Pregame Stuff: Florida vs Incarnate Word (Friday, 7 pm)

FLORIDA vs INCARNATE WORD

When: Friday, 7 p.m. (ET)
Where: Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center, Gainesville, Fla.
Records: Florida 7-4, Incarnate Word 5-4
TV: SEC Network (Mike Morgan and Sean Farnham)
Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network (Mick Hubert and Mark Wise)

STAKES (The Setup)

Less than 48 hours after holding off a pesky James Madison squad, the Gators return to Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center for their final non-league game before opening Southeastern Conference play next weekend. The 72-63 defeat of the Dukes stopped a skid of four losses over the previous five games. To the naked eye, UF wasn't overly impressive, but Coach Mike White had positive things to say about his team's collective defensive effort, especially in the closing minutes, and is seeing hints of progress at the end of the floor, admittedly, at the expense of practice reps on offense. ... UF is trying to wrap the pre-SEC part of its schedule with an 8-4 record. The Gators went into conference play at 8-3 last season, though did so playing just one home game while the O'Dome was undergoing renovations. ... Florida and Incarnate Word will play for the first time. ... The Cardinals are members of the Southland Conference. UF holds is 9-0 all-time against the league, most recently a 79-47 beating of Northwestern State in opening-round play of the 2013 NCAA Tournament at Austin, Texas. ... Florida has not faced a Southland opponent in the three seasons under White.

STARTERS (Probable Lineups)

Florida	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Class	Per Game
Egor Koulechov	F	6-5	205	G-Transfer	14.3 pts / 6.9 reb
Keith Stone	F	6-8	245	R-Sophomore	5.7 pts / 2.9 reb
Kevarrius Hayes	C	6-9	225	Junior	3.9 pts / 4.9 reb
KeVaughn Allen	G	6-2	193	Junior	12.3 pts / 2.8 reb
Chris Chiozza	PG	6-0	180	Senior	12.6 pts / 5.0 reb / 5.9 ast

INCARNATE WORD	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Class	Per Game
Simi Socks	F	6-6	210	Junior	15.4 pts / 5.6 reb
Charles Brown III	F	6-7	215	Junior	11.1 pts / 5.1 reb
Jalin Hart	PG	5-11	160	Senior	9.1 pts / 4.8 ast
Keaton Hervey	G	6-7	190	Freshman	7.3 pts / 2.4 reb
Shawn Johnson	G	6-5	200	Senior	11.4pts / 6.6 reb

STANDING OUT (One to Watch)

STUFF (Need-to-Know Info)

ABOUT THE GATORS: Against James Madison, they hit the 70-point threshold for the first time in December, a run of five games, but only shot 37.9 percent from the floor. ... As of Thursday night, UF had fallen to 59th in the Ratings Percentage Index, down 10 spots from before facing JMU, and good for ninth in the SEC. The Gators' strength of schedule is ranked 30th overall, according to the RPI. ... Senior point guard Chris Chiozza had one of his most complete games of the season against the Dukes, scoring a team-best 19 points, dishing seven assists, grabbing six rebounds and tallying three steals against zero turnovers. Chiozza also held JMU's leading scorer to 11 points below his scoring average, and thus set a tone on that end as far as commitment. ... Shooting guard KeVaughn Allen, after scoring 22 points combined the previous three games, went for 17 and now has gone two games showing (a little) more aggression on the offensive end. His coaches and teammates want to see even more. ... For only the second time in the last eight games, swingman Jalen Hudson, the team's leading scorer at 18.6 points per game, did not start against JMU. He came off the bench to tally 10 points and grab three rebounds. ... Florida, with three front court players sidelined due to injury or health issues, continues to look for production in the post, where starting center Kevarrius Hayes, starting power forward Keith Stone and backup center Gorjok Gak combined for 11 points and 15 rebounds in 58 minutes against the Dukes. JMU equaled UF with 22 points in the paint. ... Regarding that frontline, freshman forward Chase Johnson is back in concussion protocol after suffering a setback in his recovery. ... ABOUT THE CARDINALS: University of Incarnate Word is a Catholic university located in San Antonio, Texas. ... The athletic program went Division I in 2012, but the Cardinals are in their 12th season under Coach Ken Burmeister, who is 198-123 in that time. ... Of their five wins, only one ca,e against a D-1 program (Kansas City-Missouri). The four losses: Loyola Marymount (by 4), Houston (by 39), Gonzaga (by 35) and Texas-El Paso (by 6). ... Incarnate Word has four starters averaging in double figures, led by guard Simi Socks (50.5 percent from the floor), but the Cardinals are expecting 7-foot junior-college transfer Konstantin Kulikov to make his season debut against the Gators. ... They're shooting 44.7 percent overall and surrendering 42.9 percent on defense, with both of those numbers better than UF's. The Cardinals also force 17.8 turnovers. All their statistics, however, should be put in context of a schedule that has included non-D1 foes Southwestern, Trinity, McMurry and Texas Lutheran, all of which were wins for the Cards.

STATS (Some Numbers of Note)

"The Admiral" after getting his masters from Incarnate Word.

* .894 —Winning percentage of the four teams the Gators have lost to this season, based on a combined 42-5 record from Duke (11-1), Florida State (11-1), Loyola Chicago (10-2) and Clemson (10-1).

* 4 — Players in the country who have registered at least seven assists in a game without committing a turnover, like Chiozza did against JMU, in 2017-18.

* 8 — Days before UF opens the SEC season against Vanderbilt, which has won five straight over the Gators, including a three-game sweep last season.

* 428 — Career assists by Chiozza, who has climbed to No. 6 on the UF all-time chart. The next name on the list is Nick Calathes (2007-09), and Chiozza needs 25 assists to pass him.

* 2011 — The year Basketball Hall-of-Famer and Olympic "Dream Teamer" David Robinson, the standout at Navy and for 14 seasons with the NBA San Antonio Spurs, finished work on his master's degree at Incarnate Word.

STATEMENT (Random thought)

Come what may against the Cards, Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all!

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Pregame Stuff: Florida vs Incarnate Word (Friday, 7 pm)

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Players Mentioned

KeVaughn Allen

Chris Chiozza

Gorjok Gak

Kevarrius Hayes

Jalen Hudson

Chase Johnson

Egor Koulechov

Keith Stone

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Pregame Stuff: Florida vs Incarnate Word (Friday, 7 pm)

Next Event

Players Mentioned

KeVaughn Allen

Chris Chiozza

Gorjok Gak

Kevarrius Hayes

Jalen Hudson

Chase Johnson

Egor Koulechov

Keith Stone

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