Pregame Stuff: Florida vs Florida Gulf Coast, Friday (7:30 pm)
Thursday, November 10, 2016 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
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The Gators officially open the 2016-17 season against the Eagles in Jacksonville.
By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
FLORIDA vs FLORIDA GULF COAST
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m. (ET) Where: Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville, Fla. Records: Season opener for both teams TV: SEC Network+ (Bernie Guenther and Bill Koss) Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network (Mick Hubert and Mark Wise)
STAKES (The Setup)
John Egbunu
The 101st season of Florida basketball -- and the second under Coach Mike White -- tips off 85 miles from the Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center, which is in the final month-plus of a $64.5 million renovation that has forced the relocation of the Gators' first four home to various venues around the state. All told, UF will play its first 11 games away from the O'Dome until the building's grand reopening, set for Dec. 21 against Arkansas-Little Rock. ... UF will make its 2016-17 debut tonight against the Eagles, participants in the 2016 NCAA Tournament, then be back in the Veterans Memorial Arena Sunday night for a date against Mercer. ... Florida is coming off a 21-15 season that ended three games deep into the NIT. Of that squad, forward Dorian Finney-Smith, who led the team in both scoring and rebounding and made the NBA Dallas Mavericks as an undrafted rookie, is the lone rotational player not back. ... UF is 3-0 all-time against FGCU, including a 70-50 win last Nov. 27 with White on the sideline. In that game, Finney-Smith had 23 points and center John Egbunu carded a double-double (17 points, 11 rebounds) and helped their team overcome 22-percent shooting from the 3-point line. ... FGCU went 21-14 last season, finishing in third place in the Atlantic Sun Conference, the capturing the league's postseason tournament title and accompanying NCAA berth. The Eagles defeated co-No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson in a First Four East Region game 96-65, then lost 83-67 to eventuall tournament runner-up and top-seed North Carolina 83-67, a game FGCU trailed by just one at halftime.
So, just what are the Gators going to get out junior forward Devin Robinson in his junior season? He's been a good player, averaging 7.8 points and 4.2 rebounds his first two seasons, but his career has been dotted with inconsistency, especially when it comes to rebounding and defense. Robinson was all set to give the NBA a try last spring, only to have that path derailed by a stress fracture in his foot. After surgery and a season of rehab, Robinson remains the team's best prospect -- at least in the eyes of scouts -- and now has another chance to flash the skills that made him a top 30 prospect when he signed with Coach Billy Donovan's staff in 2014.
STUFF (Game Day Info)
The Gators are back at the venue where they played a "exhibition" game against Division II Eckerd College on Oct. 26, winning that one 91-63 behind a fairly balanced box score (six players in double-figures, plus another with nine points), led by 18 points and 13 rebounds from Egbunu, as well as 12 points and eight rebounds from
Chris Chiozza
Robinson. UF, though, trailed at halftime of that game, thanks to some poor shooting and even worse half-court defense, but turned the game around by unfolding full-court pressure for nearly the entire second half. FGCU will be more prepared for that tactic. The Eagles like to play fast, but whether they can keep up with the Gators is the question. ... Keep an eye on UF sophomore guardKeVaughn Allen. He's had some red-hot days during preseason practices, but also some ice-cold ones -- like the Eckerd game, as well as the team's live scrimmage against UAB. Allen, named to the league's All-Freshman Team last year and the Preseason All-SEC team just month, would be the logical choice to lead the Gators in scoring during '16-17. ... Chris Chiozza will play a lot and should. He's earned it with some of the best (and hardest-working) practices of his career during the preseason. ... Three playes will make their UF debuts: guard/forward Canyon Barry, the graduate transfer from College of Charleston and youngest son of NBA legend Rick Barry; redshirt freshman forward Keith Stone, a talented but inexperienced scorer who figures to get some serious minutes as a "stretch-4;" true freshman guard Eric Hester, whose strength for now lies on the defense end and whose role will define itself as the season moves on. ... About Florida Gulf Coast: The Eagles, entering their fourth season under Coach Joe Dooley (122-90 overall; 65-38 at FGCU), return eight of their 10 top scorers, including three double-figure scorers, led by 6-8 forward Marc-Eddy Norelia (17.1 ppg), along with guards Christian Terrell and Zach Johnson. Norelia, who also topped the team in rebounds last season at 9.3 per game, has missed a large portion of the preseason after suffering a broken hand in October and dealing with a personal situation. His status for the game is questionable. ... FGCU is counting on big things from point guard Brandon Goodwin, who was a very good player for two seasons at UCF before transferring. With the Knights, Goodwin scored 30 points in a game and also tied the American Conference record for assists in a game with 13. ... There are no players left on the roster from the team taht became a national "Dunk City" phenomenon in 2013 by shocking both San Diego State and Georgetown as a 15-seed before being eliminated in the Sweet 16 by the Gators. UF won that game 62-50 in Arlington, Texas. In fact, in each of the last three meetings between the programs, the Eagles have failed to surpass 50 points.
STATS (Some Numbers of Note)
Lon Kruger was UF's coach in 1990, the last time the Gators lost a season opener. * .826 — Gators all-time winning percentage vs. teams from the A-Sun, including a 3-0 mark under White.
* 7 — Cities the Gators will play in before their first true home game, with six of them in the state (Jacksonville, Lakeland, Tampa, Orlando, New York, Tallahassee and Sunrise).
* 7a — Division I transfers on the FGCU roster. The Eagles have players who came to Fort Myers by way of Pittsburgh, Central Connecticut State, Texas Tech, Michigan, UNLV, Tulane and UCF.
* 25 — Consecutive season openers won by the Gators, dating to a 76-66 defeat of Florida A&M to open the '91-92 campaign. UF's last debut defeat came on Nov. 24, 1990, the first game under Coach Lon Kruger, who dropped a 70-61 decision to South Florida in Tampa.
* 295 — Combined collegiate starts on the UF roster, far and away the most returning for the program in recent history. For context, the defending national champion 2006-07 team returned 267 starts; the '12-13 and '13-14 squads, both eventual SEC champs, returned 246 and 202, respectively.
* 2010 — The last time the Gators lost to an A-Sun program. Jacksonville University came to town on Dec. 20, 2010 and beat UF 71-68 in overtime. That Florida squad went on to win the SEC.
