Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Asked if he could recall the plays that stood out most about his three cracks at rival Florida State, point guard Chris Chiozza needed a moment to focus. 

"My freshman year was here, right?" 

Wrong. Up there. 

His eyes closed, his head nodded.

"Oh yeah," Chiozza said. "Jake." 

Yep. In 2014 at Tallahassee, with the game tied at, FSU guard Devon Bookert hoisted a prayer of a turn-around jumper from the corner. UF walk-on forward Jacob Kurtz jumped to grab the rebound, only to inadvertently direct the ball back toward the rim and through the goal with 0.3 seconds left for a 65-63 Seminoles win. Note to Gator basketball masochists: Video below. 



Chiozza's recollections of the two games since? Sophomore year, Seminoles guard Dwayne Bacon "went off" in the second half on his way to 24 points, including a drive into the lane and pull-up jumper over Kasey Hill with five seconds left for a 73-71 FSU win. The outcome ruined a coming-out party for UF freshman KeVaughn Allen, who dropped a career-high 32 points in just his 12th game. And last year, back in Tallahassee, it was Bacon again frying the Gators with 24 points, as the Seminoles opened a big lead that the Gators closed to one possession in the final minute before FSU closed things out. 

So, make that three straight wins for the Seminoles (6-0), something they've done just four times in a 66-year rivalry that shows the No. 6 Gators (5-1) up 43-24 all-time heading into Monday night's renewal of the "Fresh From Florida Sunshine State Showdown" at what's expected to be a sold-out Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center. FSU has never won four straight in the series, which means Chiozza, as UF's lone fourth-year player, is facing the prospect of becoming the only player in Florida basketball history to lose to Florida State four times. 

Pressure? 

"Nah, no pressure," Chiozza shot back. "Just play." 

Great answer. 

"I know it's a big game in our fans' minds," UF coach Mike White said. "I don't know, if you make a game really emotional, if that puts you in the best place mentally to play well.

[Read senior writer Chris Harry UF-FSU 'Pregame Stuff' breakdown]

White's team needs to come out in a good place mentally, It'll be Florida's first action in eight days, with its last outing an 88-85 loss to No. 1 Duke in the "Motion" bracket championship game of the PK80 Invitational at Portland, Ore. The Gators have used the four practices since to tighten up, refocus and move on from any residual effects of blowing a 10-point lead with four minutes to go and letting what would have been a gold-star victory — and RPI exclamation point — slip from their grasp. 

Much discussion and dissection have gone on about UF's lack of productivity in the front court, especially on defense. But through skull sessions among White and his staff, team meetings, film sessions and work on the floor, the Gators hope they have a better grasp of what they need to do down low defensively while awaiting on 6-foot-11, 255-pound center John Egbunu, whose not expected to return from his knee rehabilitation until well into January, at the earliest. 

 
"Obviously, Big John is super-big and he's talented and he can guard any post guy in the country — but we don't have him right now," junior swingman and leading scorer Jalen Hudson said.  "So we have to buckle down and help those guys [up front]. We have to think about different strategies. I know Coach White and his staff are thinking about some different things we can do; walling up, double-teaming from the baseline, double-teaming from the top. Different things we can show and switch to keep the other guys uncomfortable." 

Under Leonard Hamilton, Florida State is known to be physical, athletic and active beneath the basket. Guys like forwards Terence Mann and Phil Cofer have seen what can be done against the UF bigs. And until Florida shows they return fire with some physicality, athleticism and activity underneath, opponents will come strong and aggressive. 

UF was so close to one of the biggest regular-season wins in its history last week. The Gators played spectacularly in Oregon for all but four minutes. 

But those four minutes proved to be their demise. Now, they have to do something about it.

Collectively. 

"We can't let that we almost beat Duke, the No. 1 team, make us complacent and think we're going to be fine. We're not," Chiozza said. "We should have won that game. We were up double digits. We gave the lead away. We can take some positives from it, though. We know we can beat anybody, but we also know that if shots aren't falling — which has happened — it's going to be a fight down the stretch." 

The most recent three cracks at FSU have gone just like that. They've also all gone the Seminoles' way. 

But never, ever four straight. 

No pressure. Just play.


CHARTING THE GATORS -- HISTORY LESSON 

Florida State trails its all-time series against Florida 24-43, but the Seminoles can do something Monday night they've never done before: Win four in a row over the Gators. They've won three straight three times in the series' 66-year history. Here's a look at those instances.
 
STREAK No. 1 (1969-1979) 
The two programs did not play annually. 
 

Date: Dec. 30, 1969 at Jacksonville 
Score: FSU 88, UF 63 
Note: Does the name Dave Cowens ring a bell? 

Date: Dec. 9, 1978
Score: FSU 69, Florida 61 at Jacksonville 
Note: Nine years since the previous meeting, Murray Brown scored 20 and grabs 9 boards in the win.

Date: Dec. 9, 1978 at Jacksonville 
Score: FSU 69, UF 61
Note: Norm Sloan's fourth game after his return to Florida from North Carolina State. 


STREAK No. 2 (1995-97) 
Bridged the end of Lon Kruger and start of Billy Donovan eras. The teams eschewed the home-and-home series and instead played annually over the three years at the Orlando Arena in the Milk Challenge. 

 

Date: Dec. 16, 1995 at Orlando 
Score: FSU 74, UF 52 
Note: James Collins went for 22 in the last Kruger vs. Pat Kennedy showdown. 

Date: Dec. 21, 1996 at Orlando 
Score: FSU 79, UF 65 
Note: Billy D's first crack at the Noles, but it was Collins again with a big night (27 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists). 

Date: Dec. 14, 1997 at Orlando 
Score: FSU 83, UF 81
Note: Randall Jackson banked in a layup with 0.3 seconds left; Gators paced by 21 points form point guard Jason Williams, who also had 12 turnovers. 


STREAK No. 3 (2006-08) 
Donovan vs. Leonard Hamilton 
 
Date: Dec. 3, 2006 at Tallahassee 
Score: FSU 70, UF 66 
Note: Al Thornton pours in 28, as FSU fans stormed the floor to celebrate a huge win over the No. 1 and defending national champion Gators, who played minus injured forward Corey Brewer. 

Date: Dec. 23, 2007 at Gainesville 
Score: FSU 65, UF 51 
Note: Guard Jason Rich with 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Gators clanged 4 of 23 from the 3-point line. 

Date: Dec. 7, 2008 at Tallahassee 
Score: FSU 57, UF 55 
Note: Forward Reid Ryan with 13 points and 11 rebounds in an ugly overall offensive display; Gators shot 39 percent and just 4-for-18 from the arc. 


STREAK No. 4 (2015-17) 
Bridges Donovan and Mike White eras with two unforgettable outcomes. 
 
Date: Dec. 30, 2015 at Tallahassee
Score: FSU 65, UF 63 
Note: Walk-on forward Jacob Kurtz, jumping for a rebound, accidentally tapped a missed Seminoles shot up and through goal with less than one second left. 

Date: Dec. 29, 2015 at Gainesville 
Score: FSU 73, UF 71 
Note: Guard Dwayne Bacon scored 24 points, including a driving jumper with five seconds left, to offset a 32-point night from Gators freshman guard KeVaughn Allen. 

Date: Dec. 11, 2016 at Tallahassee 
Score: FSU 83, UF 78 
Note: Bacon went for 24 again and Seminoles held off late Gators rally.