Pre-Game 'Stuff' - Florida vs Alabama in (SEC Tournament, Thursday, 1 pm)
Wednesday, March 11, 2015 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
FLORIDA vs. ALABAMA
SEC TOURNAMENT -- SECOND ROUND
When: Thursday, 1 p.m. (ET)
Where: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tenn.
Records: UF 15-16; Alabama 18-13
TV: SEC Network (with Brad Nessler, Sean Farnham and Shannon Spake)
Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network (with Mick Hubert and Mark Wise), check for local outlets here.
THE SCHEDULE
WEDNESDAY (Bottom 4 seeds)
Mississippi State (12-19) vs Auburn (12-19), 7 p.m.
South Carolina (15-15) vs Missouri (9-22)
THURSDAY (Seeds 5-9, plus Wednesday winners)
Alabama (18-13) vs Florida (15-16), 1 p.m.
MSU-Auburn winner vs Texas A&M (20-10), 3:30 p.m.
Tennessee (15-15) vs Vanderbilt (19-12), 7 p.m.
USC-Mizzou winner vs Ole Miss (20-11), 9:30 p.m.
FRIDAY (Seeds 1-4, plus Thursday winners)
UF-Alabama winner vs Kentucky (31-0), 1 p.m.
MSU-Auburn-A&M winner vs LSU (22-9), 3:30 p.m.
UT-Vandy winner vs Arkansas (24-7), 7 p.m.
USC-Mizzou-Ole Miss winner vs Georgia, 9:30 p.m.
SATURDAY
Semifinals, 1 and 3:30 p.m.
SUNDAY
Championship, 1 p.m.
STAKES, STARS & STATS
>>> Florida and Alabama meet for the second time this season. The Gators defeated the Crimson Tide 52-50 on Jan. 27 at Tuscaloosa, when forward Dorian Finney-Smith drove the lane and threw down a dunk with 21 seconds to play, then blocked and rebounded 'Bama guard Levi Randolph's attempt to tie the game as time expired. ... That win marked the 10 straight for the Gators in the series, dating to the 2009 season, and 10th in the last 12 meetings. The Tide leads the all-time series 73-65, but UF is 22-5 with Coach Billy Donovan on the sidelines.
>>> Florida, the defending tournament champion, has reached the championship game three of the previous four years -- and to the semifinals the odd year out -- but each time had byes into the quarterfinal round. This will mark the first time since 2010 that UF has played in the tournament's Thursday round. ... UF expects to have Michael Frazier II (12.8 ppg, 4.4 rpg) in a healthier capacity than it did in Saturday's 67-50 loss at Kentucky, when the junior guard and team's best 3-point shooter (45.1 percent in SEC play) returned to action after missing seven games with a high-ankle sprain. Frazier scored only three points in 18 hobbling minutes against the Wildcats, but was held out of contact work all week to rest him for the tourney. ... The conference announced its postseason honors Tuesday, with Finney-Smith (13.1 ppg, 6.0 rpg) receiving second team All-SEC honors. The junior is now up to 48.1 percent shooting from the floor and 43.3 from the 3-point line. ... Sophomore point guard Kasey Hill (7.3 ppg, 4.2 apg) had one of his best offensive games in the loss against UK in going 7-for-13 from the floor, but had just one assist in that game, compared to four turnovers. He also was 1-for-3 from the free throw line, dipping his league average to 43.6 percent (24 of 35). ... After a three-game stretch when he went 2-for-16 from the 3-point line, junior guard Eli Carter is 7-for-17 since from deep; he's also 0-for-5 from inside the arc during that same span. Junior forward Devin Robinson (6.4 ppg, 2.9 rpg) had averaged 11 points and 4.8 rebounds the previous five games, will look to bounce back after being stymied by Kentucky's enormous front line and held to just two points, two rebounds in that game.
>>> Alabama not only rests in the middle of the pack in the SEC standings, but the Tide ranks in the top four in only one of the league's major statistically categories: 4th in free throw percentage (.717). That, in itself, is a significant number when lined up against Florida's league-worst 63.2 percent. ... As a team, Bama shoots 43.8 percent from the floor (6th in the league) and 31.7 from deep (12th), but the Tide averages 6.5 3s per game, which ranks fifth and means they're capable of knocking them down. ... Randolph (15.2 ppg, 3.7 rpg, pictured right), the 6-5 senior guard, is the guy who makes the Tide go, but backcourt classmate Rodney Cooper (10.5 ppg, 3.7 rpg) certainly can get it going, evidenced by his team-best 43 makes from downtown. ... In the first game, 6-10, 240-pound sophomore forward Jimmie Taylor (5.3 ppg, 4.9 rpg) got hit with two fouls inside of four minutes and was a non-factor the rest of the way. When in the game, Taylor can clog the middle and make finishing at the basket a problem. ... Alabama is a coming off a huge 61-60 win at Texas A&M, a game the Aggies really needed to push their case for an NCAA Tournament at-large berth. Coach Anthony Grant's team is playing with some confidence and certainly should be motivated, given no player on the roster ever has beaten Florida.
SOME NUMBERS OF NOTE
* .476 - Florida's all-time record in the SEC Tournament, based on a 41-45 record.
* .650 - Florida's record in the SEC Tournament under Donovan, based on his 26-14 record that includes the only four tourney titles in program history (2005, '06, '07 and '14).
* .882 - Donovan's record against his former assistant coaches, based on a 14-2 record that includes an 8-0 mark against Grant, who served on the UF sideline from 1996 to 2006 and was part of the program's first NCAA championship team.
* 5 - Times the SEC Tournament has been held in Nashville, where the Gators can claim a 7-3 record, one championship ('06), plus another appearance in the final ('13).
* 1997 - The last time UF lost at least 17 games -- Donovan's first season after taking over for Lon Kruger -- which will be the number the Gators hit with their next defeat. Donovan's '96-97 squad finished 13-17.
WATCH FOR IT
Obviously, the Gators' goal is to make a miraculous run through this tournament and chase the automatic NCAA berth that goes to the winner. Short of that, no one can be certain what the NIT selection committee will be thinking relative to Florida, but the tournament no longer prevents teams with losing records to be considered for invitation. Worth noting: No team with a long record has ever been invited. That said, the chances are no NIT “bubble” team ever has played six games against the likes of Kentucky, Kansas, North Carolina and Connecticut, which happen to be six of the last 10 national champions (Florida accounts for two more of those, plus Duke and Louisville). UF's schedule is rated the sixth-hardest in the nation, with 11 games against teams ranked in the RPI Top 50 (the Gators won just one of those) and 21 against the Top 100.
