Pregame Stuff: Baylor at Florida (Saturday, noon)

Friday, January 26, 2018 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry

A nuts and bolts look at UF's date in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge

By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer

SEC/BIG 12 CHALLENGE
BAYLOR AT FLORIDA

When: Saturday, noon (EST)
Where: Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center, Gainesville, Fla.
Records: Florida (14-6), Baylor (12-7)
TV: ESPN (Bob Wischusen, Dick Vitale and Allison Williams)
Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network (Mick Hubert and Mark Wise) and ESPN Radio (Dave Lamont and Bob Valvano)

STAKES (The Setup)

Florida suffered a disappointing 77-72 home defeat Wednesday night against South Carolina, but before climbing back on the Southeastern Conference horse, the Gators get Baylor in the opening game of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, a 10-game ESPN-created (and televised) event that will last nine solid hours Saturday. ... Baylor is coming off a 90-83 home loss to league foe Kansas State, the latest setback in the team's early struggles in the Big 12. ... UF is 3-1 in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, having won at home against Kansas in 2013 and lost on the road at Kansas in '14, then beating West Virginia at home in '16 and Oklahoma in resounding fashion on the road, 84-52, last Jan. 28. ... Baylor is the only team from either conference that is unbeaten in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge at 4-0, with wins over Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, Georgia and Kentucky. ... Florida coach Mike White is 2-0 in Challenge games. ... The Gators and Bears have met just once, though never on campus. Florida and Baylor played Dec. 30, 1981 in the Cabrillo Classic, a Christmas-season tournament hosted by San Diego State in conjunction with the Holiday Bowl. The Bears won 72-71, despite 26 points and 10 rebounds from sophomore Ronnie Williams, as well nine points and 10 rebounds from freshman Eugene McDowell.

STARTERS (Probable Lineups)

Florida	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Class	Per Game
Egor Koulechov	F	6-5	205	G-Transfer	14.5 pts / 7.2 reb
Keith Stone	F	6-8	245	R-Sophomore	8.1 pts / 3.9 reb
Kevarrius Hayes	C	6-9	225	Junior	5.4 pts / 5.5 reb
KeVaughn Allen	G	6-2	193	Junior	11.5 pts / 2.3 reb
Chris Chiozza	PG	6-0	180	Senior	12.2 pts / 4.2 reb / 6.1 ast

Baylor	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Class	Per Game
Jo Lual-Acuil Jr.	F	7-0	225	Senior	15.3 pts / 9.4 reb
Tristan Clark	F	6-9	240	Freshman	8.6 pts / 5.9 reb
Mark Vital	G	6-5	230	Freshman	7.2 pts / 5.3 reb
Manu Lecomte	G	5-11	175	Senior	16.6 pts / 3.4 ast
King McClure	G	6-3	215	Junior	9.8 pts / 2.7 reb

STANDING OUT (One to Watch)

Baylor forward **Jo Lual-Acuil Jr.** (pronounced "LOO-ahl ah-CHU-ill") will be one of the most intimidating players the Gators face this season. He goes 7 feet and a rangy 225, but the wingspan is closer to 7-6. The native of Melbourne, Australia, was once the No. 1-rated junior college prospect in the nation at Neosho County Community College in Chanute, Kan. He signed with Baylor in 2015, but sat out his first season as a medical redshirt and was granted a sixth year of eligibility, so he's only a junior. Last season, as a Division I rookie, Lual-Acuil was named to the All-Defensive and All-Newcomer teams in the Big 12 after averaging 9.2 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots. He's increased those first two numbers as a junior, as the team's second-leading scorer (15.3 ppg) and top rebounder (9.2 pg), while shooting 51 percent from the floor, with 37 blocks. He had 28 points and 11 boards against Texas Tech, as well as 31 and 20 against Savannah State, part of run of nine double-doubles this season. As if the undermanned, undersized Gators don't have enough issues in the front court, Lual-Acuil presents a serious problem as far as driving the ball and getting any clean looks in the lane. And good luck, fellas, when he comes with help-side defense.

STUFF (Need-to-Know Info)

ABOUT THE GATORS: They've had poor shooting nights in back-to-back games. The rub of that is, the Gators happened to win the first -- against Kentucky, on the road, of all places -- only to return home and lay a second straight offensive egg by missing 17 of 23 shots (26 percent) from the 3-point line. The bigger sin of that one, however, was what UF allowed South Carolina to do from the arc. The Gamecocks were one of the least regarded deep-ball teams in the league, but they shredded UF for 11-for-21 marksmanship (52.4 percent), which was a season's high. Only once this season had USC shot better than 43.5 percent. There's a reason UF ranks last in the SEC in defending the 3-point line, both overall (.378) and in league play (.413). ... Florida leads the SEC in turnover margin (plus-4.5), ranks second in free-throw percentage (.763) and, despite its recent woes in 3-pointers per game (9.6), sits third in scoring offense (80.7), scoring margin (plus-8.3), steals per game (7.2) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.4). ... UF's leading scorers, backup guard Jalen Hudson (16.5 ppg) and forward Egor Koulechov, combined to go 12-for-23 against the Gamecocks, but just three of 10 from the 3-point line. The rest of the team went 12-for-33 and 3-for-13, respectively. ... Point guard Chris Chiozza made just two of his seven shots Wednesday, but had eight assists and just one turnover. ... Guard KeVaughn Allen, after a run of seven straight games taking less than 10 shots, has averaged 14.3 shots the last three games. One of the best free-throw shooters in the country at 90 percent, Allen needs to take that aggression into the lane and get to the line more often. ... Center Kevarrius Hayes has averaged 7.3 rebounds over his last three games. ... Forward Keith Stone had a really tough night against South Carolina: 2 points, 2 rebounds, 0-for-2 from the line. His size and girth could be a crucial factor against the big, bad Bears. ... Their minutes have been limited, but neither reserve guards Mike Okauru or Deaundrae Ballard have scored in the last two games. Redshirt freshman Dontay Bassett, however, came off the bench for a career-high

nine points against the Gamecocks and figures to get more minutes as UF looks for production in the injury-sacked front court. ... ABOUT THE BEARS: Coach Scott Drew, the older brother of Vanderbilt coach Bryce Drew, is in his 13th season at Baylor, where he's amassed a record of 289-188, with seven NCAA Tournament berths (including two runs to the Elite Eight). He also has taken the program to the NIT, where the Bears finished second in 2009 and won it in 2013. Last season, Baylor won 27 games, got a No. 3 seed in the NCAA East Region, but was eliminated in the Sweet 16 by South Carolina. ... After going 10-2 against a mostly weak non-conference schedule (compiling seven wins over teams currently ranked from 222 to 349 in the Rating Percentage Index), the Bears have struggled in Big 12 play, losing four of their last five. Though they acquitted themselves admirably in a tough 70-67 loss at Kansas last weekend, the Bears were thoroughly outplayed at home Monday night by Kansas State in falling 90-83. Baylor's best win this season, by RPI standards, was a neutral-site defeat of Creighton. ... The Bears are shooting 47.5 percent as a team, including 36.0 from the 3-point line. They defend at 40.8 percent overall and 34 percent from deep, and enjoy a fat plus-7.7 rebounding margin, which leads the Big 12. ... Point guard and leading scorer Manu Lecomte, out of Brussels, Belgium, is in his second season since transferring from Miami, where he played two years as a solid reserve behind Gator-killer Angel Rodriguez. Lecomte is averaging nearly 34 minutes per game, shooting 40.4 percent from the floor, 39.2 from deep and 90.4 from the free-throw line. Half the game, he'll slide to the shooting guard spot and backup Jake Lindsey will run the offense. Lindsey has a team-best 69 assists to Lecomte's 64. If those assist numbers don't seem high, it's because the team is prone to turnovers, with a minus-2.1 ratio that ranks last in the league. ... In Big 12 play, Baylor ranks last in 3-point shooting percentage (.287) and 3s per game (4.9), but that will mean little against UF and its generous defense around the arc. Forward King McClure (39 percent) and guard Nuni Omot (40 percent) are both capable long-range shooters, if given open windows.

STATS (Some Numbers of Note)

* .375 — SEC's winning percentage in the previous four SEC/Big 12 Challenge events, based on a 15-25 record. The SEC's best showing was a 5-5 standoff in 2017.

* .750 — UF's winning percentage in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, based on its 3-1 record. That's the best percentage in the league among teams that have played in the event more than once (Auburn is 1-0).

* 8.3 — Assists to to every one of Chiozza's turnovers over the previous three games, based on his 25 assists and just three giveaways.

* 37 — Florida's spot in the RPI, as of Friday morning. After working their way up to 23rd, the Gators tumbled 14 places after the loss to South Carolina.

* 317 — Where UF ranks nationally in 3-point defense, out of 351 Division I programs.

STATEMENT (Random thought)

Baylor's record in Big 12 play may not look so good, but Florida has shown it can struggle on both ends of the floor against anyone. The UF fans have done their part this season -- and have for this game, which has been sold out for weeks. Time for the Gators to give their crowd something to really cheer about.