'Pre-Game Stuff' - Florida at Texas A&M (Saturday, 6:30 p.m.)
Saturday, February 14, 2015 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
FLORIDA at TEXAS A&M
When: Saturday, 6:30 p.m. (ET)
Where: Reed Arena, College Station, Texas
Records: Florida 12-12 (5-6), Texas A&M 16-7 (7-4)
TV: SEC Network (with Dave Neal, Darrin Horn and Kayce Smith)
Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network (with Mick Hubert and Bill Koss), check for local outlets here.
STAKES, STARS & STATS
>>> UF and A&M are meeting for the first time this season and only the fifth time in the programs' histories. The Gators are 4-1 all-time against the Aggies, with a 3-0 record under Coach Billy Donovan that includes a win at College Station two years ago. ... The two teams last met Feb. 1, 2014 when the Gators rolled to a 69-36 win at the O'Connell Center. The outcome matched the lowest point total by a UF opponent in Southeastern Conference play in 64 years. The Gators got 21 points from guard Michael Frazier II, while center Patric Young had 14 rebounds and forward Will Yeguete another 10 versus an Aggies squad that hit just 14 of 54 shots (25.9 percent) and only four of 20 from the 3-point line. ... UF and A&M will play again March 3 in Gainesville, a game that will mark Senior Night for the Gators. 
>>> UF is in the midst of its second three-game losing streak of the SEC season, with the latest setback Thursday night's 62-61 crusher, courtesy of Ole Miss, which got a 25-foot 3-pointer from guard Stefan Moody with 2.7 seconds left for the win (pictured right). ... Florida will be without Frazier, its leading scorer (13.2 ppg, 43.8 percent from 3-pt range) for the second straight game. The junior shooting guard sprained an ankle in the team's loss last weekend against top-ranked Kentucky. ... The Gators rank second in the SEC in scoring defense (59.8 ppg), but that's a deceiving stat given opponents are shooting a collective 40.7 percent from the floor (that ranks 8th in the SEC) and 33.8 from 3-point range (11th). ... Florida is last in the league in free throws made per game (11.1) and next-to-last in free-throw percentage (.663). ... Minus Frazier, junior forward Dorian Finney-Smith (13.0 ppg, 5.6) remains the team's most consistent performer, but the Gators got a big lift against the Rebels from freshman forward Devin Robinson (5.9 ppg, 2.6 rpg), who replaced Frazier in the starting unit and had the best game of his young career: 14 points (on 6-for-9 shooting), a career-best 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocked shots and a steal in 31 minutes.
>>> The Aggies, sitting at 46th in RPI, are very much in the NCAA Tournament conversation, but they're also 0-5 against teams in the RPI Top 50, which includes a double-overtime home loss to Kentucky. ... A home win over Florida (RPI-74) won't pad their number so much, but the Aggies are 3-1 vs. RPI 51-100 teams and need to hold serve at their place. ... A&M is not a prolific offensive team (67.6 ppg), but an efficient one that shoots 45.8 percent from the floor (3rd in SEC) and 34.5 from distance (5th). Defensively, teams rarely reach 40 percent against them (.395) and barely touch 30 percent from deep (.302, which rates second in the league). ... A&M, which has won seven of its last nine conference games, is led by 6-7 guard Danuel House (14.1 ppg, 3.7 rpg), who tops the team in 3-point shooting at 41 percent, and 6-7 forward Jalen Jones (13.6 ppg, 6.0 rpg). Junior guard Alex Caruso (9.7 ppg) is one of the SEC's best playmakers, evidenced by his league-leading 5.7 assists per game. At 6-5, he'll be a matchup problem for UF's smaller backcourt, with his vision and height combination an impressive combination.
SOME NUMBERS OF NOTE 
* .083 - Florida's winning percentage, based on a 1-12 record, when opponents score at least 60 points.
* 1.000 - Florida's winning percentage, based on an 11-0 record, when opponents don't score 60 points.
* .280 - Combined shooting percentage of guards Kasey Hill (3-for-10), Eli Carter (3-for-9) and Chris Chiozza (1-for-6) in the Ole Miss game. It's tough to space the floor and open the lane for penetration with those numbers from the backcourt. [Note: Carter, pictured right, did make a trio of 3-pointers on eight attempts after going 9-for-39 his previous seven games.]
* 11 - Starting lineups by the Gators this season, after the latest reconfigured set -- Jon Horford, Finney-Smith, Robinson, Hill and Carter -- was rolled out against the Rebels in Frazier's absence.
* 72 - Frazier's streak for consecutive games played, which ended when he sat out Thursday night.
WATCH FOR IT
Only makes sense that A&M will play a lot of zone and thus dare the Gators to make a shot. With UF struggling to score -- in five of the last six losses, the Gators have scored just 61 points -- it cannot set up in the press and thus get the game going in the style of play Florida prefers. Without much perimeter punch (less so with Frazier out), why play anything but zone?
