Pregame Stuff: Florida vs James Madison (Wednesday, 7 pm)

FLORIDA vs JAMES MADISON

When: Wednesday, 7 p.m. (ET)
Where: Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center, Gainesville, Fla.
Records: Florida 6-4, James Madison 4-8
TV: SEC Network (Tom Hart and Sean Farnham)
Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network (Mick Hubert and Mark Wise)

STAKES (The Setup)

This time last week, the Gators were feeling much better about themselves after ending a three-game losing streak with a gutty win over a ranked Cincinnati team on a neutral floor in New Jersey. Whatever goodwill that victory engendered evaporated one week later when UF blew a nine-point lead in the final five minutes Saturday against Clemson and lost 71-69 in the Orange Bowl Classic at Sunrise. In that one, the Gators clanged nine of their last 10 shots and, defensively, either gave up straight-line drives into the paint or fouled too much and put the Tigers at the free-throw line. The result was a fourth loss in five games and back to the drawing board for the Florida coaches, as UF fell out of the Associated Press Top 25 for the first time this season. ... The date with James Madison is one of two before the Gators close out their pre-Southeastern Conference schedule and enter the holiday break, with a quick-turnaround game Friday night against Incarnate Word. ... UF and JMU will meet for the fourth time, with the Gators holding a 2-1 series edge that includes some significant history. The last time the Gators and Dukes met was in first-round play of the 1994 NCAA Tournament at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y., where Florida escaped with a 64-62 win behind guard Dan Cross (16 points) and Craig Brown (15 points), as well as a solid front-line game from forward Andrew DeClercq (6 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks). It was a driving layup by Cross with just over seven seconds left that proved the difference and ultimately launched a run to the first Final Four in program history. ... JMU plays out of the Colonial Athletic Association. UF is 9-3 all-time against teams from the CAA, with UF coach Mike White set for his first crack at the league.

STARTERS (Probable Lineups)

Florida	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Class	Per Game
Egor Koulechov	F	6-5	205	G-Transfer	15.3 pts / 7.1 reb
Keith Stone	F	6-8	245	R-Sophomore	5.6 pts / 2.8 reb
Kevarrius Hayes	C	6-9	225	Junior	4.1 pts / 4.7 reb
KeVaughn Allen	G	6-2	193	Junior	11.8 pts / 2.8 reb
Chris Chiozza	PG	6-0	180	Senior	12.0 pts / 4.9 reb / 5.8 ast

JAMES MADISON	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Class	Per Game
DeVelle Phillips	F	6-9	210	Junior	8.9 pts / 8.3 reb
Ramone Snowden	F	6-6	230	Senior	6.1 pts / 4.3 reb
Stuckey Mosley	G	6-3	190	Junior	20.7 pts / 4.2 reb
Joey McLean	G	6-0	150	Senior	13.3 pts / 2.8 ast
Darius Banks	G	6-5	225	Freshman	9.0 pts / 2.3 reb

STANDING OUT (One to Watch)

Nearly three decades ago, **Louis Rowe** was a young forward who played two seasons for the Gators. Come Wednesday night, he'll be at a much different-looking O'Dome coaching James Madison, which became his alma mater after Rowe transferred there following his 1991-92 sophomore UF season. Rowe, out of St. Petersburg (Fla.) Lakewood High, was part of Coach **Lon Kruger's** first signing class and a key substitute for the '92 team that demolished No. 4 Kentucky (the one that infamously lost to **Christian Laettner**) and ended up reaching the semifinals of the NIT in New York. During his two UF seasons, Rowe appeared in 52 games (with six starts), averaged 3.4 points on nearly 41-percent shooting from the floor and 29 from the 3-point line, plus 1.7 rebounds. Eventually, his UF-to-JMU career would come full circle, as not only did he play against the Dukes as a Gator (see below), but also *against* the Gators in that aforementioned '94 NCAA Tournament game. In that one, Rowe went 0-for-4 from the floor and finished with three points, seven rebounds and three assists in 26 minutes. In two seasons with the Dukes, Rowe scored 1,055 points on 52.2-percent shooting, grabbed 315 rebounds and dished 177 assists. As a senior, he averaged 21.7 points, the fifth-highest in school history, and was named first-team All-CAA. Welcome back, Coach.

STUFF (Need-to-Know Info)

ABOUT THE GATORS: UF's November-versus-December trend continued in the loss to Clemson, as the Gators, for the fourth time in as many December games, failed to reach 70 points after averaging 99.5 in six games last month. Teams like New Hampshire and Florida State helped serve up a blueprint on how to defend the once-high-scoring Gators. Opponents now extend their defense, run shooters off the 3-point line and dare UF to match their physicality. At the other end, there's not much of a secret as far as attacking UF (or resistance, for that matter). The Gators tend to give up easy drives into the paint, struggle defending the post and are in the bottom 5 percent nationally in transition defense metrics. ... As the Florida coaches search for answers in a roster limited by injuries in the front court, don't be surprised to see another shakeup in the starting lineup against the Dukes. ... Guard Jalen Hudson (19.5 ppg) continues to lead Florida in scoring. He's shooting close to 51 percent from the floor and over 44 percent from the 3-point line, but the UF coaches are just as focused on the productive numbers players Hudson defends tend to put up. They want more from hi (much more) on that end. ... Forward Egor Koulechov began the season with scorching percentages from the arc, but is just six of his last 26 and down to 39.2 percent for the season. ... Guard KeVaughn Allen has hit double figures just once in the previous three games, made only 33 percent of his field goals (9-for-27) and seems unwilling to drive the ball. Allen, an 88.2-percent free-throw shooter, has attempted just three free throws the last three games (none against Clemson). ... Since going 0-for-5 against FSU, point guard Chris Chiozza has made 15 of his last 29 field-goal attempts, but his assists-to-turnover numbers show just 17-to-10, as his teammates struggle to hit shots. ... ABOUT THE DUKES:

They're 14-31 in Rowe's two seasons, having gone 10-23 in 2016-17, including a 7-11 mark in Colonial play. ... The Dukes opened the season with a win over Division III Bridgewater (Va.), but then dropped eight of the next 10, with their three Division-I wins coming against Appalachian State, Charlotte and Saturday night at Florida International. ... JMU's last four losses have all come by four points or less. ... James Madison is one of the youngest teams in the nation, in terms of returning minutes from last season's squad. Mississippi Valley State and Western Kentucky join JMU as the only other programs to return as few as two players from their rosters last season. ... The Dukes are averaging 76.2 points per game on 43.2-percent shooting, but giving up 76.7 on better than 46 percent, plus nearly 39 percent from the 3-point arc. They've routinely out-rebounded their opponents (plus-4.4), which should speak to their effort level in the paint, something that has been an on-going issue for the Gators this season. ... Guard Stuckey Mosley is shooting at a 45.7-percent clip overall and 45.8 from distance, with a team-best 38 long-ball makes. In the win over FIU, Mosley went for a season-high 28 points, with all but five coming in the second half, and was named Co-CAA Player of the Week. ... Forward DeVelle Phillips is averaging a team-best 8.3 rebounds per game, with just under half coming on the offensive end. His 3.73 offensive caroms per ranks in the NCAA's top 15. ... Backup freshman guard Matt Lewis is averaging 9.8 points off the bench and threw in a career-best 26 against Appalachian State.

STATS (Some Numbers of Note)

* .449 — Field-goal percentage of UF opponents over the last five games (four of them losses). While not completely atrocious, the Gators have shot just 39.8 percent over that same span, including 31 percent from the 3-point line.

* 1 — Power conference teams (Wisconsin) that have played a more difficult non-league schedule than Florida, according to KenPom.com ... not that that makes White feel any better.

* 20 — Consecutive free throws made by Koulechov, which marks the second streak of at least 20 straight makes from the stripe by a UF player this season. Allen hit 27 in a row at one point, the fifth-highest run in program history.

* 344 — JMU's place in the Ratings Percentage Index, as of Tuesday. RPI puts the Dukes' strength of schedule at 343rd (compared to 20th for UF).

* 1990 — The year the Gators actually played a true road game at James Madison (in a cracker-box gym on its tiny campus in Harrisonburg, Va.) and were absolutely destroyed, 93-66, from the tip to the final horn in just the fourth game under Kruger. That JMU team, like the one the Gators faced three seasons later in NCAA play, was coached by college basketball legend and Hall-of-Famer Lefty Driesell. Ironically, Rowe suited up for Florida in that '90 game (and later against Florida in the '94 NCAA game).

STATEMENT (Random thought)

Right now, the Gators need more than a win to jolt their morale; they need to shoot well and score a bunch of points. That's what seems to get them going ... much to the coaching staff's dismay.

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Pregame Stuff: Florida vs James Madison (Wednesday, 7 pm)

Players Mentioned

KeVaughn Allen

Chris Chiozza

Kevarrius Hayes

Jalen Hudson

Egor Koulechov

Keith Stone

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Pregame Stuff: Florida vs James Madison (Wednesday, 7 pm)

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