Pregame Stuff: No. 25 Florida at LSU (Wednesday, 9 pm)

No. 24 FLORIDA at LSU

When: Wednesday, 9 p.m. (ET)
Where: Maravich Assembly Center, Baton Rouge, La.
Records: Florida 14-5 (5-2), LSU 9-9 (1-6)
TV: SEC Network (Dave Neal and Chris Spatola)
Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network (Mick Hubert and Bill Koss)

STAKES (The Setup)

Maravich Assembly Center on the campus of LSU.

Florida is scrambling to pick up the pieces of its worst week of the season. It started with a 57-53 road loss Wednesday at South Carolina, lowlighted by an 0-for-17 performance from the 3-point line. Then came Saturday's downer when the Gators let Vanderbilt, with a sub-.500 record and four-game losing streak, come into Exactech Arena, shoot nearly 56 percent in the second half, nail 10 shots from the 3-point line and stick the home team with crushing 68-66 loss. The back-to-back defeats dumped UF from No. 19 to 25th in the Associated Press poll, and from a game out of first place in the Southeastern Conference standings to a half-game up on fourth-place Alabama and lone-game lead on fifth-place Georgia and Arkansas in the league standings. ... LSU is on a five-game losing, with its lone league win coming against last-place Missouri, still winless in SEC play. ... The Tigers lead the all-time series 63-44. The two teams split their games last year, each winning on home floors. UF got a 68-62 victory early in conference season, then lost 96-91 late. In the latter, freshman guard Antonio Blakeney scored a career-high 32 points, while forward Ben Simmons, the eventual No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, went for 22 points and 11 rebounds. The Gators, who scored 62 second-half points in defeat, got 22 points from center John Egbunu, another 16 from point guard Kasey Hill, plus 14 points and seven rebounds from forward Dorian Finney-Smith.

STARTERS (Probable Lineups)

Florida	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Class	Per Game
Devin Robinson	F	6-8	200	Junior	11.3 pts / 5.4 reb
Justin Leon	F	6-8	206	Senior	6.3 pts / 3.2 reb
John Egbunu	C	6-1	250	R-Junior	7.5 pts / 6.8 reb
KeVaughn Allen	G	6-2	183	Sophomore	14.0 pts / 2.3 reb
Kasey Hill	PG	6-1	175	Senior	9.3 pts / 4.8 asts

LSU	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Class	Per Game
Duop Reath	F	6-10	235	Junior	13.8 pts / 6.2 reb
Aaron Epps	F	6-10	220	Junior	6.5 pts / 5.1 reb
Antonio Blakeney	G	6-4	197	Sophomore	16.7 pts / 5.1 reb
Skylar Mays	PG	6-4	205	Freshman	7.2 pts / 3.9 asts
Jalyn Patterson	G	6-1	191	Junior	6.1 pts / 3.7 reb

STANDING OUT (One to Watch)

**Antonio Blakeney** was a McDonald's All-American, the Class 8A Player of the Year and 2015 Florida "Mr. Basketball" at Orlando Oak Ridge High, where he averaged nearly 30 points and seven rebounds per game. He started 24 of 33 games last season on his way to being named to the SEC All-Freshman Team. Blakeney toyed with the idea of putting his name in the NBA Draft pool, but opted instead to return for his sophomore season and, clearly, is the go-to guy on a team that can score, but more often than not gets scored upon. A lot. Blakeney is shooting better than 47 percent from the floor and 36 from 3-point range, where he is capable of throwing in three or four in a row. If Florida defends the 3-point against Blakeney like it did against Vandy, the LSU guard could have a big night.

STUFF (Need-to-Know Info)

ABOUT THE GATORS: This one is about stopping the bleeding. The Tigers would seem like a convenient candidate to do that, except for the fact the Gators just lost to a team that was reeling on a losing skid and floating around the bottom of the SEC standings; at home, no less. ... After putting up some decent offensive numbers most of the season and hitting at least 70 points in all but one of its first 17 games, Florida has scored just 53 and 66 the last two outings, respectively. The former game was a road game at South Carolina, the No. 1 defensive team in the nation. The Tigers are nothing like the Gamecocks on defense. Quite the opposite, actually, but Vanderbilt wasn't a great defensive team, either. ... Sophomore guard KeVaughn Allen broke out of his three-game cold snap against Vandy by pouring in a season-high 29 in defeat. He needed that. His team needed that. Unfortunately for the Gators, none of his teammates followed suit. The closest was forward Devin Robinson, who went for 12 points and six rebounds. Robinson, though, has hit just three of his last 20 attempts from the beyond the 3-point line (15 percent), dating to the start of SEC play. He's playing harder, though, than in the past. The challenge with Robinson is to match the physicality being put to him. ... Center John Egbunu had six turnovers against the Commodores. UF needs production in the post, but Egbunu doesn't have to seek it just because he gets an entry pass; and he's reverted back to the habit of over-dribbling on the block when he needs either to go up strong or kick the ball out. ... Egbunu wasn't the only player too loose with the ball. Hill had four turnovers from the point guard spot. ... Backup forward Canyon Barry (12.4 ppg, 3.3 rpg) is questionable after hurting his ankle in practice Monday. If Barry's absent in a game that turns high-scoring, that's a concern. ... Speaking of reserves, after scoring 14 and a career-best 17 in consecutive games, backup forward Keith Stone has one point the last two games. ... ABOUT THE TIGERS: It's the fifth season for Coach Johnny Jones, who's 89-60 in that time, with one NCAA Tournament appearance (2015). The five-game losing streak looks like this: Mississippi State, at Texas A&M, Alabama, at Auburn and at Arkansas. ... LSU ranks last in the league in scoring defense (79.5 ppg), scoring margin (minus-3.4), field-goal percentage defense (.454) and free throws made per game (12.1). Since SEC play began, four of the Tigers' seven opponents have scored at least 92 points, including a 99-86 loss at Arkansas on Saturday. In SEC play, LSU is giving up 88.3 points per game. ... After Blakeney, forward Duop Reath, who leads the team in field-goal percentage (.543), is the only other starter who averages in double figures, but guard Brandon Sampson III (10.8 ppg, 48.8 percent from the floor) is a capable scorer in reserve. ... According to RPI numbers, LSU's best wins this season have come against Charleston (64th), Houston (66th) and Texas Southern (87th).

STATS (Some Numbers of Note)

* 3.1 — SEC scoring average of UF junior guard Chris Chiozza, who is struggling to find some rhythm on the floor; probably even pressing some. Chiozza only played 14 minutes against Vandy.

* 4 — LSU players who have scored at least 22 points in a game this season (Blakeney, Reath, Sampson and Skylar Mays). UF has just two players who have hit at least 22 in a game (Allen and Barry).

* 8 — Points from the UF bench in the loss to Vandy after 36.0 the previous three games, including 51 against Georgia.

* 11 — Average minutes logged the last two games by sophomore center Kevarrius Hayes, who started the previous seven for the Gators, all of them wins. Hayes has had some issues on defense and holding his ground in the post that have kept him off the floor in favor of Egbunu.

* 66.1 — UF's free-throw percentage in SEC play. It's hurt the Gators the last two games.

STATEMENT (Random thought)

One of these days, Florida will open a half (preferably both halves) on point and on edge. This would be a good place to start.

Gators Calendar

Pregame Stuff: No. 25 Florida at LSU (Wednesday, 9 pm)

Players Mentioned

KeVaughn Allen

Canyon Barry

Chris Chiozza

John Egbunu

Dorian Finney-Smith

Kevarrius Hayes

Kasey Hill

Justin Leon

Devin Robinson

Keith Stone

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Pregame Stuff: No. 25 Florida at LSU (Wednesday, 9 pm)

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Players Mentioned

KeVaughn Allen

Canyon Barry

Chris Chiozza

John Egbunu

Dorian Finney-Smith

Kevarrius Hayes

Kasey Hill

Justin Leon

Devin Robinson

Keith Stone

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