Pregame Stuff: No. 13 Florida vs South Carolina (Tuesday, 7 pm)

Monday, February 20, 2017 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry

A nuts and bolts look at UF's big SEC home game against the Gamecocks.

By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer

No. 13 FLORIDA vs SOUTH CAROLINA

When: Friday, 7 p.m. (ET)
Where: Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center, Gainesville, Fla.
Records: Florida 22-5 (12-2); South Carolina 20-7 (10-4)
TV: ESPN (Joe Tessitore, Sean Farnham and Kaylee Hartung)
Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network (Mick Hubert and Mark Wise)

STAKES (The Setup)

A week ago, Florida and South Carolina were part of a three-way tie atop the Southeastern Conference standings, along with Kentucky. The Gators and Wildcats did their part in holding serve, with UF winning a pair of games on the road. The Gamecocks, though, lost at home to surging Arkansas and again Saturday night at Vanderbilt to fall two games back. USC has lost three of its last four. ... With a win, UF can can clinch no worse than a bye into Friday's quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament, based on tiebreakers. ... Florida won last Tuesday night at Auburn by scoring an SEC-record 114 points, then survived Saturday at Mississippi State with just 57 points behind yet another terrific defensive display. This game definitely will play more toward the latter, given a Gamecocks' defense that ranks first in the SEC. ... It was that South Carolina defense that stifled UF in the Gamecocks' 57-53 win at Columbia on Jan. 18, as the Gators went scoreless (0-for-17) from the 3-point line for the first time in 25 years and converted just 35.2 percent from the floor. Forward Canyon Barry led the Gators with 13 points off the bench, with Kasey Hill adding 11 points and four steals, but the Gamecocks got 21 from Sindarius Thornwell, including a 9-for-13 effort from the free-throw line. ... Florida leads the all-time series 43-24, with a 20-7 mark at home. ... Coach Mike White is 0-2 against the Gamecocks, both games on the road.

STARTERS (Probable Lineups)

Florida	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Class	Per Game
Devin Robinson	F	6-8	200	Junior	11.1 pts / 5.8 reb
Justin Leon	F	6-8	206	Senior	7.1pts / 3.9 reb
Kevarrius Hayes	C	6-9	220	Sophomore	6.3 pts / 4.0 reb / 1.7 blx
KeVaughn Allen	G	6-2	183	Sophomore	13.1 pts / 2.5 reb
Kasey Hill	PG	6-1	175	Senior	9.7 pts / 3.0 reb / 5.0 asts

South Carolina	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Class	Per Game
Malik Kostar	F	6-10	245	Freshman	6.2 pts / 5.3 reb
Chris Silva	F	6-9	223	Sophomore	10.1 pts / 5.9 reb / 1/7 blx
Sindarius Thornwell	G	6-5	211	Senior	21.1 pts / 7.3 reb
Duane Notice	G	6-2	215	Senior	10.2 pts / 2.4 reb
P.J. Dozier	G	6-6	205	Sophomore	13.8 pts / 4.5 reb

STANDING OUT (One to Watch)

**Sindarius Thornwell** appeared in this space in advance of the first meeting and could easily been afforded rerun status as part of the setup for this one, but sophomore guard **P.J. Dozier** is an X-factor for the Gamecocks and a guy who could make a difference because of his size, length and skill set. Dozier missed one game this season and that was at Kentucky, which turned out to be USC's first loss and the only game they've not been competitive during SEC play. The hometown boy from Columbia and McDonald's All-American went just 2-for-9 in the first game against the Gators, but his driving field goal late helped the Gamecocks ice a big win. He's currently shooting 41 percent from the floor and 36 from the 3-point line and is capable of going into an opponent's gym and putting up numbers; like the 24 he got in a win at Georgia; or the 15 three nights ago in the loss at Vandy. And if the Gators' guards are loose or careless with ball, Dozier can get in passing lanes or get tips that lead to steals and transition opportunities.

STUFF (Need-to-Know Info)

ABOUT THE GATORS: Already down their starting center (John Egbunu/knee) for the season, plus their reserve center (Gorjok Gak/foot) for up to two weeks, UF will have to wait for Tuesday's shoot-around and pregame warmups to determine the status of Barry, the backup forward and team's leading scorer, who rolled his ankle late in the game at Mississippi State. Barry (13.2 ppg) did not return to the game, did not practice Sunday or Monday. His 3-point shooting (.356) and team-best free-throw percentage (.899) would be sorely missed against a defense as stingy as the Gamecocks when points will be hard to come by anyway. ... Sophomore center Kevarrius Hayes stepped into Egbunu's spot and was magnificent against the Bulldogs, finishing with eight points, a career-high 10 rebounds and four blocked shots. Hayes made the go-ahead basket with just under two minutes left in the game and blocked a game-tying shot with 24 seconds remaining. ... Hill and Chris Chiozza, UF's best handlers, played too loose with the ball against MSU, combining for nine turnovers. Possessions are sacred against the Gamecocks, who not only want to dictate (slow) pace, but make it hard on teams to score. ... Shooting guard KeVaughn Allen went 4-for-12 last game and missed all five of his shots after halftime, but played with an aggression the Gators need. ... Forward Devin Robinson went 0-for-6 in the game, but also grabbed 10 rebounds, equalling the most of his career against an SEC foe. He's hit double figures in just one of his previous four games. ... Despite the 16 turnovers last time out, the Gators still lead the league in turnovers per game at just 11.9. Their turnover margin of plus-3.7 ranks second. ... ABOUT THE GAMECOCKS: They're headed for the first NCAA Tournament berth under Coach Frank Martin, now 90-70 in five seasons at USC. Obviously, this is his best team, thanks to a defense that is first in the league in scoring (64.1 ppg), field-goal percentage (.394), 3-point percentage (.285, which ranks second in the nation) and in Thornwell has the favorite for SEC Player of the Year. ... Thornwell has been sensational at both ends of the floor, be it scoring a career-high 44 in a four-overtime loss against Alabama and or being the straw that stirs the Gamecocks' defensive drink with 47 steals this season. In addition to scoring more than 21 points and grabbing seven-plus boards a game, Thornwell is hitting 44 percent from the floor, 41 from the 3-point line and 83 from the free-throw line, where he visited a league-record 33 times in the Alabama marathon. If USC can beat UF on the road, he'll be the biggest factor. ... Thornwell is one of four Gamecocks averaging in double figures. Four guys have at least 20 makes from the 3-point line, with backup guards Rakym Felder (5.4 ppg) and Justin McKie (4.9 pg) capable of coming off the bench and being difference-makers. ... Power forward Chris Silva is a physical player who had 11 points and seven rebounds in just 18 minutes the first meeting.

STATS (Some Numbers of Note)

* minus-57 — Difference in point total from UF's first game to second last week; from 114 to 57. It marked the first time the Gators had won back-to-back SEC games where their point total in one game was 50 percent or less than the previous game. It was the seventh such occurance in team history and the first since 1966.

* 2 — Times the Gators have had two players register double-digit rebounds in the same SEC game this season: Chiozza (12) and Robinson (11) vs Missouri; Hayes (10) and Robinson (10) at Mississippi State.

* 14:12 — Time on the clock when the first points were scored (on a steal and layup by Hill) in the first meeting between the two teams. Neither team scored for nearly six minutes, missing all 12 field goals.

* 24 — Combined points for Robinson over the previous four games, with 14 of those coming at Auburn. In the other three games (at Georgia, Texas A&M, at Mississippi State), he went 4-for-20 from the floor.

* 2014 — The last year the Gamecocks played at the O'Dome. The Gators opened the SEC season -- and began that historic 21-0 roll against the league -- with a 74-58 win on Jan. 8 of that year.

STATEMENT (Random thought)

As difficult as these next two games will be -- South Carolina at home, followed by a road trip to Kentucky this weekend -- don't sell short what the Gators are looking at next week (at home against Arkansas, then the regular-season finale at Vanderbilt). Toughest finishing schedule in the SEC. And it's not even close.