Pregame Stuff: Florida vs Charleston Southern (Friday, 7 p.m.)

FLORIDA vs. CHARLESTON SOUTHERN

When: Friday, 7 p.m. (EST)
Where: Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center, Gainesville, Fla.
Records: Florida (0-1), Charleston Southern (1-0)
TV: SEC Network+ (T.J. Rives and Mark Wise)
Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network (Mick Hubert and Bill Koss)

STAKES (The Setup)

A close-to-sellout crowd is expected at Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center when the Gators play Friday night's home opener against Charleston Southern. (Photo: Allison Curry/UAA Communications)

Florida returns home humbled for its O'Dome opener after Tuesday night's season-opening 81-60 thrashing at the hands of seventh-ranked Florida State. The Gators trailed for basically 36 minutes and never threatened the bigger and better-shooting Seminoles, who led by 11 at halftime (as UF shot just 24 percent through 20 minutes) and by as many as 35 in the second half on the way to a fifth straight win the series. ... Charleston Southern, out of the Big South Conference, also opened its season Tuesday to far better results, but against a far different opponent. The Buccaneers defeated Columbia International, a program playing its first game after making a jump to NAIA classification, by a score of 100-68, after shooting 46 percent from the floor and 38 from the 3-point line. ... UF is 5-0 all-time against Charleston Southern, with the last meeting an 89-64 win on Dec. 19, 2007. In that one, freshman point guard Nick Calathes had 18 points, nine rebounds, five assists and three steals in 31 minutes. ... Florida is 14-0 all-time against teams from the Big South, including 1-0 under Coach Mike White.

STARTERS (Probable Lineups)

Florida	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Class	Per Game
Keith Stone	F	6-8	253	R-Junior	6.0 pts / 8.0 reb
Kevarrius Hayes	F	6-9	227	Senior	4.0 pts / 6.0 reb
Jalen Hudson	G	6-6	195	R-Senior	11.0 pts / 2.0 reb
KeVaughn Allen	G	6-2	193	Senior	0.0 pts / 1.0 reb
Andrew Nembhard	PG	6-5	191	Freshman	12.0 pts / 0.0 reb / 4.0 ast

Charleston Southern	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Class	Per Game
Travis McConico	F	6-6	200	Senior	17.0 pts / 6.0 reb / 4.0 ast
Timmy Sellers	F	6-8	220	Freshman	11.0 pts / 4.0 reb
Duncan Lexander	F	6-8	205	Freshman	17.0 pts / 8.0 reb
Deontaye Buskey	G	6-1	160	Sophomore	11.0 pts / 4.0 reb
Christian Keeling	G	6-4	175	Junior	13.0 pts / 3.0 reb

STANDING OUT (One to Watch)

Junior guard **Christian Keeling**, out of Augusta, Ga., has garnered Big South postseason honors in each of his previous two seasons with the Buccaneers. He topped the league's 2017 All-Freshman team after becoming just the sixth player in the conference's 33-year history to score at least 500 points as a rookie. Last season, he became just the fifth Big South player to hit 1,000 points in his first two seasons, along the way reaching double figures 37 consecutive games, including the first 26 of his sophomore year. Of the Bucs' 12 wins last season, eight came over the final 11 games, as Keeling during that span averaged 19.5 and 5.5 rebounds, including a 31-point outburst against Radford. When the '17-18 season was done, Keeling's name was in the league's top 10 in five categories: scoring (second), steals (sixth), minutes (seventh), free-throw percentage (eight) and rebounding (10th). He entered his name into the NBA Draft pool for feedback before opting to return to CSU.

STUFF (Need-to-Know Info)

ABOUT THE GATORS: No team is going to win many games when its starting shooting guard and No. 30 scorer in school history goes for zero on the road against a top-20 opponent. That's what KeVaughn Allen did versus the Seminoles, taking just four shots over 23 minutes and falling back into his non-assertive ways of last season, as he failed to get to the free-throw line, where he's a career 87.5-percent shooter. ... Fifth-year senior swingman Jalen Hudson didn't fare well, either. He finished with only 11

points, went 3-for-10 from the floor and made just one of five 3-balls. On this team, given the offensive limitations in the front court (a combined 16 points among the five forwards that played), both perimeter scoring guards cannot have such poor nights. ... Forwards Keith Stone and Kevarrius Hayes totaled 10 points and eight turnovers at FSU, but acquitted themselves admirably on the glass against a much bigger team by grabbing eight and six rebounds, respectively. On offense, both players need to be more decisive and sure-handed with the basketball, but the presence of a 7-foot-4, 270-pound center the other night surely was a factor. ... Point guard Andrew Nembhard, in his collegiate debut, scored 12 points to go with four assists, but also had four turnovers. He became just the third UF players since 2000 to reach double-figure scoring and at least four assists in his first game, joining Matt Walsh (vs Louisiana Tech in 2002) and Kasey Hill (vs North Florida in 2013). ... Backup guard Deaundrae Ballard was one of the few Gators who played seemingly oblivious to the intimidating surroundings on his way to a team-high 13 points. He made five of 10 shots. ... Forward Keyontae Johnson (4 points, 3 rebounds) and guard Noah Locke (4 points, 1-for-6 shooting), a pair of true freshman backups, both seemed a little wide-eyed during their first taste of big-time college action. They should be more comfortable at home, as they ease their way into the things. ABOUT THE BUCCANEERS: They're coached by Barclay Radebaugh, who is 175-222 in his 14th season at CSU, and return four starters from a team that went 15-16 last season, including 9-9 in the Big South Conference. ... After Keeling, the next key returnee is forward Travis McConico, a Jacksonville (Fla.) Sandlewood High product who averaged 10.2 points and 4.1 rebounds last season. ... The Bucs pretty much emptied their bench in the second half against Columbia International along the way to scoring 58 points after the break. ... CSU was out-rebounded in the game 44-40 and surrendered 45-percent shooting overall, but the defense forced 30 turnovers and hit 13 shots from the 3-point line during the blowout.

STATS (Some Numbers of Note)

Jalen Hudson hit just three of his 10 field-goal attempts, including just one of five from the 3-point line.

* .214 — Combined field-goal percentage of Hudson and Allen against FSU, based on 3-for-14 shooting (1-for-7 from distance), from UF's top perimeter scorers.

* 2 — Appearances in Gainesville by the Charleston Southern athletic program during the fall athletic season. The UF football team opened the 2018 season (and Coach Dan Mullen era) with a 53-6 win over the Bucs on Sept. 1 at the "Swamp."

* 3 — Points needed by Allen to hit 1,300 for his career. His next 13 points (his career average is 12.1, by the way) will move Allen past Walsh (2002-05), Greg Stolt (1995-99), Patric Young (2010-14) and Andrew DeClercq, ('91-95), and into 26th place on the Florida all-time scoring list.

* 11 — Scholarship players who took the floor for the Gators at FSU. They rarely had 11 players available, for injury reasons, last season.

* 14 — Minutes played Tuesday by 6-8, 275-pound redshirt freshman forward Isaiah Stokes, who got his first collegiate action after red-shirting last season. Stokes missed all three of his field goals, went 2-for-4 at the free-throw line and grabbed four rebounds. His role in the UF front court is something that will evolve over the course of the next few weeks.

STATEMENT (Random thought)

A much-needed quick turnaround game after Tuesday night's debacle in Tally. The Gators need to do what's expected of them in front of the home crowd (as in win big and comfortably) to get some confidence and momentum going.

Gators Calendar

Pregame Stuff: Florida vs Charleston Southern (Friday, 7 p.m.)

Players Mentioned

KeVaughn Allen

Deaundrae Ballard

Kevarrius Hayes

Jalen Hudson

Keyontae Johnson

Noah Locke

Andrew Nembhard

Isaiah Stokes

Keith Stone

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Pregame Stuff: Florida vs Charleston Southern (Friday, 7 p.m.)

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Players Mentioned

KeVaughn Allen

Deaundrae Ballard

Kevarrius Hayes

Jalen Hudson

Keyontae Johnson

Noah Locke

Andrew Nembhard

Isaiah Stokes

Keith Stone

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