Pregame Stuff: Tennessee at No. 24 Florida (Saturday), 5:15 p.m.

Saturday, January 7

Gainesville, FL

5:15 PM

Florida Gators

Tennessee

Tickets

Pregame Stuff: Tennessee at No. 24 Florida (Saturday), 5:15 p.m.

Friday, January 6, 2017 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry

A nuts and bolts look at the Gators' SEC showdown vs the Volunteers.

By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer

TENNESSEE at No. 24 FLORIDA

When: Saturday, 5:15 p.m. (ET)
Where: Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center, Gainesville, Fla.
Records: Florida 11-3 (2-0), Tennessee 8-6 (1-1)
TV: ESPN2 (Tom Hart and Dick Vitale)
Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network (Mick Hubert and Mark Wise)

STAKES (The Setup)

This time Saturday. ???????? pic.twitter.com/8w1D4bXPvh
— Gators M-Basketball (@GatorsMBK) January 4, 2017

Get ready to get your black on, Gator fans. For the first time in nearly seven years, Florida's basketball team will wear black uniforms in a game -- complete with slick black shoes -- while everyone in Exactech Arena will get a black T-shirt to don for the first O'Dome "black out." Should be a cool look, but of far greater significance for the Gators is a chance to go 3-0 in Southeastern Conference play. ... UF has won four straight after tipping off league play with a big road win at Arkansas last week, then following it up with a 70-63 victory over Ole Miss in its conference home opener Tuesday night. Enter Tennessee, which has six losses, but has played one of the toughest schedules in the country. ... The Volunteers lead the all-time series 73-56, including an 83-69 clubbing in Knoxville, Tenn., last season that marked the low point of Coach Mike White's first season at Florida. The Gators were absolutely manhandled in that game, falling behind 53-31 at halftime, as the Vols got 26 points from guard Kevin Punter, shot 47 percent from the floor (to UF's 34) and had four players with at least seven rebounds. Florida got a double-double from forward Dorian Finney-Smith (12 points, 11 rebounds) and 18 points from guard KeVaughn Allen, but the Gators were never in the game.

STARTERS (Probable Lineups)

Florida	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Class	Per Game
Devin Robinson	F	6-8	200	Junior	12.6 pts / 5.5 reb
Justin Leon	F	6-8	206	Senior	6.4 pts / 3.2 reb
Kevarrius Hayes	C	6-9	220	Sophomore	5.6 pts / 4.0 reb
KeVaughn Allen	G	6-2	183	Sophomore	14.1 pts / 2.4 reb
Kasey Hill	PG	6-1	175	Senior	9.3 pts / 3.0 reb / 4.9 asts

Tennessee	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Class	Per Game
Grant Williams	F	6-5	234	Freshman	10.8 pts / 5.9 reb / 2.1 blx
Kyle Alexander	G	6-10	218	Sophomore	3.6 pts / 3.7 reb
Robert Hubbs III	G	6-5	207	Senior	15.2 ptsv/ 4.8 reb
Jordan Bowden	G	6-3	180	Freshman	7.6 pts / 2.9 reb
Lamonte Turner	G	6-0	187	R-Freshman	9.4 pts / 2.1 reb / 2.7 asts

STANDING OUT (One to Watch)

He is only 6-5 and 207 pounds, but **Robert Hubbs III** is a high-motor killer, as the Gators found out the hard way last season when he beasted them for 12 points and nine rebounds in 32 minutes. Hubbs plays much bigger than his actually size, mainly because there is so much fight in his mentality. He's not graced with a lot of basketball skills and doesn't shoot the 3-ball well (just 2-for-13 this season), but he works tirelessly around the basket, tipping balls that teammates grab for second-chance opportunities or just bullying guys on the glass. The Vols take their cue from him.

STUFF (Miscellaneous Info)

ABOUT THE GATORS: They'd feel a lot better about being starting 2-0 in the league had they finished the Ole Miss game better. Actually, the same can be said about the win at Arkansas Dec. 29. In both games, UF was cruising to potential blowout wins -- up 16 with three minutes left against the Razorbacks, only to win by nine; up 20 with 11 minutes to go against the Rebels, then by 16 with just over three minutes left, only to win by seven -- and got careless with the ball, took a couple poor shots and got loose defensively. Better to see those things happen in wins, certainly, but White continues to remind his players about consistency. ... Backup forward Canyon Barry emerged from something of a shooting slump against the Rebels, finishing with a team-high 20 points, including a trio of 3-pointers. He's still at just 28.8 percent from yonder, but working on it every day. .... Allen continues to blossom in his role as a go-to scorer, mainly because his confidence is very high right now. It's evident in his body language. He's averaging just 11.2 field-goal attempts per game, but he's taken at least seven 3-pointers in each of the last four games, after attempting that many just three times in the first 10 games. Get this: Over his last three games, Allen is 14 of 23 from deep (60.9 percent). ... Point guard Kasey Hill became the first UF player since Nick Calathes (vs Creighton in 2008 NIT) to score at least eight points, grab five rebounds, dish five assists and make five steals in a game. Beyond Hill's line of 8-5-5-6, though, were five turnovers. He needs to reign those in (just like he does a few early shot-clock field-goal attempts), but he also needs to maintain the elite defensive level that is the centerpiece of what the Gators are doing, be it hall-court or full-court pressure. UF is second in the SEC in steals at 8.1 per game. That goes to Hill and his on-ball pressure. .... ABOUT THE VOLUNTEERS: UT is 23-25 in its second season under Coach Rick Barnes. The first season was a disaster, with the Vols dismissing their best player, Punter, early in the league season and finishing 14-15 overall and 6-12 in the league. ... This is an undersized bunch, but so was the one that destroyed the Gators last season and basically neutralized whatever advantages the Gators had with height and length by just playing harder. ... UT's non-conference losses came against UT-Chattanooga, Wisconsin, Oregon, Gonzaga and a down-to-the-wire setback at North Carolina all likely NCAA Tournament teams. ... After Hubbs, Grant Williams is the next difference-maker who has made his mark as a freshman by shooting 56 percent from the floor and blocking a team-high 29 shots. ... The Vols have a pair of reserves in 6-1 guard Admiral Schofield and 6-4 forward Detrick Mostella who bring a lot of the junkyard traits along the lines of Hubbs. Schofield had 17 points and eight rebounds against the Gators last season. Mostella is averaging double figures (10.6 points) and hitting 36 percent from 3.

STATS (Some Numbers of Note)

* minus-19.6 — Florida's free-throw percentage difference in SEC play vs non-conference play. The Gators were 74.4 in 11 games before the start of league play, but are just 23-for-42 in two SEC games (54.8 percent). To put it mildly, that latter number is unsustainable.

* .444 — UF's winning percentage, based on an 8-10 record, when wearing black uniforms. The Gators have lost eight of the last nine in black, with the lone victory coming against Auburn in 2009.

* 1.000 — UF's winning percentage when sophomore center Kevarrius Hayes has been in the starting lineup this season, based on a 4-0 record. Throw in last season's six starts and UF is 8-2 (.800) with Hayes in the first five. In four starts this season, Hayes is averaging 8.8 points, 6.0 rebounds and shooting 76.5 percent from the floor.

* 2000 — The first time the Gators wore black uniforms. The date was Jan. 18 and and No. 9 UF, led by the likes of Mike Miller and Teddy Dupay, were defeated 81-79 in an epic double-overtime battle by the Vols, who got big games from forwards C.J Black and Vince Yarborough, plus point guard Tony Harris. That UF team went to reach the NCAA title game.

* 10,151 — Seating capacity in the O'Dome, which will be filled for the UT-UF game. It officially became asellout Wednesday.

STATEMENT (Random thought)

Based on Twitter and message board feedback, there are mixed reviews on the black uniforms, with old-schoolers dead-set against them. Bottom line: Players love them (and love to switch it up). Hey, it's not like we're Oregon here, with dozens of uniform combos. This is the first time UF has gone with a non-traditional look since the Gators went to the gray Nike Elite scheme in 2012 against Tennessee -- ala Bradley Beal and friends -- and yes, the Gators lost that one, too. Color schemes don't win or lose games, though. Made shots and defense do.