Pregame Stuff: Mississippi State at Florida (Wednesday, 7 pm)
Tuesday, January 9, 2018 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
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A nuts and bolts look at the Gators' upcoming SEC home game against the Bulldogs.
By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
MISSISSIPPI STATE AT FLORIDA
When: Wednesday, 7 p.m. (EST) Where: Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center, Gainesville, Fla. Records: Florida (11-4, 3-0), Mississippi State (13-2, 1-1) TV: SEC Network (Roy Philpott and Brooke Weisbrod) Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network (Mick Hubertand Mark Wise)
STAKES (The Setup)
Mike White will try to win a third game against Mississippi State in as many tries as Florida's coach.
Florida has won five straight, including back-to-back on the Southeastern Conference road, to move to 3-0 in league play for the second straight season and fifth time in the last six. The Gators, who currently sit alone atop the league standings, went to Texas A&M and dismantled the undermanned Aggies with a ridiculous shooting display, then chased that effort with a gritty comeback on the road at Missouri, capped by a great play by great senior. ... Mississippi State won its SEC opener by upsetting Arkansas at hoe, then lost 64-58 Saturday at rival Ole Miss. The Bulldogs are one of four teams to play just one league game to date (such as the case for the teams not competing in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge last this month). They're also one of 11 jumbled in the middle of the conference standings at either 2-1, 1-1 or 1-2. ... UF leads the all-time series 64-49, a record that includes seven straight wins, a 39-12 mark at home, and two victories in as many tries under Coach Mike White. ... In the most recent meeting, the Gators went to Starkville and won a 57-52 bloodbath last Feb. 18, in what was their first game after losing center John Egbunu to a season-ending knee injury. Florida struggled to score, with just two players reaching double figures, and blew a 12-point second-half lead, as the Bulldogs tied the game at 52 with just over two minutes left. A putback by sophomore Kevarrius Hayes, who replaced Egbunu in the starting lineup, gave the Gators the lead for good, as Hayes went on to finish with nine points, 10 rebounds and four blocks. Junior forward Devin Robinson did not score, but grabbed 10 rebounds. STARTERS (Probable Lineups)
As a freshman two years ago, Quinndary Weatherspoon bounced back and forth between the two forward positions and averaged 12 points a game. As a sophomore last season, Weatherspoon (a.k.a. "Q") upped his game on the perimeter, improving his scoring average to 16.5, also finishing second on the team with 47 makes from the 3-point line. He came back for his junior year having honed his 6-foot-4, 205-pound frame and is now starting at point guard, but taking turns at shooting guard and small forward spot, as well. His scoring is a tad down (14.3 ppg), but his rebounds are up (5.7 pg) and he leads MSU with 65 assists, thanks to a willingness to pass that, frankly, is not a particularly strength for the Bulldogs. Though not a major threat from deep (30.6 percent on 3s), he gets his buckets working mostly inside the arc. He makes 51 percent from the floor and 73.4 from the free-throw line. Weatherspoon has terrific in MSU's upset of Arkansas (22 points, 7 rebounds, scored inside and outside), but is coming off one of his toughest nights of the season -- seven points, 3-for-12 from the floor in the loss at Oxford -- so he figures to bounce back. He has not had a two consecutive single-digit scoring games this season.
STUFF (Need-to-Know Info)
Jalen Hudson
ABOUT THE GATORS: Their five straight wins matches a season high. The previous five in arow came at the start of the season, so adding to the current string will be all the more meaningful, as the team plunges deeper into the league schedule. ... After that dismal four-game stretch (with three losses) of averaging 65 points a game, UF has scored at least 72 in each of the five wins, and is averaging 80.3 in SEC play. ... The Gators lead the league in turnover margin (plus-5.4), rank second in free-throw percentage (.767), steals per game (7.6) and assist-to-turnover ratio (plus-1.4), as well as third in scoring offense (83.3), 3-point field-goal percentage (.393) and 3-pointers per game (9.7). ... Senior point guard Chris Chiozzawas the man of the hour -- and day; and week -- for his steal and layup at the horn at Missouri. In addition to his seven straight games reaching double-figure scoring, Chiozza ranks second in the SEC in assists and third in free-throw percentage (.900). ... Junior guardJalen Hudson has come off the bench the last three games, yet remains the UF scoring leader at 16.9 points per game, thanks to 50-percent shooting from the floor and 44.4 from deep. Hudson, with seven straight points, almost single-handedly brought the Gators back from trailing twice by five in the final three minutes at Mizzou to set up the dramatic final play by Chiozza. ... Hudson's determination and aggressiveness, as far as attacking the basket of late, may put him in the starting lineup ahead of shooting guard KeVaughn Allen, who scored just two points and again seemed passive in the Missouri game. Allen is told daily by his coaches and teammates to shoot the ball when open and to be more assertive with drives to rim. They're waiting for that big game from him. ... Forward Egor Koulechov appears to have found his confidence -- and shot. After a nightmarish run of eight games when he shot just 30.8 percent overall, 18.9 from 3 and averaged only 8.2 points, the "Russian Rocket" is scoring a team-best 18.7 in league play, grabbing 6.7 rebounds, shooting 43.2 percent overall and 9-for-15 from the arc (60 percent). ... Center Kevarrius Hayes and power forward Keith Stone, as a duo, were great
Nick Weatherspoon
the last two games. Again: Great. They combined to score 49 points in the two wins, made nearly 56 percent of their shots, grabbed 23 rebounds and blocked nine shots. Hayes set career highs in assists against A&M (4) and steals (4) against Mizzou. Stone went 6-for-10 from deep. What more could you want? ... Freshman Mike Okauru, played one minute at A&M, but then had 13 good minutes Saturday when UF needed him to step in for Chiozza and Allen at the point after those two had to sit with foul trouble in the first half. ... ABOUT THE BULLDOGS: It's now Year 3 for Coach Ben Howland, who won a bunch of games (except when he played the Gators) and went to several Final Fours (losing twice to the Gators) while at UCLA before going to Starkville for the 2015-16 season. MSU is 43-35 under Howland and off to one of its best starts in program history, though benefitting from a non-conference schedule that ranks 299th in the country, according to the Ratings Percentage Index. The Bulldogs played the likes of Alabama State, Florida A&M, Jacksonville State and North Georgia before defeating Dayton. Their lone non-league loss was a 65-50 setback at Cincinnati, but the win over Arkansas to start SEC play should be a beacon of what the Bulldogs are capable of. ... MSU averages 76.7 points per game, shoots 47.3 percent overall and 30.1 from deep. Defensively, the Bulldogs give up 63.5 points, allowed 38.9 percent overall and 31.5 on long balls. ... The opponent closet to the explosiveness of Florida that Mississippi State has faced is probably Arkansas, which made 51.6 percent in defeat. In the loss at Ole Miss, the Bulldogs hit only 34.9 percent, including 5-for-23 from 3 (21.7 percent). ... After Weatherspoon (pictured above), one of the other MSU player who warrants the most concern is Weatherspoon (pictured right), also. As in freshman guard Nick Weatherspoon, who is Q's younger brother. Nick is the team's No. 3 scorer at nearly 49 percent, with 35.7-percent prowess from deep. ... Guard Tyson Carter is a volume shooter, with a team-high 72 attempts from 3. He's only made 31 percent. Backup guard Lamar Peters is second with 62 attempts from deep. He's 16 percent. ... Up front, forward Aric Holman is an inside-outside guy converting at 62 percent of his field goals and stepping out for 20 makes from the 3-point arc at better than 52 percent. Holman is paired alongside Abdul Ado, who is a freshman loa and has started all 14 games he's played in. Ado has not attempted a 3, but hasn't had to. He makes 62.5 percent inside the arc.
STATS (Some Numbers of Note)
Senior point guard Chris Chiozza is doing a lot of things well for the Gators right now.
* .500 — Hudson's free-throw percentage in SEC play, based on 6-for-12 from the line. For a player who launches and buries so many 3s, Hudson has struggled some from the line this season, where he's hitting just 66.2 percent overall. That's eighth on the team.
* .531 — Stone's shooting percentage from the 3-point for the season. When his feet are set and body squared, he's as true a long-range shooter as anyone on the UF roster.
* 3 — Assists needed by Chiozza to pass Nick Calathes (452 assists from 2007-09) and move into fifth place on Florida's all-time list.
* 15.1 — Chiozza's scoring average over his run of seven straight games in double figures.
* 2011 — The last year Mississippi State defeated Florida. The date was Jan. 29. The place was Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville. The man was Bulldogs guard Dee Bost, who scored 24 points that day to help erase a second-half UF rally fueled by junior guard Erving Walker's 18 points. The game was tied at 64 with five minutes, but the Gators failed to score the rest of the way. That Florida team, by the way, went on to win the SEC regular-season title.
STATEMENT (Random thought)
Call this "Egg Bowl Week," for the Gators, what with Mississippi State in town, followed by a road date Saturday at Ole Miss.
