'Pre-Game Stuff' - Florida vs Ole Miss (Thursday, 7 p.m.)
Thursday, February 12, 2015 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
FLORIDA vs. OLE MISS
When: Thursday, 7 p.m. (ET)
Where: O'Connell Center, Gainesville, Fla.
Records: UF 12-11 (5-5), Ole Miss 16-7 (7-3)
TV: ESPN (with Joe Tessitore and Sean Farnham)
Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network (with Mick Hubert and Mark Wise), check for local outlets here.
STAKES, STARS & STATS
>>> This is the first rematch of the season for the Gators, who went to Oxford on Jan. 24 and lost 72-71 on a pair of free throws from guard Jarvis Summers with 3.8 seconds to go. ... Florida leads the all-time series 62-44, including a 15-8 edge under Coach Billy Donovan, who is 7-2 at home against the Rebels with seven straight victories. ... This will be the second (and last) of UF's Thursday-Saturday turnarounds in Southeastern Conference play.
>>> Florida has lost two straight, both on totally different circumstances. The Gators came out listless and lethargic in falling at last-place Vanderbilt on Feb. 3, then showed up fired up and ferocious in falling to top-ranked and unbeaten Kentucky at home Saturday night. That his team would play at two completely different spectrums based on the caliber of opponent infuriated Donovan, but also spoke to the overall approach of the team. ... Junior shooting guard and leading scorer Michael Frazier II (13.2 ppg, 4.6 rpg) is not expected to play against the Rebels after suffering a high ankle sprain against UK. That's a big hit to an offense that already struggles for points (65.8 per game, which ranks 11th in the SEC). ... Minus Frazier, the Gators must lean on more production from forward Dorian Finney-Smith (12.9 ppg, 5.6 rpg) and also junior guard Eli Carter (8.0 ppg), who after going 1-for-8 from 3-point range against the Wildcats is now just 8-for-37 over the last seven game (21.6 percent). ... Freshman forward Devin Robinson (5.6 ppg, 2.4 rpg, pictured above left)) figures to get considerably more minutes -- if not the start -- but he's also struggled to make shots in hitting just five of his last 17 field-goal attempts and just 24.5 percent from long-distance for the season (just one 3-pointer in his last six games). At 6-9, Robinson also has to be a more committed rebounder. In his last eight games, he's grabbed more than two rebounds only twice and totaled just four offensive rebounds during that time. ... Freshman guard Chris Chiozza (4.7 ppg, 2.0 apg) had a nice game against UK, with 6 points, 4 rebounds and 3 steals. Offensively, he's not going to stretch a defense with outside shooting, but he's proven to be a very good finisher when attacking the basket, especially in transition.
>>> Ole Miss is in the thick of the hunt for an NCAA Tournament berth, sitting a half-game behind Arkansas for second place in the SEC standings and armed with an RPI of 38 that rates fourth in the league. A 17th win on the road at Florida (currently 66 in RPI) would be a nice feather to the Rebels' resume. ... Mississippi ranks third in the conference in scoring (74.3 ppg), first in free-throwing shooting (.794) and second in fewest turnovers (just 11.7 per game). ... Though guard Stefan Moody (15.5 ppg, 2.3 apg) is the Rebs' leading scorer, but Ole Miss goes as goes Summers (13.7 ppg, 4.5 apg), who can physically overpower defenders . As he demonstrated in the waning seconds of the first meeting, he's a hard-driving, crafty guard who can get in the lane, finish shots or get to the free throw line, where he makes 77.8 percent. ... [Note: Don't foul Moody, either. He makes 90.7 percent of his free throws] ... Backup guard LaDarius White (10.1 ppg) gives Ole Miss backcourt size at 6-6 and double-figure scoring off the bench. ... The Rebels don't have a big-time low-post threat -- they're two starting forwards average a combined 13.2 points -- but they're fifth in the SEC in rebounding (37.6 pg) and sixth in offensive rebounding (11.9 pg). Coach Andy Kennedy's teams are known for playing hard.
SOME NUMBERS OF NOTE 
* .548 - UF point guard Kasey Hill's free throw percentage in SEC play. Over his last seven games, Hill (left) is 9-for-20 (that's 45.0 percent), despite taking hundreds of extra free throws after practice each day.
* 0 - Field goals and field goal attempts by Gators sophomore center Chris Walker the last three games, a run that followed a career-SEC best 12 points in a win at Alabama.
* 6 - Margin of victory in the Florida-Mississippi series in six of the last seven games.
* 7 - Highest margin of victory and/or defeat in UF's last five games: at Ole Miss (lost by 1); at Alabama (won by 2); Arkansas (won by 1) at Vanderbilt (lost by 6); Kentucky (lost by 7)
* 1991 -- The last time Florida and Mississippi played a home-and-home series. In 1992, the SEC expanded (adding Arkansas and South Carolina) and split into East and West divisions, with conference teams playing opposing division teams only once over the annual 16-game schedule. In 2013, the next wave of league expansion (with Texas A&M and Missouri) prompted another reformatting, as the schedule went from 16 to 18 games.
WATCH FOR IT
The Gators energy level. Not just from the tip, but throughout the game. What will it be? They demonstrated how hard they could play -- even with Frazier sidelined -- in taking Kentucky down to the final minutes. Donovan wants to know why they won't play that hard each game?
