Pregame Stuff: No. 12 Florida at Vanderbilt (Saturday, 2 pm)
Friday, March 3, 2017 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
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A nuts and bolts look at UF's regular-season finale at Nashville.
By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
FLORIDA at VANDERBILT
When: Saturday, 2 p.m. (ET) Where: Memorial Gymnasium, Nashville, Tenn. Records: Florida 24-6 (14-3); Vanderbilt 16-14 (9-8). TV: ESPN Network (Tom Hart and Kara Lawson) Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network (Mick Hubert and Bill Koss)
STAKES (The Setup)
Memorial Gymnasium
The final regular-season game for both teams, with Florida comfortably in position for its first NCAA Tournament berth in three years, while Vanderbilt is looking to bolster its postseason resume by sweeping the season series. ... The Gators have won 10 of their last 11, most recently Wednesday night's 78-65 home win against Arkansas that locked up the No. 2 seed in next week's Southeastern Conference Tournament. UF has an outside shot at a share of the league's regular-season title, but only with a win at Vandy coupled with a Kentucky loss at Texas A&M earlier in the day. ... Vanderbilt has played itself into the NCAA conversation by virtue of a strong late-season run and one of the toughest schedules in the country. The Commodores had won four straight before losing Tuesday night a Kentucky, a game they led by 19 points in the first half, only to fall victim to a slew of Rupp Arena runs by the home team and undermine their hopes with too many turnovers. A win Saturday will give Vandy a winning record in league play and two wins over the Gators, who currently rank third in the Ratings Percentage Index, behind only Villanova and Kansas. ... The Commodores defeated the Gators 68-66 on Jan. 21 behind a barrage of solid 3-point shooting from their best players (see below). ... Vandy leads the all-time series 68-63, including a 46-17 edge at historic Memorial, where the Gators have dropped three of the previous four, including last year's 60-59 defeat. ... UF coach Mike White is winless against Vanderbilt (0-3).
He's merely the best 3-point shooter in the SEC. His name may not show up in the league statistics because Riley LaChance does not have enough attempts to qualify for the "All Games" category, but he's 58-for-118 overall from distance, good for 49.2 percent. LaChance does show in the "Conference Games" stats at 44.7 percent, based on his 34-for-76 marksmanship. The Gators, of course, saw it up close in the first meeting when LaChance went 3-for-4 from the arc for 11 points and five assists in the Commodores' win at the O'Connell Center. As Vandy's playmaker, he's solid with the ball (120 assists, just 56 turnovers) and he's killer in late-game situations as an 85-percent free-throw shooter. UF has played tremendous defense for most of the season, but some the Gators' most egregious mistakes have occurred when losing sharp-shooters on switches and in transition. It happened against Vandy and LaChance made them pay. He'll do so at home if the Gators let him.
STUFF (Need-to-Know Info)
UF coach Mike White huddles with guards Kasey Hill (middle) and Chris Chiozza.ABOUT THE GATORS: Their nine-game winning streak was snapped last weekend at Kentucky, but they bounced back Wednesday against an Arkansas team that was trying to overtake UF for second place in the league standings. The Gators weren't great in that one, but the defense was solid for three-quarters of the night and UF exhibited the scoring balance that's been a trait of its SEC campaign. ... Florida ranks fourth in the league in field-goal percentage defense (.406) and second in 3-point percentage defense (.305) and will need that second stat to come into play against one of the nation's best long-range shooting teams. ... Senior forward Canyon Barry (12.4 ppg) scored 14 points against the Razorbacks after combining for only three the previous two games while trying to play through an ankle sprain. ... Shooting guard KeVaughn Allen has come out on fire in each of the last three games. He combined for 50 points in the first two (South Carolina and Kentucky), then hit four of his first five shots to help build a double-digit lead against the Hogs. Over those previous three games, Allen has hit 19 of his 30 field-goal attempts and gone 10 of 19 from the 3-point line. ... Center Kevarrius Hayeshad six points, eight rebounds and three blocks against Arkansas and figures prominently against Vandy because of the necessity to locate the Commodores' frontcourt players -- all of them 3-point shooting threats -- in transition. ... Whether it's Kasey Hillor Chris Chiozza (6.8 ppg, 3.7 apg) handling the ball, they need to be secure with it. Not because the Commodores are lightning-fast getting up the floor, but because of the aforementioned transition factor. They're looking for 3s when the floor is spread. ... Forward Devin Robinson had a quiet eight points and seven rebounds against Arkansas and has now grabbed at least six boards in each of the five games since center John Egbunu went down with a season-ending knee injury. ... ABOUT THE COMMODORES: They got off to a slow start in Coach Bryce Drew's first season after jumping from Valparaiso. The Commodores were 8-10 and mired in a four-game SEC losing streak when they came to Gainesville and upset the Gators in January. They're 8-4 in conference play since, including home losses against Arkansas and Ole Miss. ... Vandy ranks No. 1 in the SEC in 3-point shooting percentage (.384, which is also 10th nationally) and 3-point makes per game (10.1). The Commodores have seven players who have made at least 22 treys, five with at least 32 and three with at least 49. Those three -- forward Luke Kornet and guards Matthew Fisher-Davis and LaChance -- killed the Gators in the first meeting when they combined to go 9-for-18 from deep. ... Kornet is one of the toughest matchups in the country. Last week, he became the most prolific 7-footer from the 3-point line in NCAA history. He now has 127 for his career, including 49 this season (at 35.5 percent). Because he also rebounds and blocks shots at a high level, Kornet can really stress a defense. ... Fisher-Davis is an athletic wing who can score at all three levels, including 38.1 percent from the 3-point line. His 74 makes from the arc lead the team. ... Jeff Roberson is a workhorse on the glass, who beat the Gators up pretty good last season, including a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds in a late-season win at the O'Dome that proved a big blow to UF's postseason hopes. ... Backup senior guard Nolan Cressler (7.8 ppg, 4.0 rpg) is an X-factor guy who did his X-factor thing to the Gators in the first meeting with 10 points, four rebounds and two assists, including four points in the final 1:30 to help ice the game.
STATS (Some Numbers of Note)
Luke Kornet* plus-5 — Improvement in conference wins from last season to this season for the Gators. UF went 9-9 in SEC play in 2015-16, one of only three teams in the nation (along with Illinois State and Vermont) to post a five-win improvement in their league this year after finishing .500 or better last year.
* 10 — Blocked UF shots by Kornet last season. He had six in Nashville and four in Gainesville (he actually had 10 in a game against Auburn, as well). This season, Kornet has 62 blocks, which is 11 more than the rest of his teammates combined. His length and ability to stretch a defense with his 3-point shooting is why the 7-1 Kornet is being closely watched by NBA scouts this season.
* 45 — Wins for White at UF, which makes him just the seventh coach in SEC history to win 45 games in his first two seasons in the league. On Friday, White was named one of 10 semifinalists for Naismith National Coach of the Year.
* 77.2 — Vandy's team's free-throw percentage, which ranks first in the SEC and 12th in the country. Florida ranks fifth at 73.0.
* 100 — Career games for Chiozza, Barry and Robinson once each checks in Saturday.
STATEMENT (Random thought)
Some outstanding Florida teams have gone to Memorial and left disappointed, so the Gators -- yes, another outstanding version -- will have to play a stellar game to get out the Music City with a rare victory.
