UF shooting guard KeVaughn Allen (5) scored one point at South Carolina last month.
Who Will Score in This Defensive War?
Tuesday, February 21, 2017 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
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South Carolina and Florida rank second and third in the nation, respectively, in defensive efficiency.
By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Southeastern Conference teams play five rematches each season, so there are always things to learn from one game to the next. Take Florida, for example. The Gators pride themselves on defense and yet when they played Georgia the first time UF was far too loose on that end of the floor, but managed to prevail in overtime. In the rematch, on the road, the Gators' defense traveled for a double-digit victory.
Rematch No. 2 comes Tuesday night when 13th-ranked UF (22-5, 12-2), winner of eight straight and tied with Kentucky for first place in the Southeastern Conference standings, gets a call from South Carolina (20-7, 10-4) at the Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center. The Gamecocks have lost two straight and three of the last four, but utterly smothered the Gators in their initial meeting Jan. 18 behind a league-leading defense that held the Gators to a season-low point total in winning 57-53.
That's a great (and obvious) baseline from which to begin. Indeed, the Gators missed all 17 of their attempts from behind the 3-point line, halting a run of 850 straight games, dating to the 1992 season, that UF hit at least one trey in a game. It would be easy to chalk that dismal display as just an historically awful outlier, but the Gamecocks are the league's best defensive team (and No. 3 defense in the nation, according to KenPom.com's advance metrics) for a reason. What you get against them, you earn. In the rare case you have an open look — and the Gators had some clear ones last time — you tend to rush it because of momentary surprise or impending havoc coming your way.
"They play as hard as any team in college basketball," White said.
Unbridled effort is what every coach strives for, White included. For the past month, he's gotten about all he can on that front. In the second half of the season, the Gators have played with incredible want-to, especially on the defensive end during the current eight-game streak. By holding all but one of those eight opponents to an average of 14 points below their per-game average, Florida has rocketed up the KenPom defensive efficiency column and sits just one spot behind the Gamecocks, who allow 88.7 points per 100 possessions compared to the Gators' 89.2.
Offensively, South Carolina averages 73 points per game and will be hard-pressed to reach that number on the road against Florida, which is giving up just 65.9 per. The Gators average 79.5. Good luck hitting that against the Gamecocks, who allow a mere 64.1. Neither team got within 15 of their current average in the last meeting. Both kept the other eight points from their average.
Every Florida shot will be challenge by the South Carolina defense, much like this one from Canyon Barry in the Gamecocks' 57-53 win Jan. 18. Barry, the team's leading scorer at 13.2 points per game, rolled his ankle late in Saturday's win at Mississippi State and did not practice Sunday or Monday, His availability will be game-time decision.
Yes, this will be a physical war. For the Gators, it might be a mental one, also.
Think about it. In its quest to win a conference title, Florida will face a brutal season-ending run against four of the league's highest-ranked teams in the Rating Percentage Index (UF is the fifth, by the way), with road dates at Kentucky (7th in RPI) Saturday and Vanderbilt (48th) March 4 sandwiched around the home finale against Arkansas (33rd) March 1. No other SEC team, at the top of the standings or otherwise, has anywhere near as difficult a slate.
But it starts with South Carolina (33rd). There can be no looking ahead.
UF only scored 57 in its road victory Saturday at Mississippi State, as the Gators struggled to find an offensive rhythm in their first outing since the season-ending loss to starting center John Egbunu to a knee injury. Defensively, the Bulldogs are nothing like the junkyard dogs who will be wearing USC uniforms Tuesday.
"Last time, [from] the tip, they boxed out hard and will do everything they can to try and win the physical battle, get the rebounds, driving to the hole, drawing fouls," said UF promoted sophomore center Kevarrius Hayes, who was splendid at MSU (9 points, 10 rebounds, 4 blocks) and whose energy on the floor never ceases to amaze his coaches and teammates. "It's going to be a very tough game for all of us, mentally and physically."
Senior forward Justin Leon is another Gator who makes his bones with effort. He knows what the team will be up against. The Gamecocks are tough enough without a backs-to-the-wall mentality. They'll be ferocious in this setting.
"All I know is I have to play even harder against them just to match their level," Leon said. "They're going to be ready to play. They won a close one against us at their place, but now they've lost [the last] two, so they're going to come out with fire. Coach White has emphasized the first four minutes of the game are going to be important."
In the last meeting, the Gators and Gamecocks combined to start the game 0-for-12 from the floor. The scoreboard read "0-0" at the first media timeout and the first basket didn't come until nearly six minutes were gone.
Florida got that basket.
And didn't get many more.
"They're doing a lot of things similarly … we are too," White said. "We've got to convert, but we've also got to do a better job of getting better looks. We can't allow South Carolina to speed us up as much as they did at their place, and then we've got to have a similar or better defensive effort."
The Gators can control the latter. That (relatively speaking) is the easy part of the equation.
