Wednesday, March 9, 2016 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
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By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
Dorian Finney-SmithSEC TOURNAMENT FLORIDA vs ARKANSAS
When: Thursday, 1 p.m. (ET) Where: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tenn. Records: Florida (18-13), Arkansas (16-15) TV: SEC Network (with Brad Nessler, Dave Neal, Sean Farnham and Shannon Spake) Radio: Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network (with Mick Hubert and Mark Wise). Check for availability here.
STAKES, STARS AND STATS
>>> Background: A golden ticket to the NCAA Tournament awaits the tournament winner, with both No. 8 seed Florida and No. 9 Arkansas looming as NIT fodder at the moment. Texas A&M and Kentucky shared the regular-season conference championship, with the Aggies securing the No. 1 seed in the tournament field based on a head-to-head victory in their lone meeting. South Carolina and LSU are the Nos. 3 and 4 seeds, with the top four holding byes into Friday's quarterfinal round. The winner of the UF-Arkansas game gets A&M in the quarters. ... The Gators defeated the Razorbacks in their only meeting during the regular season, with UF winning 87-83 in Gainesville on Feb. 3 behind forward Dorian Finney-Smith's 22 points and nine rebounds, plus 17 points and eight assists from point guard Chris Chiozza. ... Florida holds a 19-11 advantage in the all-time series -- with wins in nine of the previous 10 -- and a 3-1 edge in the SEC Tournament. UF and Arkansas have not met in the tournament since 2009 when the Gators defeated the Hogs 73-58 at opening-round action in Tampa.
Devin Robinson>>> About the Gators: A four-game losing streak was snapped in the regular-season finale Saturday night at last-place Missouri. UF played really well in the first half, when it opened an 18-point lead at the break, but not so much in the second in allowing the SEC cellar-dwelling Tigers to shoot 55 percent from the floor and score 44 points. ... Florida's late-season swoon has cost it dearly as far as any NCAA Tournament hopes are concerned. One win in Nashville won't help much, but a couple victories and a place in the semifinals -- which would mean a Friday defeat of top-seeded A&M -- would give the selection committee something to think about. Given how the Gators have played the last month, discovering any new-found offense or even rediscovering the defense that defined the team's solid conference start (UF was 6-3 at one point in league play) seems like a longshot. ... After a difficult eight-game run, Chiozza (7.5 ppg, 4.4 apg) had his best individual game in a month at Mizzou. Not only did he shoot better than 50 percent from the floor and 3-point line, but the sophomore playmaker also had just one turnover versus his eight assists. ... Finney-Smith (15 ppg, 8.2 rpg), named Tuesday to the All-SEC team, remains the squad's leading scorer and rebounder after his first 20-point outing in eight games. He has a good history against Arkansas, averaging 20 points and 11 rebounds in three times facing the Hogs. .... The status of sophomore center John Egbunu (11.5 ppg, 6.3 rpg), who put together back-to-back career-high scoring performances in combining for 49 points in losses at LSU and home against Kentucky and made 20 of 26 shots during those games, is in question after the 6-11, 255-pounder tore ligaments in his right (shooting) hand during practice Tuesday. Egbunu practiced with the team Wednesday with his thumb in a brace and both the player and his coaches unaware how much he could contribute with limited use of the hand. His size against the mostly undersized Hogs figured to be a big advantage for the Gators. ... Sophomore forward Devin Robinson (9.3 ppg, 5.6 rpg) has been one of UF's most consistent players during the stretch run of the season. He's scored in double figures and shot at least 42 percent from the floor in five straight games.
Dusty Hannahs>>> About the Razorbacks: Tough club to figure. After losing three straight (including defeats against Mizzou and Mississippi State), the Hogs reeled off four wins a row -- including a 20-point home wipeout of LSU, followed by a 10-point win at Tennessee -- before getting drummed at home in the regular-season finale by South Carolina. That finish (four consecutive wins, then a season-ending loss) was exactly the opposite of how Florida finished the regular season. ... Arkansas is the league's No. 3 scoring team (78.7 ppg) and one of six UF opponents to hit the 80-point threshold. ... The Hogs lead the SEC in 3-point shooting at 40.2 percent, which ranks 11th nationally -- and doesn't look particularly good against the Gators' 3-point defense, which allows 41.2 percent per game (second worse in the SEC). ... Though the Razorbacks rely much on their perimeter game, center Moses Kingsley (16.1 ppg, 9.2 rpg) makes them a dangerous inside-out team also. Kingsley went for 15 points and nine boards in the first meeting, but the Gators hassled him into five turnovers. ... The outside threat of guards Dusty Hannahs (16.0 ppg, 2.4 rpg) and Athlon Bell (15.9 ppg, 2.9 rpg) is a dangerous one. Both hit better than 44 percent from deep. Bell has made 89 treys this season, Hannahs 79. For context, UF's most prolific 3-maker (Finney-Smith) has 62. ... Point guard Jabril Durham (6.3 ppg, 6.4 apg) needs two assists for 200 on the season. More context: UF's top assist man (Chiozza) has 138.
SOME NUMBERS OF NOTE
Chris Chiozza* 0 -- Combined points from UF junior forwardJustin Leon the last two games. He has just one double-figure scoring game (15 vs. Vanderbilt) over the last six.
* 4 -- Games that Chiozza has carded at least eight assists and one or fewer turnovers, following his latest outing at Mizzou. Only Eddie Shannon (5) had more such games for the Gators over the last 20 years.
* 10 -- Points scored by Gators guard KeVaughn Allen in the first meeting with the Razorbacks. Allen was a high school superstar at North Little Rock (Ark.) High and heavily recruited by the Hogs.
* 67 -- Dunks by Egbunu this season, breaking the previous UF record of 66 set by Marreese Speights in 2007-08. Egbunu also has 48 blocked shots this season and with two more would join Joakim Noah (twice) and Al Horford as the only Gators to amass 50 blocks and 50 dunks in the same season.
* 100 -- Days since UF wing DeVon Walker last made a field goal. Walker went 2-for-5 and scored five points in a win Dec. 1 against Richmond, but has missed his last 20 shots over 16 games. It's been a really tough season for Walker, one of the most popular players on the team, after missing all of the 2014-15 campaign due to a knee injury.
WATCH FOR IT
For what it's worth, Arkansas ranks as the worst 3-point defense in the league (.357), but that's more a product of its wide-open style and tendency to surrender 3s in transition. UF will have a bunch of open looks from deep, but can the SEC's next-to-last 3-point-shooting team make them?
