gargantuan "Zags" of Gonzaga. When "Big John" focuses on interior defense and rebounding (and lets offense come organically), he can be a powerful force.

* 8 — Florida's RPI, highest in the Southeastern Conference, ahead of South Carolina (9th) and Kentucky (19th).

* 400 — Career assists milestone Hill will hit if he gets four against the Ospreys. Currently at 396, Hill ranks 11th in school history in assists (one behind Taurean Green) and would become the 10th UF player to hit 400 for his career.

* 2013 — The last year the Gators played a true road game at the home of an opponent from a non-Power 5 conference. On Jan. 6 that year (just before the start of SEC season), Florida defeated Yale 75-58 at its campus arena before a sell-out crowd of 2,532 in New Haven, Conn. UNF Arena seats 5,800.

STATEMENT (Random Thought)

Always a gamble when the state's flagship program agrees to play on the road against a mid- or low-major state foe, but these are some quirky times. With all due respect to some fierce battles to be waged against Jacksonville U and FCGU later this year, this game will be the Eagles' Super Bowl.