Pregame Stuff: No. 23 Florida at Georgia (Tuesday, 7 pm)
Monday, January 29, 2018 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
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A nuts and bolts look ahead at UF's next SEC game.
By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
No. 23 FLORIDA at GEORGIA
When: Tuesday, 7 p.m. (EST) Where: Stegeman Coliseum, Athens, Ga.. Records: Florida (15-6, 6-2); Georgia (12-8, 3-5) TV: SEC Network (Tom Hart and Jon Sundvold) Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network (Mick Hubert and Mark Wise)
STAKES (The Setup)
Florida has won in both its trips to Stegeman Coliseum (capacity 10,523) under Coach Mike White, and three of the previous four.
After stepping out of league for the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, the Gators and Bulldogs will resume action in Southeastern Conference play one game shy of the midpoint of the league season. UF sits alone in second place in the SEC standings, one game behind, Auburn, while UGA is one of four teams tied for ninth place, just one game behind last-place Texas A&M and Missouri. ... Florida bounced back admirably from a disappointing home loss Wednesday against South Carolina to smash Baylor 81-60 in one of the team's best all-around performances of the season. Georgia, meanwhile, has lost five of six (four of them league play), including two at home, plus Saturday's 56-51 defeat at Kansas State. ... UF has played Georgia more than any opponent, with the Gators holding a 113-100 lead in the series that dates to the 1923-24 season. The exact day the two first played is unknown. ... The Gators have won four straight in the series and seven of the previous eight, with UF coachMike Whiteunbeaten in his four games against the Bulldogs. That includes the 2016-17 sweep when Florida won 80-76 at home in overtime and 72-60 in Athens, where junior guard Chris Chiozza came off the bench to score 15 points and net four steals. The Gators bolted to a 30-14 lead, but the Dogs scored 15 straight points to tighten a game that UF led by just two at halftime. Georgia, though, managed just four field goals over the first 16 minutes of the second half against Florida's smothering defense and the Gators pulled away. Senior point guard Kasey Hill had 12 points and five assists, forward Justin Leon 10 points and seven rebounds, and forward Canyon Barry 11 off the bench. STARTERS (Probable Lineups)
Power forward forward Yante Maten surprised some when he opted to return for his senior season, but what the 6-foot-8, 240-pounder has done for the Bulldogs in 2017-18 has surprised no one. He leads the SEC in scoring at 19.6 points per game and is second to Texas A&M's Robert Williams in rebounding at 9.2. Maten, who can both overpower and finesse defenders in the post, shows up in virtually every individual statistical category: 7th in field-goal (.470) and free-throw percentage (.846); 1st in offensive rebounds (3.9 pg) and 4th in defensive (5.5); 1st in minutes (34.0), 9th in blocked shots (1.5 pg). On a team that struggles to score, especially on the perimeter, he does everything, including playing the role of traffic cop on a defense that allows just 66.1 points per game and leads the SEC in field-goal percentage defense (.387).
STUFF (Need-to-Know Info)
Jalen Hudson
ABOUT THE GATORS: They've played mostly very well away for home this season, but the offensive-centric ways could be tested in this one against one of the league's best defenses. ... UF leads the SEC in 3-pointers made per game (10.3) and assist-to-turnover ratio (plus-1.5), and rates third in 3-point field-goal percentage (.387), free-throw percentage (.755), turnover margin (plus-3.4) and blocked shots (5.3 pg). The Gators remain last in the conference when it comes to defending the 3-point line (.413) and, obviously, will not want to allow an opponent like Georgia, which lacks perimeter punch, to get going at home. ... The win over Baylor was another shining-star moment for point guard Chris Chiozza, who did it scoring, distributing and defending on his way to 20 points, six assists, six rebounds and just one turnover. Chiozza leads the SEC in assists (6.1), assist-to-turnover ratio (plus-3.5), is second in steals (1.9 pg) and third in free-throw percentage (.894). ... Forward Egor Koulechov was 3-for-3 from the arc against Baylor, all of them coming inside the game's first four minutes. He finished with 16 points and eight rebounds, giving him at least eight boards in each of the previous seven games. Koulechov leads the league in free-throw percentage (.918), despite missing two Saturday, and is ninth in 3-point percentage (.402). ... Backup wing Jalen Hudson (team-best 16.5 ppg) got off to a slow start against the Bears, but boy did he heat up in the second half. After Baylor made it a 10-point game, Hudson bombed back-to-back 3s on his way to 10 straight points. He's now fifth in the SEC in scoring and fourth in 3-point percentage (.425). ... Shooting guard KeVaughn Allen has hit double figures the last four games after going four straight in singles. He's still shooting just 36 percent overall and only 32.7 from the 3-point line. ... Center Kevarrius Hayes played his energetic role (5 blocks) against Baylor, and was good against the long and lithe Bears, but his mission against Georgia will be different. Hayes has struggled the past two seasons against Maten's girth and savvy in the post, but should have a much better idea of what to expect this time around. Power forward Keith Stone actually acquitted himself extremely well on defense against Maten last season and may get the first crack at him. Speaking of Stone, after a run of four straight games reaching double-figure scoring, he's been in single digits three of the previous four games. He had nine points and one rebound against Baylor, after
William "Turtle" Jackson II
getting just two and two against South Carolina.... ABOUT THE BULLDOGS: They're in the ninth season under Coach Mark Fox, with a 157-126 record, two NCAA Tournament berths and three NITs to show for it. The Bulldogs last made the NCAA field in 2015. ... UGA's biggest out-of-conference win of the season came Nov. 26 when it went west and defeated St. Mary's, currently ranked 16th, in the Wooden Legacy at Fullerton, Calif. The Bulldogs also beat Marquette on the road and easily handled Ole Miss and Alabama at home, before taking off on their current tailspin of five losses in six games. ... For this Georgia team, it's pretty simple, really. They're one of the league's worst offensive teams and one of the best defensive ones. With regard to the offense, a fairer way to put it may be that Georgia os one of the league's most imbalanced teams. They are front-court heavy, led by Maten, and have really struggled for production on the perimeter, as evidenced by their last-place rankings in turnover margin (minus-4.9) and assist-to-turnover ratio (plus-0.8), as well as the league's 12th-best 3-point percentage (.302). ... About 60 percent of Georgia's scoring this season has come from the players in its front court rotation, with Maten accounting for the biggest chunk. ... Forward Derek Ogbeide, who's scoring better than 60 percent from the floor, is a physical specimen whose big body requires attention and helps make Maten all the more dangerous. ... Juwan Parker is listed as a guard, but he really plays the small forward spot. He did some damage to the Gators last season at Gainesville, scoring 17 points and grabbing seven rebounds in 40 minutes, but went 1-for-7 at home. ... Guard William "Turtle" Jackson II is Georgia's top perimeter threat and also their top ball-handler. He's shooting 37.3 overall and leads the team with 35 makes from 3 (out of 102 attempts) as well as assists with 73.
STATS (Some Numbers of Note)
Egor Koulechov was 3-for-3 from long distance against Baylor and is shooting 40.2 percent from deep on the season.
* .428 — UF's winning percentage when Koulechov scores 11 points or fewer in a game, based on a 3-4 record when he does so.
* .857 — UF's winning percentage when Koulechov scores at least 12 points in a game, based on a 12-2 record when he does so. Solution: Get him at least 12, right?
* .904 — Combined free-throw percentage of Koulechov, Allen and Chiozza, who rank 1-2-3 in the SEC in that category. Together, they've sank 171 of 189 attempts.
* 48 — Florida's update ranking in adjusted defensive efficiency, according to KenPom's advance metrics, the first time the Gators have been in the Top 50 nationally.
* 277 — Florida's updated ranking in defense against the 3-point line, according to KenPom. That's out of 351 teams.
* 71 — Since Dec. 20, a span of 11 games, Chiozza has totaled 71 assists and just 12 turnovers. That's a 5.9-to-1 ratio.
STATEMENT (Random thought)
The home loss to South Carolina was a costly setback. Now, the margin for error on the road is even less.
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