Pregame Stuff: Florida at Connecticut (ESPN), 3 pm

No. 15 FLORIDA at CONNECTICUT

When: Sunday, 3 p.m. (EST)
Where: Gampel Pavilion, Storrs, Conn.
Records: Florida (2-1); Connecticut (1-1)
TV: ESPN (Karl Ravech and Seth Greenberg)
Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network (Kyle Crooks and Lee Humphrey)

THE BASICS

The Gators will be making their second appearance at Gampel Pavilion (capacity 10,167) on the campus of UConn.

Florida hits the road for the first time this season, while Connecticut is at home for the third time in as many games. ... The Gators are coming off a draining, grinding 66-60 victory Thursday night against Towson, a game that was tied with just over a minute left before UF made the plays and shots down the stretch to close out the win. The Huskies' last played Wednesday, falling 96-87 at home against St. Joseph's in a game UConn trailed by as many as 29. ... The Huskies famously lead the series, 3-1, with two of those victories coming during the 2013-14 season; a 65-64 win on a 17-foot, second-chance jumper by guard Shabazz Napier as time expired, then, of course, UConn's 63-53 upset of the No. 1-ranked and top-seeded Gators in the NCAA semifinals at the Final Four in Arlington, Texas, an outcome that snapped UF's school-record 30 consecutive wins (a streak that started the game after Napier's buzzer-beater).The two teams also played the following season (the Gainesville half of a home-and-home series), with the Huskies erased an 11-point second-half UF lead and won 63-59 at the O'Connell Center on Jan. 3, 2015, during Coach Billy Donovan's final season. ... Gators coach Mike White has never faced UConn, but has a 1-0 record against teams from the AAC, with a 66-60 victory over Cincinnati at the Never Forget Classic on Dec. 9, 2017 at Newark, N.J.

STARTERS (Probable Lineups)

Florida	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Class	Per Game
Keyontae Johnson	F	6-5	225	Sophomore	11.3 pts / 5.0 reb
Kerry Blackshear Jr.	F	6-10	232	G-Transfer	14.3 pts / 12.0 reb
Scottie Lewis	G	6-5	185	Freshman	9.3 pts / 3.0 reb
Tre Mann	G	6-4	172	Freshman	7.3 pts / 2.3 reb
Andrew Nembhard	PG	6-5	191	Sophomore	6.3 pts / 2.3 reb / 5.3 ast

Connecticut	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Class	Per Game
Tyler Polley	F	6-9	204	Junior	11.5 pts / 3.0 reb
Akok Akok	F	6-9	193	Freshman	8.0 pts / 6.5 reb
Josh Carlton	F	6-11	260	Junior	13.5 pts / 8.5 reb
Christian Vital	G	6-2	187	Senior	21.5 pts / 11.5reb
Alterique Gilbert	G	6-0	180	Junior	14.0 pts / 2.0 reb

ONE TO WATCH

Senior guard **Christian Vital** is a classic UConn kid, starting with his hardnosed, Northeastern background as a prep standout from Queens. He's been a starter for most of his four seasons (64 of his 96 games) and entered his senior year with 1,226 points (36th on the school's all-time list) and 12th all-time in 3-pointers made after draining 79 as a junior. He always is looking to score and will launch from anywhere. In the loss to St. Joe's, Vital scored 26 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, but also went 5-for-21 from the floor and 3-for-12 from deep. He made up it by getting to the free-throw line, where he's at 93.8 percent for the season. He had seven steals in UConn's season-opening win, so he plays both ends. Like UF point guard **Andrew Nembhard**, Vital went through the NBA underclassmen process, but pulled his name out late.

TEAM BREAKDOWNS

Sophomore forward Keyontae Johnson (11) is second on the team in both scoring and rebounding so far.

ABOUT THE GATORS: The phrase "work in progress" has been tossed around by UF coaches and players as the team struggles to find a semblance of rhythm or identity on offense. After looking stagnant and unsure in shooting a woeful 28 percent overall and just 18 percent from the 3-point line in the loss to Florida State a week ago, the offense looked a little better in the win over Towson, but only incrementally. The biggest improvement were the increased post touches for grad-transfer Kerry Blackshear Jr.,

but he needs even more, what with his ability to draw fouls and skills as a passer. Blackshear had 13 points and 13 rebounds against the Tigers to become the first UF player to post three straight double-doubles since Dorian Finney-Smith during the 2015-16 season. The last to do so in four straight games was David Lee in '04-05. ... UF has made just 38 percent of its field goals to date, including 14-for-59 from the arc (23.7 percent). Incredible, as in incredibly bad. So, obviously, that's one element that would immediately inject life into the offense, starting with sophomore guard Noah Locke and freshman Tre Mann. Locke, who set a UF record for freshmen 3s with 81 last season and is at 36 percent for his career, , is just seven of 28 overall and 3-for-16 from the arc. Mann is eight of 24 and 2-for-10. Combined, they're 28.8 percent on field goals and 19.2 from deep. Even Blackshear, one of the team's best long-range shooters at practice, has made just one of his seven long balls. Those numbers are unsustainable. ... The Gators would have been in trouble had guard Scottie Lewis not stepped up against the Tigers, scoring 15 points in his first career start. Lewis made five of his eight shots, including a pair of 3s (not his strength) in the second half, while sharpening his defense (definitely his strength). Lewis will probably be the guy assigned to UConn's best player, Vital, which will be quite an assignment for a kid in just his fourth career game. Lewis, who also is from the Northeast (New Jersey), will not shrink from that duty. And his energy needs to more infectious throughout his team. ... Forward Keyontae Johnson probably has been the most consistent performer for the Gators. He's over 51 percent from the floor, rates second on the team in rebounding and has made half of his six 3 tries. Johnson knows who he is. ... Point guard Andrew Nembhard is off to a slow start offensively (28.6 percent), but had nine assists against Towson. ... Freshman backup forward Omar Payne continues to make flash plays (4-for-4 with three rebounds last game), but some defensive lapses have been costly at times. He'll improve there. ... ABOUT THE HUSKIES: They're in the second seaosn under Coach Dan Hurley, who over 10 seasons as a head coach (at Wagner, then Rhode Island) has amassed a record of 167-122, with a pair of NCAA Tournament berths coming his final two years at URI. Hurley's first UConn team went 16-17 last season, but returns four of the top five

scorers off that squad. ... The Huskies opened the season with an 89-67 defeat of Sacred Heart, but had it handed to them by St. Joe's, a team the Gators will play on the first day of next week's Charleston (S.C.) Classic. ... UConn is averaging 88.0 points per game, shooting 40.6 percent from the floor and 39.6 from the 3-point line. Defensively, the Huskies are giving up 81.5 points, while giving up 38.3 overall and 30.4 from deep. ... Guard Alterique Gilbert, out of Atlanta, was a solid player his first two seasons, both of which were hampered by severe shoulder injuries. The first occurred six games into his freshman season, allowing Gilbert a medical redshirt. Last season, Gilbert averaged 12.6 points and a team-high 3.6 assists, and tallied 20 double-figure scoring games, including a career-high 24 against Florida State. ... Lanky forward Akok Akok was a consensus top-30 prospect who enrolled at UConn last January and sat out the spring as a walk-on. Now on scholarship, Akok is a terrific rim-protector but also must be accounted for as a shooter from long range, having made two of his three attempts from the arc this season. ... Post man Josh Carlton was honored as the AAC's Most Improved Player in 2018-19 after doubling both his scoring and rebounding averages, as well as finishing first in the conference in blocks during league games. Carlton shot 57.1 percent from the floor as a sophomore.

NUMBERS WORTH NOTING

Florida forward **Andrew DeClercq** (55), backed by guard **Greg Williams**, try to wall up UConn All-America forward Donyell Marshall during the NCAA Sweet 16 in 1994 on the way to the program's first Final Four.

* .783 — Blackshear's free-throw percentage, based on his 18-for-23 performance form the line. He's very good at drawing fouls.

* 4 — NCAA men's basketball championships for UConn, all of them coming since 1999, giving the Huskies the most titles of any program in the nation the last 20 years. They won it in 1999, 2004, 2011 and 2014.

* 39 — UConn's ranking among the nation's 353 Division I teams in the category of adjusted tempo pace, according to KenPom metrics, based on 74.3 possessions per 40 minutes. The Huskies play fast.

* 344th — Florida's ranking in the adjusted tempo category, based on 67.0 possessions per 40 minutes. The Gators play slow.

* 1994 — The year of UF's only win over UConn in four tries ... and it was a good one (for the Gators, that is). In the NCAA East Region semifinals at Miami, the third-seeded Gators faced second-seeded and fourth-ranked UConn, led by All-America forward Donyell Marshall and a young freshman named Ray Allen. UF trailed by 10 with 15 minutes to play, but stormed back to take the lead with less than six minutes left. The game was tied when UF forward Andrew DeClercq fouled Marshall on a jumper from the wing with just 3.4 seconds left. Marshall, a 76-percent free-throw shooter on the season, stepped to the line. He missed both. Florida won in overtime and two days later defeated Boston College to advance to the first Final Four in school history.

LAST WORD

The Gators didn't measure up very well in their first so-called "measuring stick" game last Sunday against FSU. The first road date of the season, against a new-age blue blood (though one in something of a rebuild), marks the second such opportunity.

Gators Calendar

Pregame Stuff: Florida at Connecticut (ESPN), 3 pm

Players Mentioned

Kerry Blackshear Jr.

Keyontae Johnson

Scottie Lewis

Noah Locke

Tre Mann

Andrew Nembhard

Omar Payne

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Pregame Stuff: Florida at Connecticut (ESPN), 3 pm

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Players Mentioned

Kerry Blackshear Jr.

Keyontae Johnson

Scottie Lewis

Noah Locke

Tre Mann

Andrew Nembhard

Omar Payne

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