The Gators have lost their last two trips to Tucker Center in Tallahassee, falling 65-63 in 2014 and 83-78 in 2016.
The season opener for both teams. In this case, not just an unveiling of the two teams, but a renewal of a rivalry between the state's marquee basketball programs that has turned lopsided in recent years. Though the Gators lead the all-time series 43-26 and have an 18-12 mark in Tallahassee, the Seminoles are riding a four-game winning streak in the matchup, a run that dates to Dec. 30, 2015 and represents the most consecutive wins over UF in the history of a series that dates to 1951. ... UF coach Mike White is 0-3 against FSU. ... ... The two last met on Dec. 4, 2017 in Gainesville, where the Seminoles overpowered the Gators, then ranked fifth in the nation, on the way to an 86-66 blowout win. Small forward Terance Mann led FSU with 25 points and eight rebounds, while power forward Phil Cofer added 10 points and 12 rebounds. The Seminoles blasted the Gators 51-34 on the glass and allowed just 6-for-25 shooting from the 3-point line.
Senior swingman Terance Mann has basically been a Gatorkiller since he arrived at FSU three years ago by way of Lowell, Mass. As a freshman, he was a bit player early on for a team that was headlined by a couple of his rookie classmates, both future NBA draft picks, in Malik Beasley and Dwayne Bacon. As a sophomore, he went for 16 points and 10 rebounds in FSU's 83-78 home win, then last year hit 11 of 17 shots on his way to a 25-point, 8-rebound performance, as the Seminoles handed the Gators their most one-sided, wire-to-wire defeat of the season. Mann is relentless in his defense, rebounding, energy and physicality, which plays perfectly into the FSU system, in addition to playing about three inches taller than he is. He was the heartbeat of the team that was inside of a minute of going to the Final Four last season and a big reason why so much is expected of the Seminoles in his final year.
STUFF (Need-to-Know Info)
Andrew NembhardABOUT THE GATORS: They won't have to wait very long to find out where they rate on the toughness front. The Seminoles rapped the Gators in the mouth from the opening tip last year at Exactech Arena/O'Connell and dominated the game through sheer intimidation and physicality. ... UF has three starters back from its 21-13 team that finished 11-7 in the Southeastern Conference and reached the third round of the NCAA Tournament, and are led by preseason All-SEC swingman Jalen Hudson, the team's leading scorer from a year ago, and 2017 first-team All-SEC shooting guardKeVaughn Allen, who is looking to rebound from the least productive offensive season of his career. ... Florida defeated Florida Southern 95-70 in its lone public exhibition game last Tuesday night, with the minutes spread relatively evenly for the 12 available scholarship players. ... Junior Gorjok Gak, the 6-11 backup center, is still rehabbing from offseason knee surgery and will not play. Reserve forward Chase Johnson (neck) had been limited in practice the last week, but was cleared for full contact Monday. ... UF had six players hit double figures against FSC, led by Hudson's 14 points on 4-for-10 shooting from the floor and 3-for-6 from the 3-point line. Last season, he made 45.5 percent of his overall shots and 40.4 from deep. ... Allen had 10 points in the exhibition, but also five rebounds, two assists, three blocks and a steal. ... Freshman point guard Andrew Nembhard (4 points, 4 assists, 3 turnovers in 27 exhibition minutes) can expect to see a ton of pressure, be it versus man defense or double teams, in what will be a very difficult collegiate debut. ... Two guys whose roles were inconsistent last season, sophomore guard Deaundrae Ballard and third-year sophomore forward Dontay Bassett, combined to make 10 of 15 shots and five of eight from deep in the exhibition game. ... Look for key minutes from freshmen forward Keyontae Johnson and shooting guard Noah Locke, both of whom flashed nice moments against FSC. ... Florida will need something/anything from its front court, be it from Kevarrius Hayes, Keith Stone or maybe even redshirt freshman Isaiah Stokes, given the overwhelming size advantage the Seminoles will enjoy. Stone grabbed 10 rebounds and
7-foot-4 Christ Koumadje
Stokes scored six points in the exhibition. ... ABOUT THE SEMINOLES: They're coached by Leonard Hamilton, now 305-207 in his 17th season at FSU. The Seminoles return two starters and three other frontline reserves from last year's squad that went 23-13 overall (9-9 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) and ascended from a No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament all the way to the Elite Eight, knocking off No. 1 seed Xavier along the way. One of those two starters, however, is beastly power forward Phil Cofer and he is sidelined indefinitely with a foot injury and not expected to play. That is significant, as the 6-8, 235-pound Cofer was in the middle of physical beating of the Gators last season. Not that they don't have more players in the Cofer mold. ... FSU played two exhibition games against Division II opponents, defeating West Florida 96-56 and Valdosta State 99-77. In both games, Hamilton substituted liberally and even sent 15 players on the court in the first game. ... Point guard Trent Forrest, who saved his best for the NCAA Tournament last season, may be the biggest key in the game because of what he can do at both ends. He was a catalyst during FSU's run to the Elite Eight, doing a lot of the little things, including rebounding and dishing assists. He had nine points and six rebounds against UF last season. Look for Forrest to be into Nembhard's jersey from the tip. ... Christ Koumadje will be the tallest player UF faces for the fourth straight year, but paired alongside Mfiondu Kabengele the two FSU extra-bigs will be very difficult for the undersized Gators to drive on. ... P.J. Savoy is a career 38-percent shooter from the 3-point line. ... Grad transfer David Nichols, by way of Albany, is a score-first point guard who hung 40 on Connecticut. ... Redshirt freshman guard Anthony Polite is the son of former Seminole standout Michael Polite, who averaged nearly 11 points and seven rebounds during his career from 1988-91. ... Forward Raquan Gray is another newcomer and big-boy redshirt freshman (6-8, 260), who sat out last season after leading Fort Lauderdale Dillard to the Class 7A state title.
STATS (Some Numbers of Note) UF lost at FSU 73-71 four years ago when walk-on forward Jake Kurtz, with the score tied, inadvertently tipped a missed Seminoles shot into the goal with less than one second remaining. That loss started a four-game series skid for the Gators. * 1 — Florida players in program history to go winless over a four-year career against FSU. For now, Chris Chiozza, the Gators' all-time assists leader, is the only one, but Allen and Hayes can join him if the Seminoles run their streak to five.
* 3 — Teams that currently hold a winning streak of at least four straight against Florida. Besides Florida State, the Gators have dropped seven straight to Louisville (dating to 1972) and lost all six meetings against Cincinnati YMCA from 1926-1930 (a dubious skid that figures to live in perpetuity) .
* 5 — Point differential or less in seven of the previous 10 Florida-Florida State games, with both the '13 game at Gainesville and '14 game at Tallahassee decided inside the final two seconds.
* 27 — Consecutive season-opening wins for the Gators, with all but two of them coming at home. The only times UF started a season on the road during the current streak was in the 2000-01 at FSU (won 85-70) and 2015-16 at Navy (won 59-41). The Gators also had a neutral-site win over Temple, 73-64, in the Coaches vs Cancer Classic at Princeton, N.J., which also was the last time Florida opened against a ranked opponent.
* 1990 — The last year Florida lost a season opener, falling 70-61 against South Florida in Coach Lon Kruger's debut at the Sun Dome in Tampa.
STATEMENT (Random thought)
A year-by-year glance would indicate this is Florida's toughest season opener since the Gators were unranked and went up against No. 8 Louisville in the Great Alaskan Shootout to start the 1984-85 season. Whatever UF shows Tuesday night won't necessarily translate to what the team will become over the next several months, but it certainly will set a bar from which to work from, especially in assessing toughness and front court potential.
Gator Insider presented by Talon Wealth 2-14-26Gator Insider presented by Talon Wealth 2-14-26
Saturday, February 14
Florida Men's Basketball | Head Coach Todd Golden Media Availability | KentuckyFlorida Men's Basketball | Head Coach Todd Golden Media Availability | Kentucky
Saturday, February 14
Florida Men's Basketball | Xaivian Lee Media Availability | KentuckyFlorida Men's Basketball | Xaivian Lee Media Availability | Kentucky
Saturday, February 14
Xaivian Lee Media AvailabilityXaivian Lee Media Availability
The season opener for both teams. In this case, not just an unveiling of the two teams, but a renewal of a rivalry between the state's marquee basketball programs that has turned lopsided in recent years. Though the Gators lead the all-time series 43-26 and have an 18-12 mark in Tallahassee, the Seminoles are riding a four-game winning streak in the matchup, a run that dates to Dec. 30, 2015 and represents the most consecutive wins over UF in the history of a series that dates to 1951. ... UF coach Mike White is 0-3 against FSU. ... ... The two last met on Dec. 4, 2017 in Gainesville, where the Seminoles overpowered the Gators, then ranked fifth in the nation, on the way to an 86-66 blowout win. Small forward Terance Mann led FSU with 25 points and eight rebounds, while power forward Phil Cofer added 10 points and 12 rebounds. The Seminoles blasted the Gators 51-34 on the glass and allowed just 6-for-25 shooting from the 3-point line. 
