Pregame Stuff: No. 19 Florida at No. 24 South Carolina, 6:30 pm ET
Tuesday, January 17, 2017 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
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A nuts and bolts look at the Gators' trip to Columbia.
By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
No. 19 FLORIDA
at No. 24 SOUTH CAROLINA
When: Wednesday, 6:30 p.m. (ET) Where: Colonial Life Arena, Columbia, S.C. Records: Florida 14-3 (5-0), South Carolina 14-3 (4-0) TV: SEC Network (Tom Hart and Daymeon Fishback) Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network (Mick Hubert and Mark Wise)
STAKES (The Setup)
Colonial Life Arena (capacity 18,000) will be sold out and rockin' Wednesday night.
Two of the top three teams in the Southeastern Conference -- with both in the RPI Top 25 -- square off in one of the league's first big games of the 2017 season. Only one will leave with its unbeaten league record still intact. ... This will mark the first conference game for the Gators featuring two ranked teams since No. 1 UF defeated No. 25 Kentucky 61-60 in the SEC Tournament championship game at Atlanta on March 16, 2014.. ... UF, winner of seven straight, is coming off a second-half comeback against Georgia, when the Gators ralled from five down late, forced overtime and surged past the Bulldogs at home. USC defeated Ole Miss 67-56, winning its third of four league games by double-digits, and holding the Rebels to their second-lowest scoring output of the season. ... Florida leads the all-time series 43-23, including a 21-14 edge on the road. The Gators had won seven straight against the Gamecocks until a bizarre one last Feb. 20 at Columbia. In that one, UF fell behind by 17 in the first half, then went on a 22-0 run to take the lead. After that, the leads went back-and-forth -- 15 lead changes and five ties total -- before Dorian Finney-Smith (18 points, 13 rebounds), his team down by one and with a chance to give the Gators the lead with 20.5 seconds to go, made just one of two free throws. The game went to overtime, where All-SEC forward Michael Carerra (20 points, 15 rebounds, 4-for-8 from 3) iced a 73-69 win with some late free throws.
South Carolina was unbeaten, with wins over No. 25 Michigan at home and 18th-ranked Syracuse at a neutral site, when senior guard Sindarius Thornwell was suspended indefinitely on Dec. 4 for after the school learned he'd been arrested last May on charges of possession of marijuana and driving with a suspended license. Thornwell, the former McDonald's All-American and All-SEC Defensive Team selection last season, missed the next six games. The Gamecocks went 3-3. Since Thornwell was reinstated Jan. 2 in time for SEC play, USC is 4-0 and playing like one of the best defensive teams in the country; one that leads the league in six different categories and is allowing just 61.2 points per game against conference teams. Thornwell basically does it all. He tops the team in scoring and rebounding, shoots 45.4 percent from the floor and 40 percent from the 3-point line, makes 83 percent of his free throws and is second on the team in steals and blocked shots, despite missing those six games. Last year, he was on the scoring end of a steal and run-out layup in the final seconds of regulation that prevented the Gators from pulling off a huge road upset. UF's overtime time loss likely kept the Gators out of the NCAA Tournament. Thornwell finished with 17 points in that one.
STUFF (Need-to-Know Info)
ABOUT THE GATORS: UF's seven-game winning streak is the longest since the school-record 30 in a row on the way to the 2014 Final Four. If the Gators can make it eight, it would represent the best victory to date, what with the Gamecocks' high RPI rating, unbeaten status in league and sold-out home crowd. ... The story of the UF team right now is the red-hot hand of fifth-year senior forward Canyon Barry (12.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg), who came off the bench and ripped Georgia for a season-high 27,
Keith Stone has hit 12 of his last 19 3-point shots.
including 5-for-8 from the 3-point line. Twice, the College of Charleston transfer was fouled on those 3-balls and converted four-point plays. Barry's confidence is through the roof right now -- he's averaging 18.7 the last four games -- and his success from long range has helped his dribble-drive moves, as well. ... Speaking of reserves, redshirt freshman forward Keith Stone (5.3 ppg, 1.8 rpg) had a week that practically rivaled Barry's. Stone scored 14 at Alabama, then a career-high 17 against Georgia and is now shooting 49 percent from the floor, nearly 47 from 3-point range and 75 from the free-throw line. How Coach Mike White and his staff look to balance his minutes with those of starting forwards Devin Robinson and Justin Leon is something to follow in the coming games. ... Center Kevarrius Hayesstruggled with the physical nature of the Georgia frontcourt and eventually gave way to John Egbunu (7.7 ppg, 7.1 rpg), so the team could go back to a more expanded role for "Big John." The Gamecocks, despite their defensive reputation, are near the bottom of the league in defensive rebounding. That's good for the Gators, who are the league's worst defensive rebounding team (just 23.4 per game). ... UF is at the top of the SEC in turnovers (11.4) and opponents' turnovers (16.7). The Gators have taken the latter number up a notch in SEC play, forcing 17.8. ... ABOUT THE GAMECOCKS: Now 84-66 in five seasons under Coach Frank Martin, they're in contention for the first NCAA berth on Martin's watch, after going 25-9 and placing third in the SEC at 11-7 and still being denied an NCAA at-large berth due to a woeful non-conference schedule. They upgraded the schedule this season. In addition to Michigan and Syracuse, USC also played Seton Hall and went on the road to Memphis, in addition to its annual game against state rival Clemson. The Gamecocks lost those latter three ames, all while Thornwell was sidelined. ... USC's defense, frighteningly efficient at times, drives the offense. The Gamecocks rate first (and among the nation's best) in scoring (59.8 ppg), field-goal percentage (36.3, which is 3rd nationally), 3-point percentage (27.9, which is 1st), 3-pointers allowed (4.7 pg), opponents turnovers (17.1 pg) and steals (8.4 pg). ... Point guard P.J. Dozier, another former McDonald's All-American, is the team's steals leader (35) and hits 41 percent of his 3s. ... Guard Duane Notice has a team-high 31 makes from deep, but is just 31 percent for the season. ... Chris Silva, with a team-best 33 blocks, is USC's rim-protector and also a 58-percent scorer from the floor and 71 from the free-throw line. ... Off the bench, freshman guard Rakym Felder is 19-for-39 from the 3-point line (48.7 percent).
STATS (Some Numbers of Note)
Joakim Noah* minus-145 — Assist-to-turnover difference against South Carolina's defense. The Gamecocks have forced nearly twice as many turnovers (291) as they've given up assists (146). In comparison, a very good Florida defense is minus-121, forcing 284 turnovers vs. 163 assists.
* 0 — Consecutive games this season the Gators have been outright led in scoring by the same player. Barry co-led the team in points once. Seven different Gators have led the team over the course of the season.
* 4 — Consecutive Florida-South Carolina games, due to a schedule quirk, that have been played in Columbia. UF has not played the Gamecocks in Gainesville since the Jan. 8, 2014, the SEC opener for both that year, and a UF 74-58 win.
* plus-70 —Combined differential of Florida's bench production over the last two games; plus-24 at Alabama and plus-46 vs. Georgia.
* 2006 — The last year a UF player scored as many points off the bench as Barry did Saturday. On March 1 of '06 -- "Senior Day" for Adrian Moss -- sophomore center Joakim Noah went for a career-high 37 in a 77-66 defeat of Georgia, a total that is tied for the most single-game points by a Gator in the last 35 years. Guard Michael Frazier II also hit for 37 in 2014 at South Carolina. Frazier, though, started that game.
STATEMENT (Random thought)
Flying to Columbia this year, rather than busing. Yay.
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