1) So I'm at Florida practice every day. I see the work these guys put into their craft, especially when it comes to post-practice, individual stuff. They shoot a ton of a extra shots and Coach Mike Whitemade that point Saturday regarding Canyon Barryafter he rained a season-high 27 on the Bulldogs. Barry went through a little bit of an offensive funk in late-November and into December, making just two of 14 shots from the 3-point line over a six-game stretch. Then he went 3-for-7 in the debut game at Exactech Arena, but followed it up with just two points in 12 minutes in the Southeastern Conference opener at Arkansas. After struggling against the likes of Duke, Florida State and Arkansas, it was reasonable to question if the transition from mid-major competition at College of Charleston to the SEC was going to be too big a step for Barry to make in his fifth-year senior season — unless you knew Barry, that is. I said then and repeat now that the intellect he is known for off the court would translate onto the court as he navigated how to play against bigger, faster, longer and stronger bodies. This is not to say Barry won't have similar games like the one he had at Arkansas, but in five SEC games (that Razorbacks trip included), he is shooting 54.5 percent from the floor, 47.8 from the arc and 85.7 from the free-throw line.
Center John Egbunu holds his ground vs Georgia.2) There's no secret junior center John Egbunuis frustrated with the season he's had to date on the offensive end and his inability to match the late-season growth of a year ago (remember those 27 points against Kentucky on "Senior Day?"). When Egbunu has the ball in the post, opponents know exactly how to defend him, be it with double-teams or single-team tactics. That's why his field-goal percentage is down from 59.1 percent last season to 44.4. That's just a fact. And here's another one: Florida doesn't beat Georgia without him. Egbunu is a very good low-post defender — sometimes a great one — and UF needed him on the floor down the stretch because, frankly, the Bulldogs' bigs (like 6-8, 240-pound Yante Maten and 6-8, 245-pound Derek Ogbeide) and were shoving 220-pound Kevarrius Hayes(2 points, 3 rebounds, 12 minutes) wherever they wanted. The 6-foot-11, 250-pound Egbunu played the last 3:51 of regulation and all five minutes of overtime. In those 8 minutes and 51 seconds Egbunu grabbed eight rebounds and was in the middle of the scrum when a missed Hill free-throw was knocked out of bounds by Georgia, giving UF a team rebound and, eventually, a possession to tie the game. Florida totaled eight rebounds in overtime and "Big John" had five of them, including one on the defensive end following J.J. Frazier's missed 3-ball for the tie. Egbunu was fouled and made the first of two free throws to ice the game. Both Egbunu and his teammates would be wise to take that performance as a lesson on staying engaged. He finished with just five points, but cleared 11 rebounds and had a steal in 30 minutes.
3) A popular narrative you'll be hearing regarding this team in the coming games will focus on switching the starting lineup.. Make sense, right? Florida's reserves, led by Barry and redshirt freshman forward Keith Stone, outscored the starters 41-39 at Alabama last Tuesday night, and one-upped themselves against Georgia by a 51-29 count. The front court of Hayes, Devin Robinson and Justin Leonwent 3-for-12, scored only nine points and grabbed six rebounds. So throw Barry and Stone in there, right? Wrong. Every game, every matchup is different. Remember Robinson's 17 points, seven rebounds and three blocks at Arkansas? Or Leon's career-high 19 points three games ago against Tennessee? The current rotation has won seven straight games and is 5-0 in SEC play. As the games unfold, White and his staff will lean on guys playing better (like Barry, Stone and Egbunu yesterday). For what it's worth, the Gators' next game is at South Carolina, a team that also is unbeaten in the SEC and a place Robinson had one of his best games last season (17 points, 8 rebounds). No need to mess with anything, right now. The chemistry on this team is very good. So are the results.
BETTER GET BUSY, SEC
It's early, but the SEC has some work to do relative to improving on last season's three-bid representation in the NCAA Tournament.
No. 6 Kentucky, No. 23 UF and South Carolina, which could punch into the Top 25 this week, remain unbeaten in league play and all three as of Sunday were in the Ratings Percentage Index's Top 25 (Florida 3rd, UK 4th, USC 25th). But in the bigger and more sobering picture, the SEC just doesn't have a lot of so-called "great" wins. In fact, the SEC is a combined 1-32 against teams in the RPI Top 25, with the lone win Kentucky's defeat of North Carolina last month. The conference is 12-17 against RPI 26-50 opponents.
Aside from the few times those three top teams meet -- UF vs. USC Wednesday; USC at UK Saturday -- that ugly first number isn't likely to get a lot better over the course of the season. Then again, interuption of league play for the SEC/Big East Challenge in two weeks means some teams have a shot at some thick and juicy RPI meat against the likes of Kansas, Baylor, West Virginia and Kansas State.
In the meantime, some SEC teams need to beat Florida, Kentucky and South Carolina, who are a combined 10-7 vs RPI Top 50s (and 14-0 vs the rest of the conference). The SEC has three more teams in the RPI Top 50 (Georgia, Arkansas and Ole Miss), plus another three in the Top 69 (Tennessee, Alabama and Vanderbilt). But of those six teams, four have losing records in league play.
CHARTING THE GATORS
Senior point guard Kasey Hill continued his climb up the UF all-time assist list with four against Georgia, moving into a tie with Nick Calathes, who amassed his remarkable numbers in just two years, for fourth place in school history. Hill's next dish for a basket will put him alone in fourth place. He to become just the third Gator to hit the 500 milestone. Here's the top 10 "dime-droppers" for the Gators since the statistic first was tallied in 1967-68.
Alex Murphy (left) scored 18 points and grabbed six rebounds in Northeastern's road upset of Michigan State last month.
He could not stay healthy during his time as a Gator, playing in just 26 of the 59 games he suited up. And, frankly, he really struggled to make shots, going 19 percent from the 3-point arc and 58 percent from the foul line (though he definitely had a few sweet dunks).
But Alex Murphy, after being granted a sixth-year eligibility waiver for medical hardship, has resurrected his game as a graduate transfer at Northeastern, his third program after starting Duke and coming to Florida in December 2013. The 6-8 forward and younger brother of former UF star Erik Murphy is averaging 14.6 points on 52-percent shooting over and nearly 40 percent from deep, plus 5.4 rebounds per game. Earlier this season, he scored nine and grabbed 15 rebounds in an upset win at Connecticut (which must have been personally satisifying, given his two missed free throws late vs UConn at the O'Dome in January '15). He went for 18 points and six boards in another road upset at Michigan State. NU also won at Oakland, which defeated Georgia last month. On Saturday, the Huskies (12-6, 5-1) lost at Towson State, their first defeat in Colonial Athletic Association play after winning eight straight.
Worth noting: NU also signed little brother Tomas Murphy, the four-star recruit and youngest of the hardwood Murphy boys of Wakefield, R.I. Parents Jay and Paivi, no doubt, are proud.
Good luck, Alex.
TWITTER PATTER
A sample of some tweets that got the attention of @GatorsChris and his 'Perspective Police' this week.
This photo (by FloridaGators.com photo intern Courtney Culbreath) is an illuminating snapshot of the positive chemistry going on with this UF team right now.
Actually, the last five games have been tough (all wins). And this may come as a surprise to some, but the opponent has something to do with playing poorly. They're trying to win and have good coaches and players, too.
Hmmm. First off, Florida won the game. That's three straight wins in the series, nine of the last 11, 21 of the last 25 and 14 straight vs UGA at home.
@ufchomp@GatorsChris Yes, but we should expect better from Florida than what UGA basketball fields every year
Through 17 games last season, the Gators were 12-5 and averaging 72.9 points, shooting 41.9 percent from the floor, 30.4 from 3 and 61.2 at the line. Through 17 this season, UF is 14-3, shooting 45.5 from the floor, 35.7 from deep and 72.5 from the line. ... After torturing Ole Miss and Tennessee on his was to winning SEC Player of the Week, sophomore guardKeVaughn Allen was the defensive focal point of both Alabama and Georgia. Allen went a combined 5-for-15 from the floor and 0-for-6 from the 3-point line Crimson Tide and Bulldogs -- and the Gators still beat both. ... Stone started his rookie season 0-for-6 from the 3-point line. He's 12-for-19 in the 11 games since and now leads the team in long-range percentage at 48.0. Leon is second at 41.7 after going 0-for-4 the last two games. ... Wtih Allen and Hill each at two fouls, freshman guard Eric Hester played three minutes at the end of the first half Saturday. It was his first SEC action in a Florida uniform after four DNPs. ... That was UF's first OT game since losing 73-69 at South Carolina last Feb. 20 and the Gators' first OT victory since beating Louisiana-Monroe 61-56 on Nov. 21, 2014. ... Florida's last loss to Georgia in Gainesville came Feb. 12, 2002.
1) So I'm at Florida practice every day. I see the work these guys put into their craft, especially when it comes to post-practice, individual stuff. They shoot a ton of a extra shots and Coach Mike White made that point Saturday regarding Canyon Barry after he rained a season-high 27 on the Bulldogs. Barry went through a little bit of an offensive funk in late-November and into December, making just two of 14 shots from the 3-point line over a six-game stretch. Then he went 3-for-7 in the debut game at Exactech Arena, but followed it up with just two points in 12 minutes in the Southeastern Conference opener at Arkansas. After struggling against the likes of Duke, Florida State and Arkansas, it was reasonable to question if the transition from mid-major competition at College of Charleston to the SEC was going to be too big a step for Barry to make in his fifth-year senior season — unless you knew Barry, that is. I said then and repeat now that the intellect he is known for off the court would translate onto the court as he navigated how to play against bigger, faster, longer and stronger bodies. This is not to say Barry won't have similar games like the one he had at Arkansas, but in five SEC games (that Razorbacks trip included), he is shooting 54.5 percent from the floor, 47.8 from the arc and 85.7 from the free-throw line.
No. 6 Kentucky, No. 23 UF and South Carolina, which could punch into the Top 25 this week, remain unbeaten in league play and all three as of Sunday were in the Ratings Percentage Index's Top 25 (Florida 3rd, UK 4th, USC 25th). But in the bigger and more sobering picture, the SEC just doesn't have a lot of so-called "great" wins. In fact, the SEC is a combined 1-32 against teams in the RPI Top 25, with the lone win Kentucky's defeat of North Carolina last month. The conference is 12-17 against RPI 26-50 opponents.
