Pregame Shootaround: UF vs Florida Gulf Coast -- Friday, 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, November 26, 2015 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
FLORIDA GULF COAST at FLORIDA 
When: Friday, 6:30 p.m. (ET)
Where: O'Connell Center, Gainesville, Fla.
Records: UF (4-1), Florida Gulf Coast (3-2)
TV: SEC Network (with Tom Werme and John Pelphrey)
Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network (with Mick Hubert and Mark Wise). Check for availability here.
STAKES, STARS AND STATS
>>> The Gators will be playing their fourth game in seven days, including the second in three after beating Vermont 86-62 on Wednesday afternoon. ... The game is the middle of a three-game home stand, with the next one Tuesday against a very solid Richmond team. ... UF and FGCU have met twice, with one far more notable than the other. On Dec. 10, 2008, the Gators defeated the Eagles 69-44, but it was on March 29, 2013 the two squared off in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA South Region, where the Gators prevailed 62-50 at Arlington, Texas. In taking on the first No. 15 seed to reach the round of 16, UF fell behind 15-4, as FGCU maintained a double-digit lead for most of the first half until the Gators went on a 16-0 run to take a 30-24 advantage at halftime and never trailed after that. Guard Mike Rosario (right) led the way with 15 points. ... Not much is the same about FGCU from that last time meeting. The coach who guided the boys from “Dunk City” on that magical 2013 tournament run, Andy Enfield, seized the moment and went to Southern Cal that offseason.... Florida is 89-19 all-time against teams currently in the Atlantic Sun Conference, with just two losses the last 25 years, both coming against Jacksonville (in 1994 and 2010).
>>> UF's reconfigured starting frontcourt accounted for 48 (more than half) of the team's points and nearly half its rebounds against Vermont. Senior forward Dorian Finney-Smith (13.6 ppg, 8.4 rpg) went for 20 and six; sophomore forward Devin Robinson (12 ppg, 7.8 rpg) for 15 and eight; sophomore center John Egbunu (11 ppg, 6.6 rpg) for 13 and seven. They were also a combined 15-for-30 from the floor, with five of UF's eight 3-point field goals. ... Junior point guard Kasey Hill had one of the most complete games of his career, scoring a season-best 14 points (on 6-for-10 shooting), with four assists, two steals and no turnovers. ... Robinson has shot 32 percent from the 3-point line, making him -- by far -- the team's best threat from deep on the wing (not counting Finney-Smith at the 'stretch-4' play), as junior DeVon Walker and freshmen KeVaughn Allen and Brandone Francis-Ramirez (combined 9-for-43) continue to search for their touch from deep.
>>> Only one Eagle who took the floor against the Gators in that NCAA Tournament game is back -- senior forward Filip Cvjeticanin (9.0 ppg, 3.8 rpg) -- but the Eagles have production -- and athleticism -- throughout the lineup, with one player averaging double-digit rebounds and another at more than six assists per game. ... FGCU, now under Coach Joe Dooley, is led by 6-8 junior forward Marc-Eddy Norelia (18.4 ppg, 11.0 rpg) and 6-4 guard Julian DeBose (10.5 ppg, 3.4 rpg), both redshirt seniors. The point guard duties have fallen to freshman Reggie Reid (5.4 ppg, 6.2 apg). ... A third FGCU player, 6-5 guard Christian Terrell, is hitting double figures off the bench (12.2 ppg), while another, guard Zach Johnson, went for 26 off the bench in a game this season. ... The Eagles are averaging 82.8 points per game, but surrendering 78. Defensively, they're allowing better than 40-percent shooting from the floor.
SOME NUMBERS OF NOTE
* 1 -- True road games played by Florida Gulf Coast thus far. The Eagles lost at Ohio University to open the season, but then defeated Texas Wesleyan, Youngstown State and North Dakota at home before falling Monday night to Bowling Green 82-77 at Fort Myers.
* 3 -- Vermont's advantage in scoring off the bench Wednesday. The Catamount reserves out-produced the Gators 27-24, making for two straight games the UF bench has been outscored. Purdue's reserves advantage in Sunday's win was 28-15.
* 8 -- Years since a Florida player recorded multiple double-doubles off the bench before Robinson (right), since elevated to starter, did it in his first three games this season. The last to do so before Robinson was Marreese Speights in 2006-07 during the second of UF's back-to-back NCAA championship seasons.
* 22.3 -- Points averaged last week by Norelia in leading FGCU to the aforementioned three straight wins. He also averaged 13 rebounds in those wins on his way to being named Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Week.
* 25 -- Average 3-point attempts by the Gators this season. The last UF team to average that many long balls was the 2011-12 squad -- led by Bradley Beal, Kenny Boynton, Erving Walker and Erik Murphy -- that jacked up 25.4 per game. Now, if the Gators can just hit better than 32.5 percent as a team.
WATCH FOR IT
Give a nice hand, Rowdy Reptiles and Gators fans, to former UF assistant coach John Pelphrey, who will be on the analyst mike for the SEC Network. Pelphrey put in 10 years alongside Billy Donovan and was part of seven NCAA Tournament teams and two Final Fours, including the memorable 2014 run of 30 straight victories and a perfect 21-0 record against Southeastern Conference teams.
