Pregame Shootaround: Florida at No. 1 Michigan State (Saturday, 6 p.m.)
Friday, December 11, 2015 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
When: Saturday, 6 p.m. (ET)
Where: Breslin Center, East Lansing, Mich.
Records: UF (6-2), Michigan State (10-0)
TV: ESPN2 (with Jason Benetti and Jim Calhoun)
Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network (with Mick Hubert and Bill Koss). Check for availability here.
STAKES, STARS AND STATS
>>> Florida and Michigan State are meeting for seventh time, with the series tied at 3-3. It'll mark just the third game played on either team's home floor, as four of the previous dates have taken place at neutral sites, including twice in the NCAA Tournament. The Spartans won both of those meetings, including an 89-76 victory in the 2000 national championship game at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis. ... UF's only trip to East Lansing came on Dec. 6, 2000 -- eight months after that title showdown -- with MSU winning big 99-83. ... The last meeting came on Nov. 27, 2009, with the unranked Gators upsetting the No. 2 Spartans 77-74 in the Legends Classic at Atlantic City, N.J. In that game, two future NBA stars came off the bench to help lead their teams: Chandler Parsons (pictured right, now with the Dallas Mavericks) paced five UF players in double-figures with 14 points, while Draymond Green (Golden State Warriors) had 15 points and 11 rebounds for MSU. ... Florida is 2-13 all-time against the nation's No. 1-ranked team, with all 13 of the losses coming against Kentucky.
>>> UF is coming off a 66-55 loss at No. 21 Miami that represented the team's low-scoring output of the season. The Gators didn't do much of anything well against the Hurricanes, with some players looking passive, even disengaged at times. .. Fifth-year senior Dorian Finney-Smith continues to lead the team in both scoring (14.0 ppg) and rebounding (8.6 pg), but at Miami he only took seven shots. The offense needs to go through him. ... Sophomore forward Devin Robinson (11.8 ppg, 7.8 rpg; pictured right) has been the most consistent UF player through the first eight games. He needs to good at MSU because he's going to draw a very difficult defensive assignment in man coverage. ... Sophomore center John Egbunu (12.9 ppg, 7.9 rpg) has been a force at times inside, but also has had lapses, especially in defensive discipline. The coaches want more consistency on that front. ... The starting backcourt of point guard Kasey Hill (7.8 ppg, 4.1 apg) and KeVaughn Allen (7.0 ppg) is shooting a combined 33.6 percent from the floor and 27 percent from the 3-point line. Those two, plus the rest of the perimeter players, are the chief reason why the Gators are ranked last among Southeastern Conference teams in field-goal percentage (.422) and 12th in 3-point shooting (.289). ... Fifth-year senior forward Alex Murphy remains sidelined with a plantar fascia tear suffered in the preseason, but Murphy is on a timeline that should have him ready next weekend when UF plays Oklahoma State in the Orange Bowl Classic at Sunrise, Fla.
>>> The Spartans are off to a red-hot start on the heels of last season's run to the Final Four and, of course, have Coach Tom Izzo's blueprint for toughness and stellar defensive play. MSU ranks fifth in the country in defensive efficiency (.823 points per 100 possessions), sixth in scoring (57.3 ppg), fourth in shooting percentage defense (.353) and 15th in 3-point defense (.270). ... In 6-5, 220-pound senior guard Denzel Valentine (right), the Spartans have a superstar and national player of the year candidate who flirts with a triple-double every night (18.8 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 7.7 apg) and plays to the crowd along the way. ... Matt Costello (7.3 ppg, 6.4 rpg) is a 6-9 senior forward who will battle inside, but the Spartans also are excellent 3-point shooters, with Bryn Forbes (12.8 ppg) at 49.1 percent for the season. ... Michigan State's best NBA prospect isn't even Valentine. Most early mock drafts have 6-10, 240-pound freshman power forward Deyonta Davis (9.3 ppg, 6.2 rpg) as a borderline lottery pick after only 10 collegiate games. ... Only two Michigan State opponents have played the Spartans within single digits. Kansas lost by six in a neutral-site showdown at Chicago (Valentine had a triple-double that night, by the way) and Louisville fell last week by four at East Lansing.
SOME NUMBERS OF NOTE
* 3 -- Consecutive seasons the Gators have played consecutive ranked non-conference opponents in the regular season (in 2013-14: No. 12 Connecticut, No. 13 Kansas and No. 15 Memphis; in 2014-15: No. 5 North Carolina and No. 11 Kansas).
* 3.2 -- Valentine's assist-to-turnover ratio. He'll go into the game ranked fifth in the nation in assists per game (7.7) and doesn't play point guard.
* 23.8 -- Minutes per game for Egbunu (right), which may be scaled back some for the big guy. Backup center Schyuler Rimmer, who's played just 20 minutes combined the last six games, could be in line for some more floor time in hopes of keeping Egbunu rested for late in games.
* 29.4 -- Minutes per game for Finney-Smith. Yeah, that might be too many, also. But right now, he's just too valuable at the "4" spot and Murphy is a week away.
* 14,759 -- Capacity at Breslin Center, which will be packed.
WATCH FOR IT
UF coach Mike White hinted Thursday there could be changes in his starting lineup. The logical spots, given the relatively consistent play in the frontcourt, is in the backcourt, where both Hill and Allen have labored to be productive. White may just have to make such a move to shake things up, especially against such a formidable foe (and given his team's performance against excellent competition thus far, in double-digit losses to Purdue and Miami).
