Pregame Stuff: Georgia at No. 23 Florida (Saturday, noon)

Friday, January 13, 2017 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry

A nuts and bolts look at UF's next SEC showdown.

By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer

GEORGIA at No. 23 FLORIDA

When: Saturday, noon (ET)
Where: Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center, Gainesville, Fla.
Records: Florida 13-3 (4-0), Georgia 11-5 (3-1)
TV: ESPN2 (Beth Mowins and Dalen Cuff)
Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network (Mick Hubert and Mark Wise)

STAKES (The Setup)

Florida, winner of six straight, is back home and looking to go to 5-0 in Southeastern Conference play following Tuesday night's come-from-behind victory at Alabama. In that one, the Gators blew an 18-point first-half lead and actually trailed by six inside 11 minutes before mounting their comeback. ... Enter Georgia, one of UF's three home-and-home league opponents under the SEC scheduling format that debuted last season. The Bulldogs have won three of their four conference games, with the lone loss a 67-61 home loss against South Carolina, one three remaining unbeaten SEC teams (with Florida and Kentucky). Georgia went on the road Wednesday and smashed Ole Miss 69-47, holding the Rebels -- who gave the Gators a tough game last week at the O'Dome -- to just 18 points and 16.7-percent shooting in the first half. ... UF leads the all-time series vs Georgia 111-100, with five wins in the last six tries, including a sweep in Coach Mike White's first season of 2015-16. The Gators beat the Dogs 77-63 in the '16 SEC opener, then went to Athens, Ga., and left Stegeman Coliseum with a 57-53 win on Feb. 16, coming from six down at halftime. In that one, UF got 19 points from guard KeVaughn Allen and 10 points and seven rebounds from center John Egbunu, while suriving an uncharacteristic 1-for-10 night from senior forward Dorian Finney-Smith.

STARTERS (Probable Lineups)

Florida	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Class	Per Game
Devin Robinson	F	6-8	200	Junior	11.8 pts / 5.3 reb
Justin Leon	F	6-8	206	Senior	7.0 pts / 3.2 reb
Kevarrius Hayes	C	6-9	220	Sophomore	5.6 pts / 3.9 reb
KeVaughn Allen	G	6-2	183	Sophomore	14.2 pts / 2.5 reb
Kasey Hill	PG	6-1	175	Senior	9.4 pts / 3.1 reb / 4.9 ast

Georgia	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Class	Per Game
Yante Maten	F	6-8	240	Junior	19.9 pts / 8.6 reb /
Derek Ogbeide	F	6-8	245	Sophomore	7.3 pts / 6.6 reb
J.J. Frazier	G	5-10	155	Senior	16.1 pts / 3.2 reb / 4.2 ast
Juwan Parker	G	6-4	205	R-Junior	8.9 pts / 5.9 reb
Jordan Harris	G	6-4	185	Freshman	5.5 pts / 2.0 ast

STANDING OUT (One to Watch)

Georgia forward **Yante Maten** is having an SEC Player of the Year type of season. He's ranked second in the league in scoring at nearly 20 points per game, third in rebounding (more than a third of his come on the offensive glass) and third in field-goal percentage at 54.2. Don't get the impression he's doing all his damage on the block either, with his 43.3 shooting from the 3-point line a testament to his all-around game. Maten is an aggressive player who has taken more shots than everyone in the SEC besides scoring leader **Malik Monk** of Kentucky. Given the way UF has struggled with foul trouble and overall production in the post the last few games, Maten figures to be a handful for **Kevarrius Hayes**, **John Egbunu**, **Schuyler Rimmer** or whoever the Gators put on him. They've done a decent job against in three previous meetings, however: 11.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per game on 36.6 percent from the floor. Maten, though, is a seasoned upperclassmen now and will be ready for the challenge a very good Florida defense presents.

STUFF (Need-to-Know Info)

ABOUT THE GATORS: The story of Florida's last outing, the big win at Tuscaloosa, was the play of the bench. With Allen, the team's red-hot leading scorer at 14.7 points per game, blanketed by the Crimson Tide defense and held to just six points on 2-for-7 shooting, the Gators' four reserves picked up the slack and outscored the starters 41-39 in the latest testament to a maturing of the program in White's second season. Backup forward Keith Stone had 14 points, one off his career-high, and buried all three of his 3-point shots, with two of them coming during UF's comeback. Stone also played some solid defense in the post and showed that, if needed, he can be counted on to defend some SEC bigs. Stone started his redshirt freshman season off by missing his first six 3-point attempts over his first six games, but has drained nine of 15 since (60 percent) over 10 games. ... Speaking of the bench, after making his SEC debut with only two points in 12 minutes at Arkansas, reserve forward Canyon Barry has averaged 16.0 points and 3.3 rebounds on 59.3-percent shooting from the floor, including 6-for-11 (54.5 percent) from the 3-point line in the three league games since. ... Senior point guard Kasey Hill is playing defense at a stunningly elite level. In two SEC games, Hill has at least five steals (5 at Alabama, 6 vs Ole Miss) and is the catalyst behind a defense that is forcing 17.8 turnovers per game and has plus-7.3 turnover margin in SEC play. Georgia has a tendency to get loose with the ball, which could play into Florida's hands (literally). ... UF remains near the top of the RPI standings, bouncing between second and third, depending on the outcomes of the day. Georgia checks in at 34, so this could be another check mark on the Gators' resume if they could hold serve at home. ... ABOUT THE BULLDOGS: They're now 137-108 in eight seasons under Coach Mark Fox, with two NCAA Tournament berths (2011, '15) and two trips to the NIT ('14, '16) to show for it. His current team has a lot of similarities to the Gators, with their two best players -- Maten and J.J. Frazier -- proven upperclassmen who have been in big games and played in every environment conceivable. ... Georgia's strength of schedule rates 16th nationally, with losses its losses coming at Clemson and Kansas, plus home defeats to Marquette and South Carolina. UGA also opted for a true road game at Oakland, as a perk for Detroit area natives Maten and forward Mike Edwards. It was costly. The Bulldogs lost to the Horizon Conference-leading Grizzlies 86-79. ... Frazier, the crafty lefty with a sweet stroke, has climbed to No. 22 all-time on the Georgia career scoring list with 1,245 points. He's a threat to go get 25 any night -- his career-high is 35 against Georgia Tech -- but he also plays within the framework of the Bulldogs offense, driving to score or kick it and working as a facilitator. Frazier's 3-point numbers are down this season (.286, compared to .377 combined over his first three seasons), but that suggests he's due to get back on track, with UF allowing opponents to hit 36.1 percent from deep in conference play. ... Forward Derek Ogbeide has yet to attempt a 3 this season, but he's made 61.3 percent of his field goals. ... Georgia ranks No. 1 in the SEC and 19th nationally in defensive rebounding, compared to Florida, which is dead-last in the league in that stat.

STATS (Some Numbers of Note)

* .000 — 3-point shooting percentage of UF's starters in Tuesday's win at Alabama, based on going 0-for-8.

* .666 — 3-point shooting percentage of UF's reserves (Stone, Barry and guard Chris Chiozza), at Alabama, based on going 6-for-9.

* 0 — Florida opponents who have hit their season's point-per-game against the Gators this season. The Gators are one of the nation's best in defensive efficiency.

* 5 — First-half field goals allowed by Georgia's defense Wednesday at Ole Miss. The Rebels went 5-for-30 in that one and just 2-for-13 from the 3-point line.

* 6 — Consecutive victories for the Gators, the most not only during White's two seasons, but the most since the historic 30-game winning streak for the 2014 Final Four-bound squad.

* 1.000 — UF forward Justin Leon's free-throw percentage in SEC play, based on 8-for-8 shooting. For the season, Leon is making 76.2 percent from the line (16 of 21) after posting 46.2 percent last season (12 of 26), his first in Division I after transferring from junior college. The guy works on his craft.

STATEMENT (Random thought)

Up and at 'em early, Rowdies! See you at Starbucks to prime for that high-noon tip.