Pregame Shootaround: UF vs Vermont - Wednesday, 3 p.m.
Tuesday, November 24, 2015 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
VERMONT at FLORIDA
When: Wednesday, 3 p.m. (ET)
Where: O'Connell Center, Gainesville, Fla.
Records: UF (3-1), Vermont (2-3)
TV: SEC Network (with Andy Demetra and Joe Dean Jr.)
Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network (with Mick Hubert and Mark Wise). Check for availability here. http://www.gatorzone.com/basketball/men/
STAKES, STARS AND STATS
>>> The Gators are back on the floor for a third game in five days, with a fourth in seven still to come. After the matinee with the Catamounts, UF will practice on Thanksgiving Day and play at home against Florida Gulf Coast on Friday night, on the eve of the football date with rival Florida State at The Swamp. ... The Gators are coming off a decisive 85-70 loss to Purdue, still unbeaten and now ranked 16th, in Sunday's championship game of the Hall of Fame Tipoff at Uncasville, Conn. UF trailed by just three with less than nine minutes to play before the Boilermakers went on a 20-3 run to turn the game into a blowout. ... The Gators are 2-0 all-time against Vermont, with the last meeting coming Nov. 30, 2007 when Nick Calathes scored 21 points, Marreese Speights and Jai Lucas added 15, and Chandler Parsons threw in 10 off the bench in an 86-61 win at Tampa. ... UF is 7-0 all-time against teams from the America East Conference.
>>> After a sloppy first game, Florida senior forward Dorian Finney-Smith (12 ppg, 9 rpg) has improved his play on both ends of the floor. Because of Finney-Smith's ability to shoot from the power forward, he'll definitely benefit on offense if sophomore center John Egbunu (10.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg) can have more outings like the 19 points and 7 rebounds he tallied against a gargantuan Purdue frontcourt. Egbunu, though, had a couple defensive lapses of which the UF coaches took note. He is normally very solid on that end and prides himself in being so even during practice. ... Sophomore forward Devin Robinson (11.3 ppg, 7.8 rpg) had double-doubles in two of the first three games, but found the inside-out going a little tougher against the bigger Boilermakers, finishing with five points and four rebounds. He'll be fine, though, as long as he continues crashing the offensive and defensive glass. ... Backup point guard Chris Chiozza (8.3 ppg, 58.3 percent from 3) is pushing starter Kasey Hill (7.5 ppg, 4 apg) for minutes through sheer efficiency, whether it's running the team, taking care of the ball, taking good shots and making shots. ... The Gators need to get some offense out of the 2/3 wing spot from starting forward DeVon Walker (6.8 ppg, 1.8 rpg) and backup guard Brandone Francis-Ramirez (4.3 ppg), who together are 15-for-47 from the floor and 5-for-24 from the 3-point line.
>>> Vermont won 20 games last season, going 12-4 in the America East Conference and reaching the CBI semifinals. The Catamounts have three starters back from that team, led by 6-2 sophomore point guard Trae Bell-Haynes (16.8 ppg, 4.4 apg) and 6-9 senior forward Ethan O'Day (12.6 ppg, 5.6 rpg). Ernie Duncan, a redshirt freshman guard, is 16-for-29 from the 3-point line. Another guard, 6-1 Dre Willis, was the team's No. 2 scorer last season, but is dealing with a hamstring injury and his status will be determined on game day. ... The team is shooting 46 percent from the floor and 37 percent from 3-point range, but Vermont is turnover prone, with just 65 assists versus 84 giveaways. ... The Catamounts opened the season with a 20-point loss at Eastern Michigan and then were blown out by 28 courtesy of Purdue. In the three games since, they defeated Quinnipiac and Niagara, then lost to Buffalo 77-71 in the Hall of Fame Tipoff, the same tournament the Gators were in but in a different bracket.
SOME NUMBERS OF NOTE
* .638 -- Florida's free-throw percentage through four games, which so far is in line with the troubling 2015-16 numbers (.635). Hill's struggles from last season (52.6 percent) have rolled over, at least initially. He's 4-for-9.
* .654 -- Egbunu's field-goal percentage on 17-for-26 shooting. He's also making 72.7 percent of his free throws, after coming here at 54.2 percent in one season at South Florida.
* 6 -- Offensive rebounds by freshman center Kevarrius Hayes in just 35 minutes. The UF coaches love the kid's energy and want-to on the glass.
* 7 -- Turnovers for the Gators in the loss to Purdue. Counting the exhibition game against Palm Beach Atlantic, UF's turnovers have progressively decreased with each game: 23, 19, 13 and 7.
* 12.0 -- Average assists per game for the Gators. That's not many, but also a byproduct of an inability to make shots.
WATCH FOR IT
Given Vermont's assist-to-turnover differential of minus-19, the Gators figure to be in their full-court press a lot, with a chance to take lots of layups.
