Pregame Stuff: No. 7 Florida vs No. 1 Duke (Sunday, 10:30 EST)

No. 7 FLORIDA vs No. 1 DUKE

When: Sunday, 10:30 p.m. (EST)
Where: Moda Center, Portland, Ore.
Records: Florida 5-0, Duke 7-0
TV: ESPN (Dan Shulman and Jay Bilas)
Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network (Ted Emrich and Mark Wise)

STAKES (The Setup)

The Gators have had less than 48 hours to decompress from one of the program's all-time victories. Friday night's 111-105 double-overtime defeat of 17th-ranked Gonzaga had all the feel of a game that means a lot late in the season -- and it was basically on the road. UF, though, battled from four points down with three minutes left, forced an overtime, then pushed into a second extra period and stunned the pro-Zag crowd with an electrifying offensive display against the reigning NCAA Tournament runner-up. Congrats, guys. Now, you get Duke. ... The Blue Devils also had an overtime game in second-round action, rallying from 16 down to defeat Texas 85-78. That one, though, was eight hours earlier, so Duke had a chance to get off its collective feet and watch UF and Gonzaga play until almost midnight. Actually, the team probably was asleep when the UF game ended. ... The Gators and Blue Devils have played 17 times, with Duke holding a 4-13 advantage that includes when the two teams played last Dec. 6 in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden. In that one, the Blue Devils got 29 points from guard Luke Kennard and won 84-74, a game they controlled basically from the outset. Kennard hit 11 of 16 shots and five of seven 3-point attempts. Forward Jayson Tatum had 22 points and eight rebounds. Both Kennard (Detroit) and Tatum (Boston) are in the NBA now. The Gators were led by KeVaughn Allen's 21 points, and John Egbunu's nine points and 12 rebounds. ... UF is 147-133 all-time against opponents from the Atlantic Coast Conference, with a 2-4 mark under Coach Mike White. ... Florida has not played against the nation's top-ranked team since falling 58-52 at Michigan State on Dec. 12, 2015.

STARTERS (Probable Lineups)

FLORIDA	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Class	Per Game
Egor Koulechov	F	6-5	205	G-Transfer	18.2 pts / 7.2 reb
Keith Stone	F	6-8	245	R-Sophomore	6.6 pts / 3.8 reb
Jalen Hudson	F	6-6	192	R-Junior	21.2 pts / 3.8 reb
KeVaughn Allen	G	6-2	193	Junior	12.8 pts / 4.0 reb
Chris Chiozza	PG	6-0	180	Senior	13.2 pts / 5.6 reb / 6.8 ast

DUKE	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Class	Per Game
Wendell Carter Jr.	F	6-10	259	Freshman	13.7 pts / 9.4reb
Marvin Bagley III	F	6-11	234	Freshman	21.1 pts / 10.7 reb
Grayson Allen	G	6-5	205	Senior	16.9 pts / 4.3 ast
Gary Trent Jr.	G	6-6	209	Freshman	12.3 pts / 5.3 reb
Trevon Duval	G	6-3	186	Freshman	13.4 pts / 6.6 ast

STANDING OUT (One to Watch)

The consensus No. 1 prospect of the 2018 class reclassified and became the consensus No. 1 prospect in the 2017 class. At 6-foot-11 and 234 pounds, **Marvin Bagley III** is NBA-ready right now, which figures to a trouble for the Florida front line, considering the Blue Devils have a couple other lottery picks in waiting. Bagley will use his size, strength and uncommon ball skills for a player his size to basically do what he wants to get in the paint. In Friday's win against Texas, Bagley scored 34 points by making 12 of 19 shots. He also had 15 rebounds. So far, he's shooting nearly 61 percent from the floor, but just 55 from the free-throw line, though he could foul out a bunch of defenders getting there.

STUFF (Need-to-Know Info)

ABOUT THE GATORS: They've equaled the program's best start over the past five seasons, but getting to 6-0 for the first time since 2012 will be quite the challenge. Then again, Duke might be saying the same thing about slowing down what Florida has going on offense. UF is shooting 50.1 percent from the floor, nearly 47 percent from the 3-point line and making 78 percent of its free throws. The Gators have hit at least 11 3-pointers in four of their five games, and at least 15 in three of them. ... The first couple games, the spotlight beamed on forward and Rice grad transfer Egor Koulechov, but the last three games it's been swingman Jalen Hudson, the transfer from Virginia Tech, who put up other-worldly shooting numbers. Hudson had a career-high 35 points in the win over Gonzaga, with 31 of them coming after halftime. In hitting 11 of 20 shots and eight of 12 from deep, Hudson has now gone 23-for-41 overall and 13-for-23 from distance over his previous three games. ... Koulechov, who had 26 points Thursday against Stanford, led the club in scoring going into the Gonzaga game, but went 1-for-9 and missed all six of his 3-balls. He also grabbed nine rebounds, had four assists and two steals. "Russian Rocket" will be fine. ... Point guard Chris Chiozza played his finest all-around game as a Gator. His box-score line spoke for itself (career-high 26 points, 8 rebounds, 10 assists), but Chiozza also played great defense on All-America candidate Josh Lester and eventually fouled out the Zags point guard. ... Shooting guard KeVaughn Allen, after a mostly lackluster first four games, came alive Friday with a season-best 23 points, including 11-for-11 from the free-throw line and five assists. ... Center Kevarrius Hayes returned to action following a one-game suspension for violating team rules. Hayes came off the bench to tally four points and four rebounds in

24 minutes. ... ABOUT THE BLUE DEVILS: It's more of the same in Year 37 under Coach Mike Kzyzewski, who won his 1,000th game at Duke the second game of the season and now stands 1,105-330 all-time at the school. The last few seasons have seen Kzyzewski completely revamp his philosophy on building programs, having now embraced the "one-and-done" business model. The Blue Devils have had nine one-and-done freshmen drafted in the NBA's first round the last seven years, with more on the way in 2018 -- and not just Bagley. ... Duke started three other freshmen, all with McDonald's All-America pedigree, including forward Wendell Carter, Jr., who at nearly 260 pounds is ready for low-post pros right now. Carter is shooting 66 percent from the field. Point guard Trevon Duval, a teammate of UF's injured freshman center Isaiah Stokes at Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy, was the nation's top-ranked prospect at his position last year. He'll have a size advantage on Chiozza, but so does everyone. Shooting guard Gary Trent Jr.'s father, famously nicknamed "Shaq of the MAC," was 1995 Mid-American Conference Player of the Year and a lottery pick by the Milwaukee Bucks in that year's draft. ... Oh, and then there's senior Grayson Allen, merely a reigning first-team All-American, former MVP of the Final Four and preseason ACC Player of the Year. Allen may be known for his on-court histrionics, but he stuffs the box score, and is well on his way to becoming a 2,000-point scorer in his Duke career. ... The Gators have not approached where White (the son of Duke athletic director Kevin White, of course) wants them to be on defense, and the Blue Devils -- at 99 points per game and nearly 50 percent from the floor -- have the means to exploit UF's weaknesses even more so than Gonzaga did in scoring 105 points.

STATS (Some Numbers of Note)

* .133 — Florida's all-time winning percentage, based on a 2-13 record, in games played against teams ranked No. 1. Those two wins came against Duke in the 2000 NCAA Tournament round of 16 and against Ohio State in the 2007 NCAA title game.

* 4 — Times the Gators have reached 100 points in their five games this season. UF is averaging 102.6 points per game.

* 13 — Points needed by Allen to become the 51st player in UF history to score 1,000 in his Gators career.

* 48 — Minutes (out of 250) against Gonzaga for the UF bench, which shrank a bit in the high-level, high-stakes circumstances. Backup point guard Mike Okauru and swingman Deaundrae Ballard got just 10 and seven minutes, respectively. Center Gorjok Gak had only eight.

* 105 — Points scored Friday by Gonzaga, which marked the most points ever scored by a Florida opponent in a Gators win.

STATEMENT (Random thought)

Regardless of the outcome against the Blue Devils, the PK80 has been a phenomenal experience for the Gators, as well as a showcase for what this program is capable of under the direction of White and his staff.

Gators Calendar

Pregame Stuff: No. 7 Florida vs No. 1 Duke (Sunday, 10:30 EST)

Players Mentioned

KeVaughn Allen

Deaundrae Ballard

Chris Chiozza

John Egbunu

Gorjok Gak

Kevarrius Hayes

Jalen Hudson

Egor Koulechov

Mike Okauru

Isaiah Stokes

Keith Stone

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Pregame Stuff: No. 7 Florida vs No. 1 Duke (Sunday, 10:30 EST)

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Players Mentioned

KeVaughn Allen

Deaundrae Ballard

Chris Chiozza

John Egbunu

Gorjok Gak

Kevarrius Hayes

Jalen Hudson

Egor Koulechov

Mike Okauru

Isaiah Stokes

Keith Stone

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