Monday, December 17, 2018 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
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By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
FLORIDA vs MERCER
When: Tuesday, 8 p.m. (EST) Where: Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center, Gainesville, Fla. Records: Florida (5-4); Mercer (4-6) TV: SEC Network (Sam Ravech and Mark Wise) Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network (Mick Hubert and Lee Humphrey)
STAKES (The Setup)
Cece Jefferson (96) and Jeremiah Moon (96) led a contingent of UF football players from the practice field into the O'Dome to cheer on the Gators in the final minutes of Saturday's game against Michigan State.
By the time the two teams tip this one off, neither the Gators nor Bears will have played a game in 10 days, dating to Dec. 8, with both schools dealing with exams last week. UF's last outing was a 63-59 home loss to No. 10 Michigan State, a game in which the Gators had their chances, but also one that Coach Mike White fumed enough about in its aftermath to revamp some of the team's practice methods in the ensuing days. The results of the changes, of course, will be determined. ... Mercer's last outing was an 89-74 home loss to Georgia Southern, marking a third straight defeat for the Bears, who play out of the Southern Conference. ... Mercer actually leads the all-time series, 6-5, that dates to the 1919-20 season, thanks to six wins in its first six cracks against Florida. The Bears' last win over the Gators came in 1979, after which the two did not play again for 37 years. ... UF won the last meeting 76-54 on Nov. 13, 2016 at Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla., in what was the second game of the 2016-17 season. It was also part of a start to that campaign when the Gators had to play the season's first five so-called "home" games at various venues around the state while the O'Connell Center was being renovated. Senior forward Justin Leon scored 17 points and grabbed five rebounds, while junior forward Devin Robinson was good for 12 points and nine rebounds. UF did not shoot well that game (just 36 percent overall and 32 from the 3-point line), but the Gators held the Bears to just six first-half field goals, led 36-14 at the break and coasted to the win. ... White is 2-0 at UF against the Southern Conference, with the other win an 80-65 defeat of East Tennessee State in second-round play of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at Orlando. STARTERS (Probable Lineups)
Guard Djordje Dimitrijevic played last season at Western Nebraska Community College, which he helped guide to a 27-8 record and berth in the 2018 National Junior College Athletic Association Tournament. The native of Grdelica, Serbia, Dimitrijevic averaged 13.6 points and 3.1 assists at the JuCo in Scottsbluff, Neb., and over his two seasons there started 60 of 63 games, shot better than 48 percent from the floor, nearly 45 percent from the 3-point line and 89 percent from the free-throw line. Those shooting numbers (except when it comes to free throws, where he's now at 94.4 percent) have taken a dip at the Division I level. Dimitrijevic is at 41.5 from the floor and just 22.0 from deep, but he did bang in 25 points in a four-point road loss at North Carolina State.
STUFF (Need-to-Know Info)
Freshman point guard Andrew Nembhard had 13 points on 6-for-12 shooting last time out against Michigan State.
ABOUT THE GATORS: With the exception of the season-opener at Florida State, their losses have been low-scoring slugfests that came down to the last few possessions of the game, losing to Oklahoma by five, Butler by seven and then Michigan State by four. Attention to detail is not this team's strong suit, but White and his staff
Deaundrae Ballard
used the last week-plus to pick up the intensity at practice and try to recenter their players' collective focus. ... While the record may not show it, KenPom's advanced metrics place the Gators at No. 21 in the ratings that take into consideration offensive and defensive efficiency, pace, strength of schedule, etc. Defensively, UF ranks sixth nationally after holding two of the best offenses in the country, West Virginia and Michigan State, to 31 and 24 points below their respective per-game averages. ... After failing to hit double-figure scoring in three of the first six games (including a scoreless opening night at FSU), shooting guard KeVaughn Allen has three straight games in doubles. He hasn't shot it great along the way (40.5 percent overall, 37 percent from 3), but he's shooting it more often, which is exactly what the UF staff wants (12-15 shots per game is what the coaches are looking for). When Allen is aggressive and confident, the Gators feed off that. He's also playing better defense of late. Allen's 2.0 steals per game rank second in the Southeastern Conference. ... Freshman point guard Andrew Nembhard has led UF in assists in all 9 games this season and boasts 55 assists to 14 turnovers on the season, a ratio of plus-3.9. Against the Spartans, Nembhard attacked the basket, especially late, on his way to a career-best 13 points on 6-for-12 shooting. ... Center Kevarrius Hayes, despite shooting 64 percent, continues to miss shots in the post, but his scoring and rebounding numbers are a high for his career, and he remains the only player on the team that empties his effort tank when he's on the floor. ... Backup guard Deaundrae Ballard is questionable for the game after entering concussion protocol after taking a blow to the head during practice last week. Ballard is hitting over 50 percent from the floor (51.6), 40 percent from the arc (41.4) and at 80 from the free-throw line (80.0). ... Freshman reserve forward Keyontae Johnson (6.7 ppg, 4.1 rpg) is the team's No. 3 rebounder, despite averaging the seventh-most minutes. He is one of just three UF players with double-digit offensive rebounds (11). ... Florida has three starters who are shooting 60 percent or worse from the free-throw line: Nembhard (.600), Hayes (.577) and forward Keith Stone(.524). ... Speaking of Stone, he's really picked up his game at practice of late. ... Redshirt freshman Chase Johnson, the 6-foot-9 forward who sat out the last six games with concussion symptoms, returned to full-contact practice this week and is cleared to play. ... ABOUT THE BEARS: They're in the 11th season under Coach Bob Hoffman (202-151), a run that includes six postseason tournaments: two CITs, two CBIs, one NIT and -- of course -- one NCAA Tournament, when the 14th-seeded Bears famously stunned No. 3-seed Duke in 2014. ... Been something of an odd season to date. Of Mercer's four wins, one came against Division III Piedmont and another against NAIA Brewton-Parker. Among the Bears' losses: By two at Georgia State, which already has beaten Georgia and Alabama; by four at North Carolina State; by 10 at The Citadel; by four at Florida Atlantic, which beat UCF, but lost to Bethune-Cookman. ... Mercer shoots 44.7 percent from the floor, but just 30.6 from the 3-point line, while defending those categories at 40.9 percent and 31.9, respectively. ... The Bears have four starters averaging in double figures, which is three more than Florida has on its entire team. In starting four guards, they will be undersized and vulnerable on the glass. ... Ethan Stair (42.4 percent) and Ross Cummings (40.5) are the lone starters hitting better than 40 percent from the arc, but backup guard D.J. Peavy has knocked down 10 of his 16 attempts from deep off the bench (62.5 percent). ... Mercer has a pair of Florida products in reserve guards Marcus Cohen (out of Tampa Sickles) and Daniel Love (Orlando Dr. Phillips).
STATS (Some Numbers of Note) Senior center Kevarrius Hayes went 4-for-5 from the line against Michigan State, but is 15-for-26 on the season (.577). * .635 — UF's free-throw percentage this season.
* .695 — UF opponents' free-throw percentage this season.
* 52 — Points this season, through, nine games for fifth-year senior swingman Jalen Hudson, who is averaging 5.8 per game. A year ago, through nine games, he had 172 points and was averaging 19.1 a game. Hudson, though, has been very good (on both ends of the floor) during practices the last week and may be in line for a bigger role in the coming games.
* 108 — Career starts for Allen, whose 109th start will tie him with forward Ronnie Williams (1980-84) for eighth on the all-time Florida list. He needs three starts to move past center Dwayne Schintizius (1986-90) and into sole possession of seventh place.
* 2014 — The last year the Gators lost at least five games before the calendar flipped to January. That was the final season under Billy Donovan and UF lost five of its first 12 games, and was 7-6 at the start of SEC play.
STATEMENT (Random thought)
The start of a chance to build some momentum (and better habits) in the run-up to the conference season.
ABOUT THE BEARS: They're in the 11th season under Coach Bob Hoffman (202-151), a run that includes six postseason tournaments: two CITs, two CBIs, one NIT and -- of course -- one NCAA Tournament, when the 14th-seeded Bears famously stunned No. 3-seed Duke in 2014. ... Been something of an odd season to date. Of Mercer's four wins, one came against Division III Piedmont and another against NAIA Brewton-Parker. Among the Bears' losses: By two at Georgia State, which already has beaten Georgia and Alabama; by four at North Carolina State; by 10 at The Citadel; by four at Florida Atlantic, which beat UCF, but lost to Bethune-Cookman. ... Mercer shoots 44.7 percent from the floor, but just 30.6 from the 3-point line, while defending those categories at 40.9 percent and 31.9, respectively. ... The Bears have four starters averaging in double figures, which is three more than Florida has on its entire team. In starting four guards, they will be undersized and vulnerable on the glass. ... Ethan Stair (42.4 percent) and Ross Cummings (40.5) are the lone starters hitting better than 40 percent from the arc, but backup guard D.J. Peavy has knocked down 10 of his 16 attempts from deep off the bench (62.5 percent). ... Mercer has a pair of Florida products in reserve guards Marcus Cohen (out of Tampa Sickles) and Daniel Love (Orlando Dr. Phillips). 
