Pregame Stuff: No. 17 Florida at Georgia (Tuesday, 7 pm)

No. 17 FLORIDA at GEORGIA

When: Tuesday, 7 p.m. (ET)
Where: Stegeman Coliseum, Athens, Ga.
Records: Florida 18-5 (8-2), Georgia 13-10 (4-6)
TV: ESPN2 (Tom Hart and Kara Lawson)
Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network (Mick Hubert and Mark Wise)

STAKES (The Setup)

Florida has won its last two at Stegeman Coliseum, including a 57-53 decision last season, Coach Mike White's first with the Gators.

Florida heads back on the road and takes with it a four-game winning streak, fresh off Saturday night's statement-like 88-66 boat-race of then No. 8 Kentucky at Exactech Arena. The Gators not only are playing their best basketball of the season, but their best in three seasons -- since the 30-game winning streak on the way to the Final Four in 2014. They've done it the last four games with a focus on defense and rebounding that completely overwhelmed the Wildcats and their roster of future NBA players. ... Now comes something of a different challenge for Coach Mike White and his team, who collectively must come back to Earth after the biggest victory of the brief White era and muster that same collective energy and togetherness in a hostile venue. ... Georgia is in a nasty tailspin that has dropped the Bulldogs into a four-way tie for ninth in the Southeastern Conference standings. The Bulldogs have dropped four straight league games -- with a home win over Texas in the SEC/Big 12 Challenges interrupting the slide -- but two of the losses were a 77-75 loss Saturday at first-place South Carolina and a 90-81 overtime loss at Kentucky just four days earlier. ... UF-UGA marks the first of the Gators' designated three league rematches. The Gators escaped the first meeting with an 80-76 overtime win Jan. 14 at the O'Dome, thanks to 27 points from reserve forward Canyon Barry and 27-for-35 shooting from the free-throw line (77.1 percent). ... Florida leads the all-time series 112-100, but are 38-51 on the road. UF is 3-0 vs UGA under White.

STARTERS (Probable Lineups)

FLORIDA	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Class	Per Game
Devin Robinson	F	6-8	200	Junior	12.0 pts / 5.9 reb
Justin Leon	F	6-8	206	Senior	6.4 pts / 3.5 reb
John Egbunu	C	6-11	250	R-Junior	7.7 pts / 6.7 reb
KeVaughn Allen	G	6-2	183	Sophomore	13.6 pts / 2.3 reb
Kasey Hill	PG	6-1	175	Senior	9.9 pts / 3.0 reb / 4.9 asts

GEORGIA	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Class	Per Game
Yante Maten	F	6-8	240	Junior	19.7 pts / 7.4 rebs
Derek Ogbeide	F	6-8	245	Sophmore	7.3 pts / 7.0 reb
Jordan Harris	G	6-4	185	Freshman	7.3 pts / 7.0 reb
J.J. Frazier	PG	5-10	155	Senior	16.0 pts / 3.2 reb / 4.3 ast
Juwan Parker	G	6-4	205	R-Junior	9.5 pts / 5.5 reb

STANDING OUT (One to Watch)

He's the No. 2 scorer on his team, but point guard **J.J. Frazier** ranks seventh in the SEC in scoring at 16 points per game. He has not had a great overall year shooting the basketball, to date making just 38.8 percent from the field and 29.4 from the 3-point line, but that may just mean he's due. Frazier is capable of going on a tear, having shot 41 percent from the floor and nearly 39 from the arc last season. In the first meeting against UF, Frazier went 10-for-22 on his way to 25 points. For a point guard, he has a scorer's mentality and his quick left-handed release, coupled with an ability to penetrate and hit tough shots off the glass, make him dangerous and tough cover. He leads the SEC in steals with 47 and ranks fifth in free-throw shooting at 87.7 percent. He's also experienced, with 119 games over his four seasons.

STUFF (Need-to-Know Info)

ABOUT THE GATORS: They've defeated their last four opponents by 35, 32, 39 and Kentucky by 22, respectively, and in doing so have shot up the statistical charts in defense and rebounding, two areas where they were struggling before the recent tear. Florida now ranks third in the SEC in scoring defense (65.6 points per game), after limiting the league-leading Wildcats to 25 points below their average, and eighth in rebounding (37.7), after being last in that category two weeks ago. Despite turning the ball over 17 times against UK, the Gators lead the SEC in turnovers per game (11.7) and turnover margin (plus-4.0, which is tied for 10th nationally). ... Backup point guard Chris Chiozza on Monday was honored as the SEC Player of the Week, thanks mostly to carding just the fourth triple-double (12 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists) in school history in the win over Missouri, but then chasing that with nine rebounds and nine assists against Kentucky. Good for him. And yet, it continues to be be senior point guard Kasey Hill who drives the engine for the Gators, especially with his on-ball defense. Hill scored a career-high 21 points against UK, hitting an array of shots, including the kind of mid-range jumpers that have been there in past seasons. ... Forward Devin Robinson had 16 points and nine rebounds against Kentucky, easily the best all-around game of his career because it also featured sustained excellence on defense against some really talented offensive players. Robinson, though, had just five points and two rebounds in the first Georgia game, eventually giving way to Barry, who went 7-for-13 overall and 5-for-8 from the 3-point line, and redshirt freshman Keith Stone, who went for a career-high 17 points off the bench. Stone sat out the last two games with a viral illness that affected him the previous four games before that. He was cleared for full-contact practice Monday and his status for the game probably will be determined after Tuesday morning's shoot-around in Athens. ... ABOUT THE BULLDOGS: They're 139-113 in eight seasons under Coach Mark Fox, including 65-66 in league play, and have had some tough-luck losses this season in dropping six of the first 10 league games. ... Forward Yante Maten is well on his way to a second straight season of first-team All-SEC honors, ranking second in the league in scoring and fourth in rebounding. He's shooting 53 percent from the floor and -- despite being one of the best post players in the league -- nearly 49 percent from the 3-point line. The Gators got nowhere near Maten's best the first time around, thanks to early foul trouble. He finished with just 15 points and four rebounds in 19 minutes. That won't happen on UGA's home floor. ... Forward Derek Ogbeide (59 percent from the floor) is another post player who can push guys around in the front court and be trouble on the offensive glass. ... UF had issues defending guard Juwan Parker in the first meeting. He went for 17 points, seven rebounds and three assists in 40 minutes.

STATS (Some Numbers of Note)

* .715 — Free-throw percentage by the Gators, good enough for sixth in the league and up from that hideous 63.4 mark that ranked next-to-last in the SEC last season.

* 1 — Points by Stone since scoring those career-high 17 against the Dogs last month.

* plus-26 — Chiozza's assist-to-turnover ratio during the four-game winning streak, based on his 33 dimes vs. just seven turnovers.

* 27.7 — Average defensive rebounds by Georgia, which ranks first in the SEC and makes for another great test to UF's new-found commitment to crashing the glass.

* 31 — Consecutive free throws made by Barry, a run that extends over the previous eight games, back to the home win over Tennessee on Jan. 7.

STATEMENT (Random thought)

In the first meeting, the Gators shot 35 free throws on their home floor, compared to 21 for the Dogs. Fox made some shrewd references to the disparity in his post-game remarks. Now, they play at Georgia. Just a hunch, but watch how that number flip flops.

Gators Calendar

Pregame Stuff: No. 17 Florida at Georgia (Tuesday, 7 pm)

Players Mentioned

KeVaughn Allen

Canyon Barry

Chris Chiozza

John Egbunu

Kasey Hill

Justin Leon

Devin Robinson

Keith Stone

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Pregame Stuff: No. 17 Florida at Georgia (Tuesday, 7 pm)

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Players Mentioned

KeVaughn Allen

Canyon Barry

Chris Chiozza

John Egbunu

Kasey Hill

Justin Leon

Devin Robinson

Keith Stone

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