Pregame Shootaround: Florida at Georgia (Tuesday, 9 pm)

FLORIDA at GEORGIA

When: Tuesday, 9 p.m. (ET)
Where: Stegeman Coliseum, Gainesville, Fla.
Records: Florida (16-9, 7-5), Georgia (14-9, 7-5)
TV: ESPN (with Brad Nessler and Sean Farnham)
Radio: Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network (with Mick Hubert and Bill Koss). Check for availability here.

STAKES, STARS AND STATS

>>> Background: A pivotal game for both programs, given their shared spot in the Southeastern Conference standings and relative to their NCAA Tournament hopes. After the Gators lost at home Saturday to Alabama and the Bulldogs won at Mississippi State, the two are part of a four-way tie (along with Texas A&M and Vanderbilt) for fourth place in the league; one game behind third-place South Carolina and two in back of first-place Kentucky and LSU. Every win now is critical -- especially now in the all-important "Last 10 Games" category -- to NCAA resumes, as SEC teams start jockeying for late-season positioning. ... UF leads the all-time series 110-100, but is 37-51 at Athens, including last season's 73-61 loss. ... The two teams met on Jan. 2 at the O'Connell Center, where the Gators opened the SEC season with a 77-63 win. In that one, freshman guard KeVaughn Allen had 18 points and sophomore center John Egbunu scored 12 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, while the UF defense limited the Dogs to just 29 percent shooting in the second half.

>>> About Florida: The loss to the Crimson Tide could not have come at more inopportune time, what with trips to Georgia and South Carolina this week. The game also challenges the Gators' offensive confidence, after the third-worst shooting performance (28.6 percent) in the last 20 seasons, not to mention the 3-for-21 eyesore from the 3-point line (14.3 percent) and 16-for-27 from the free-throw line (59.3 percent) in a six-point game. ... UF is 2-6 on the road, including 1-4 in the SEC. ... One of the biggest reasons behind the loss to Alabama was the Tide's defense and ability to deny UF senior forward Dorian Finney-Smith (15.4 ppg, 8.1 rpg), who was unable to get free for drives and jumpers in the halfcourt. His 12 points equaled his fewest over the previous 10 games. ... Egbunu (10.8 ppg, 6.6 rpg) is coming off his fifth double-double (10 points, 11 rebounds) of the season, but he was just 2-for-9 from the floor and 6-for-14 from the free-throw line to go with three turnovers. Look for defenses to continue to foul and double-team him. ... Allen (11.6 ppg) has scored in double-figures eight of the previous nine games and is averaging 13.1 points and shooting 44.6 percent from the floor in SEC play. ... Sophomore forward Devin Robinson (8.8 ppg, 6.0 rpg) made his first start in 14 games Saturday. He missed all five of his field-goal attempts and scored only two points, but Robinson's effort level was outstanding on his way to a team-best 12 rebounds. ... Sophomore point guard Chris Chiozza remains in a shooting slump (24 percent FG, 14 percent 3s over last 4 games), but he needs to continue to fire away when open. That's how the Gators broke free of their shooting woes earlier in the season.

>>> About Georgia: Like just about every other team in the SEC, the Bulldogs have been markedly better at home (12-3 overall, 5-1 against the league). ... As if Florida's shooting of late hasn't been problematic enough, Georgia ranks second in the league in both overall field-goal percentage defense (.378) and 3-point defense (.311). ... UGA started 2-3 in conference play, but has won five of seven to get themselves in position to play some big games down the stretch. .... Offensively, the Dogs have four starters averaging in double figures, led by 6-8, 240-pound forward Yante Maten (16.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg). As good and active as Maten has been, it's Georgia's three veteran guards that really make the Bulldogs go. Be it junior J.J. Frazier (15.4 ppg, 4.8 rpg), or seniors Kenny Gaines (13.1 ppg, 2.9 rpg) and Charles Mann (11.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg), any of them are capable of going for 20 points in a game, with Frazier (.393) and Gaines (.390) both at nearly 40 percent from the 3-point line. ... Despite some really good guards, the Dogs are not great at taking care of the ball (13.9 turnovers per game is 12th in the league) and don't take it all that much, either (11.1 pg, next to last in the league).

SOME NUMBERS OF NOTE

* Minus-40 -- Egbunu's assist-to-turnover ratio, based on 10 assists and 50 turnovers. In SEC play, he's seven assists and 27 turnovers.

* .474 -- Junior forward Justin Leon's percentage from 3-point range (he went 2-for-4 against Bama) which remains the best on the team.

* 1.000 -- White's all-time winning percentage at Athens, thanks to his 2014 Louisiana Tech squad that went to Stegeman and upset the Bulldogs 79-71 in the NIT.

* 6 -- UF players with three straight double-doubles over the past 20 seasons (including Finney-Smith). Egbunu has a chance to make it seven.

* 23 -- Finney-Smith's streak for consecutive games with at least one 3-pointer, which ended in the loss against Alabama when he missed both attempts from deep.

WATCH FOR IT

White shook up the starting lineup for the Alabama game, going with Robinson over Leon. Don't be surprise if the Gators switch it up again, as White continues, as he likes to say, "searching."

Gators Calendar

Pregame Shootaround: Florida at Georgia (Tuesday, 9 pm)

Players Mentioned

KeVaughn Allen

Chris Chiozza

John Egbunu

Dorian Finney-Smith

Justin Leon

Devin Robinson

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Pregame Shootaround: Florida at Georgia (Tuesday, 9 pm)

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Players Mentioned

KeVaughn Allen

Chris Chiozza

John Egbunu

Dorian Finney-Smith

Justin Leon

Devin Robinson

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