'Pre-Game Stuff' - Florida vs LSU (Tuesday, 7 p.m.)
Monday, January 19, 2015 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
FLORIDA vs. LOUISIANA STATE
When: Tuesday, 7 p.m. (ET)
Where: O'Connell Center, Gainesville, Fla.
Records: UF 10-7, 3-1, LSU 13-4, 2-2
TV: ESPN (with Brad Nessler, Sean Farnham and Shannon Spake)
Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network (with Mick Hubert and Mark Wise), check for local outlets here.
STAKES, STARS & STATS
>>> LSU leads the all-time series 60-43, but UF is 14-8 since Billy Donovan took over and has won six straight. The Gators are 27-19 against the Tigers at home, 6-3 in the Donovan era. ... The two teams last met March 1, 2014 when Dorian Finney-Smith had 16 points and Casey Prather and Michael Frazier added 14 more in a 79-61 win at the O'Dome. UF hit 13 of 23 shots from the 3-point line that day (56.5 percent), with three each from Finney-Smith and Frazier. ... After playing just once last season, the Gators and Tigers have a home-and-home this season. UF goes to Baton Rouge on Feb. 21.
>>> The Gators are coming off a 63-51 loss at Georgia that not only marked their worst all-around effort of the season, but maybe their worst during the last five seasons, the last four of which ended in the Elite Eight. UF shot 50 percent in the game, but allowed the Bulldogs to shoot 65 percent after halftime, turned the ball over a season-high 19 times and showed very little defensive toughness in the halfcourt. ... The lack of consistency continues to baffle the UF coaches. Example: sophomore point guard Kasey Hill (8 ppg, 4.4 apg, pictured left) had one assist and six turnovers in the SEC opener at South Carolina, which the Gators managed to win. Hill then combined for 14 assists and just one turnover in home victories against Mississippi State before taking a step back at Georgia with three assists, three turnovers and failing to run the UF offense with any modicum of efficiency. ... Against the Dogs, Finney-Smith (13.9 ppg, 5.4 rpg) extended his streak of double-figure scoring to 10 straight games, but Donovan still wants more from his 6-8 forward when it comes to rebounding. Finney-Smith's season-high on the glass remains seven, which he's hit twice. ... Frazier (13.4 ppg, 4.8 rpg) has yet to start an SEC game this season, as Donovan tries to hammer home a point about consistency -- and playing through adversity -- to his best outside shooter. Whether he gets the starting nod against LSU will be a game-day decision.
>>> The Tigers boast one of the biggest front lines in the country, with 6-8, 235-pound Jordan Mickey (15.6 ppg, 10.4 rpg, pictured right) at the small forward spot, 6-10, 235-pound Jarrell Martin (16.6 ppg, 8.9 rpg) at the power forward, and 7-foot, 245-pound Darcy Malone (1.2 ppg, 1.1 rpg) at center. As you might expect, LSU ranks second (behind Kentucky) in rebounds per game (41) and third in offensive rebounds (12.3), so the combination figures to be tough for a Florida team that checks in 10th in the SEC in rebounding (34.8). ... The LSU backcourt is made up of two transfers in 6-4 Keith Hornsby (12.4 ppg, 4.6 rpg, by way of UNC-Ashville) and Josh Gray (9.9 ppg, 2.6 rpg), who averaged nearly 35 points per game at Odessa (Texas), one of the top junior college programs in the country. ... The Tigers, now in their third season under Coach Johnny Jones, have displayed some inconsistency of their own, having lost to Old Dominion and Clemson early and then running off eight straight wins -- beating No. 16 West Virginia on the road -- before losing at struggling Missouri to open SEC play, beating Georgia at home and Ole Miss on the road, then losing at home to Texas A&M.
SOME NUMBERS OF NOTE 
* 2 - Times this season Finney-Smith has either led or co-led the Gators in points, rebounds, assists and steals in the same game. He did it at Georgia and also last month in a win over Wake Forest at the Orange Bowl Classic.
* 11 - Turnovers by Florida's guards against Georgia, with three each by Hill, freshman Chris Chioza (right) and junior Eli Carter, plus two from Frazier. The live-ball turnovers against Georgia were killers and put the UF defense in transitional binds. Cutting back on those giveaways was a huge point of emphasis the last two days.
* 20 - Consecutive SEC wins by the Gators at the O'Dome, a string that stretches over the last three seasons. UF was 14-0 at home in 2012-13, then 14-0 in '13-14, and has started 2-0 in league play in '14-15. That's the longest such home streak in school history.
* 67.6 - Average points per game for Florida, which ranks 11th in the SEC.
* 75.1 - Average points per game for LSU, which ranks third in the SEC.
WATCH FOR IT
LSU is an aggressive, attacking team that averages a league-high 8.6 steals per game, so the Gators better be ready for some pawing, clawing and in-your-face action.
