Gators Expecting a Dogfight Down Low at Georgia

Tuesday, January 30

Athens, GA

7 PM

Florida Gators

Georgia

Center Kevarrius Hayes (13) and his fellow UF post players will have a tough assignment Tuesday night in dealing with Georgia power forward Yante Maten.

Gators Expecting a Dogfight Down Low at Georgia

Tuesday, January 30, 2018 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry

UF is braced for its latest meeting with Bulldogs senior center Yante Maten, who leads the SEC in scoring and is second in rebounding.

By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer

ATHENS, Ga. — So, the Florida Gators dive back into the Southeastern Conference fray Tuesday night, with the schedule taking them to Stegeman Coliseum to face rival Georgia in a game that will represent the midpoint of the league season. The Gators (15-6, 6-2) are alone in second place in the SEC standings, a game behind Auburn.

Meanwhile, the Bulldogs (12-8, 3-5) have lost five of the previous six games, four in conference play, two of them at home, and are one game from the SEC cellar. They're struggling to put the ball in the basket, sitting last in SEC play in points per game (69.3), next-to-last in field-goal percentage (.396), and 12th in 3-point percentage (.301).

And yet, the Dogs probably feel pretty good about their matchup against the Gators.

Georgia is an elite defensive team, which should be cause for concern for UF, given how the Gators' lifeblood is scoring the basketball, especially from the 3-point line. The Dogs are awfully sound when it comes to guarding the perimeter, but also have significant advantage at both ends when it comes to post play.

His name is Yante Maten.

"A load in the post," UF center Kevarrius Hayes said. "And very physical."

[Read senior writer Chris Harry's "Pregame Stuff" setup here]

If the name sounds familiar, it should. Maten, the 6-foot-8, 245-pound power forward form Pontiac, Mich., is a poster-(man)child collegiate player whose game has matured as he's progressed from a raw freshman who averaged 5.0 and 4.3 rebounds per game to a beastly senior who leads the SEC in scoring at 19.6 and is second in rebounding at 9.2. He shows up high in just about all the meaningful conference statistical categories for low-post players.

And he shows up on Georgia's career charts with 1,672 points and 789 rebounds.

Keith Stone (left) and Kevarrius Hayes (right) wall up Yante Maten in last year's win at Athens.

"He's a terrific player and they've done a wonderful job with him," UF coach Mike White said. "His development has been off the charts; just consistent development over the years. He's not only scoring it and rebounding it — those are the things that really jump out — but the way he leads and the intensity he plays with, the confidence level he plays with, and defensively, he's terrific as well."

With Maten lining up alongside 6-8, 245-pound specimen Derek Ogbeide and 6-8, 227-pound Rayshaun Hammonds, the Dogs have the bulk and muscle to give the undersized Gators problems.

"It's eye-opening how strong their bigs are," Florida assistant Dusty May said.

Hayes, at 6-9, has the height and length to compete up front, but Maten shoved him around in both their meetings last season. Forward Keith Stone, as a redshirt freshman, actually fared well in some one-on-one matchups against Maten on the block last season, what with his thick base and 240-pound frame. Stone will get a couple turns at him again this time.

So will sophomore center Gorjok Gak. So will redshirt freshman Dontay Bassett, who will get an up-close look at Maten for the first time.

Their instructions: No deep catches; when shots go up, find Maten and be the first to make contact; when Maten has the ball, wall up, show hands and hold position until help comes from your teammates.

Six days ago, the Gators had a tough assignment in dealing with South Carolina low-post warrior Chris Silva. Maten isn't the mauler Silva is, but has a similar motor and is more skilled. Because he poses such a dangerous threat inside, he poses a similar threat to the Florida defense that the Gamecocks did from the outside.

As in a sudden awakening from the 3-point line.

South Carolina came into last week's game as the league's 11th-best 3-point shooting team. They went out of the game having gone 11-for-21 from deep and left Gainesville with a 77-72 victory. The Bulldogs are sorely lacking for firepower on the perimeter — just two players with as many as 11 treys in league play, compared to the Gators, who have four with 11 and three with 15 or more — but if their guards are left open, who knows what can happen on their home floor?

A South Carolina-like scenario can happen, that's what.

"We're not consistently great at anything defensively, we're just not," White said. "If it's not a lack of physicality on one possession, it's a lack of communication or awareness, or the rotation out of the double team, or doubling when we're not supposed to, or not doubling when we're supposed to."

So a meeting with the league's best big man represents an opportunity for growth.

Or another chance to be exposed.

"Georgia's definitely very physical," Hayes said. "It's going to be a long night."