'Pre-Game Stuff' - Florida vs. Auburn (Thursday, 7 p.m.)
Wednesday, January 14, 2015 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
FLORIDA vs. AUBURN
When: Thursday, 7 p.m. (ET)
Where: O'Connell Center, Gainesville, Fla.
Records: UF 9-6 (2-0), Auburn 9-6 (1-1)
TV: ESPN2 (with Joe Tessitore and Sean Farnham)
Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network (with Mick Hubert and Mark Wise), check for outlets here.
STAKES, STARS & STATS
>>> Auburn leads the all-time series 87-75, but since Coach Billy Donovan arrived in town the Gators are 20-4 against the Tigers, with victories in 17 of the last 18, including seven in a row. Donovan has never lost to Auburn at home, with his last defeat against the Tigers coming in first-round play of the Southeastern Conference Tournament at Tampa in 2009. ... Florida and Auburn staged a pair of close games last season, with the Gators winning on the road 68-61 on Jan. 18, then a month later staging a comeback in the final two minutes for a 71-66 home win, thanks to an 8-1 run over the final 2:06. Patric Young had 17 points, including two huge free throws with 19 seconds left, while Casey Prather added 16 and Scottie Wilbekin 15. ... After this game, the Gators will be on the road three of the next four; with four of their next five opponents ranked among the top Top 50 in RPI -- Saturday at Georgia (36); Tuesday vs LSU (43); Jan. 27 at Alabama (37); Jan. 31 vs Arkansas (15). Florida checks in at 78th. 
>>> After losing those back-to-back downers (at Florida State, then home against Connecticut) just before the start of the SEC schedule, the Gators put together a pair of solid efforts in winning at South Carolina behind big shots and free throws in the second half, then routing Mississippi State by 25 at home. UF displayed some of its best ball movement of the season, totaling 33 assists in the two wins, including 19 (tying a season high) on 28 field goals against the Bulldogs. ... Both games came without senior center Jon Horford (8.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg), who was suspended for conduct detrimental to the team. Horford is reinstated and back in good graces. Horford started the first 12 games of the season. He will play against the Tigers. ... Junior forward Dorian Finney-Smith (14.1 ppg, 5.5 rpg, pictured above) was the 2014 SEC's Sixth Man of the Year and is now the team's leading scorer and second-leading rebounder overall. He averaged a team-best 18 points and shot 61 percent from the floor in the two games to open league play. ... Junior guard Michael Frazier (13.7 ppg, 4.6 rpg) is over his upper respiratory infection and bout with strep throat, but whether he's back in the starting lineup will be a game day coach's decision. Donovan, in his quest to find the right combinations, relegated his top 3-point threat (team-high 38 makes at 38.4 percent) to coming off the bench the last two games, citing Frazier's disposition when his shots aren't falling. He was better on that front last week and went 5-for-11 on 3s in the reserve role. ... Backup guard Eli Carter (7.3 ppg) scored a game-high 20 points against Mississippi State and appears more confident playing on the sprained foot that plagued him nearly two months. He was 4-for-6 from the 3-point line last game and is 6-for-6 on free throws in the two SEC games.
>>> While the game most definitely will be decided by the players, the matchup between Donovan and Auburn coach Bruce Pearl, out of the ESPN studio after three years, certainly bears mention. Pearl went 145-61 in six seasons at Tennessee before NCAA issues there cost him the job. Along the way, though, he was 9-6 in games against UF, including a 3-1 mark during Florida's back-to-back national championships and a six-game winning streak in the series at one point. His teams are renowned for playing with fierce intensity and precision in their halfcourt sets. The guy is a great coach. ... The Tigers have won six of seven, with the lone blip a 12-point loss at Vanderbilt to open SEC play. Their best win probably was an 89-88 double-OT victory over Xavier. Auburn also lost a home game to Coastal Carolina, at Colorado by 31, and scored just 35 in a neutral-site defeat to Tulsa. ... When the Tigers gave the Gators fits last year, much of it had to do with guard KT Harrell (17 ppg, 3.1 rpg), who is back. The team has five players who came in as instant-eligible transfers, among them forward Cinmeon Bowers (13.7 ppg, 11.3 ppg, pictured left), out of Chipola (Fla.) Junior College, who at 6-7, 278 pounds could be a problem for UF's undersized front court.
SOME NUMBERS OF NOTE 
* 4 - SEC teams, including the Gators, that began the league season with a 2-0 record. The others: Alabama, Arkansas and Kentucky. UF plays both the Crimson Tide and Razorbacks later this month, with the first meeting against the top-ranked and currently undefeated Wildcats set for Feb. 7 at the O'Dome.
* 10 - Points Frazier needs to reach 900 for his career.
* 16.1 - Shooting percentage from Carter (right) in his six appearances after suffering the foot injury at practice Nov. 20.
* 61.5 - Carter's shooting percentage the last two games (8-for-13).
* 90 - Auburn's RPI, which ranks 10th among SEC teams. Within the league, only Missouri (136) and Mississippi State (226) are ranked outside the top 100.
WATCH FOR IT
To help eliminate Bowers from the equation, the game has to get going the way Donovan likes -- up and down, with chaos everywhere. Not many guys that big like to run that much, which is exactly what the Gators will need to do.
