Florida Gators

No. 6 FLORIDA vs FLORIDA STATE 

When: Sunday, 1 p.m. (EST)
Where: Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center, Gainesville, Fla.   
Records: Florida (1-0), Florida State (0-1)  
TV: ESPN (Karl Ravech and Dick Vitale) 
Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network (Mick Hubert and Lee Humphrey) 



THE BASICS  Florida and Florida State renew their rivalry that dates to 1951, but has been played annually only since the 1978-79 season. ... The game is expected to be a sellout. ... Both teams opened their seasons earlier this week, but with two very different kinds of challenges. And results. UF is coming off a 74-59 victory against North Florida, while FSU ushered in the 2019-20 campaign with a rugged 63-61 Atlantic Coast Conference loss at Pittsburgh, as that league played a series of early season conference games after going to a 20-game season and ushering in basketball to the new ACC Network. ... The Gators lead the all-time series, 43-27, with a 21-8 advantage at home, but the Seminoles have dominated of late, with a five-game winning streak that marks their longest in the 68-year history of the rivalry. ... The last meeting opened the 2018-19 season in Tallahassee, with FSU pummeling UF, 81-60, for the most lopsided victory ever registered by the Seminoles against the Gators. The game was never close, with FSU taking an 11-point halftime lead that grew to as many as 35 in the second half, with guard PJ Savoy's 20 points, including 5-for-7 from the 3-point line, leading the way. UF, which shot just 24 percent in the first half and made only six of 24 attempts from the 3-point line, got 12 points from freshman point guard Andrew Nembhard in his collegiate debut and 11 from fifth-year senior guard Jalen Hudson, while senior guard KeVaughn Allen went scoreless and took just four shots in 23 minutes. ... Coach Mike White is 0-4 against FSU and 2-8 against ACC opponents in his five seasons with the Gators. 

STARTERS (Probable Lineups)

Florida	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Class	Per Game
Keyontae Johnson	F	6-5	225	Sophomore	7.0 pts / 7.0 reb
Kerry Blackshear Jr.	F	6-10	232	G-Transfer	20.0 pts / 10.0 reb
Tre Mann	G	6-4	175	Freshman	11.0 pts / 4.0 reb
Noah Locke	G	6-2	193	Sophomore	14.0 pts / 2.0 reb
Andrew Nembhard	G	6-5	191	Sophomore	2.0 pts / 0.0 reb / 4.0 ast

Florida State	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Class	Per Game
Raiquan Gray	F	6-8	260	R-Sophomore	7.0 pts / 3.0 reb
Malik Osborne	F	6-9	225	R-Sophomore	2.0 pts / 9.0 reb
M.J. Walker	G	6-5	213	Junior	4.0 pts / 5.0 reb
Trent Forrest	G	6-4	210	Senior	19.0 pts / 2.0 reb / 2.0 ast
Devin Vassell	G	6-7	194	Sophomore	14.0 pts / 2.0 reb

ONE TO WATCH 
TEAM BREAKDOWNS   ABOUT THE GATORS: Despite building a 24-point lead early in the second half, they were far from sharp in the win against UNF, which actually outscored UF, 37-35, over the second period, thanks to 46-percent shooting overall and 7-for-15 marksmanship from the 3-point line (46.7 percent). White sensed a lull in the intensity level

about four minutes into the period and it was reflected in the final score and statistics. ... Center/forward Kerry Blackshear Jr., in his first game as a Gator after grad-transferring from Virginia Tech, was as advertised in scoring 20 points (on 8-for-11 shooting) and grabbing 10 rebounds in 32 minutes, while providing a steadying court presence for a young team. ... Point guard Andrew Nembhard had an off night on offense, missing six of his seven field-goal tries, but had four assists and no turnovers over 31 minutes. ... The McDonald's All-America freshmen duo of Tre Mann and Scottie Lewis combined for 20 points and nine boards. ... Forward Keyontae Johnson played less than three minutes in the first half due to foul trouble, but ended with seven points and seven rebounds in 19 minutes. ... Shooting guard Noah Locke had 14 points, but hit just two of his seven 3-point attempts. UF, in fact, went a woeful 4-for-24 from deep as a team (just 20 percent), which was surprising given quality and depth of shooters on the roster. ... Freshman center/forward Omar Payne flashed off the bench with six points, five rebounds and two blocks, but also had three turnovers in 13 minutes. ... Florida held North Florida to 37-percent shooting for the game (but just 27.6 in the first half) forced 19 turnovers that led to 26 points. ... Fourth-year junior center Gorjok Gak, who suffered a dislocated shoulder in practice Oct. 9, was cleared for contact and returned to practice Thursday, but is expected to be held out of this game. The 6-11, 240-pounder likely will be ready for his season debut when UF plays next Thursday night at home against Towson. ... ABOUT THE SEMINOLES: This is the 18th season under Coach Leonard Hamilton, now 71 years old. Hamilton's record of 334-216 (and winning percentage of .607) includes seven NCAA Tournament berths, with a pair of Sweet

16s and one Elite Eight, plus a 9-8 mark against Florida. Last season, the Seminoles went 29-8 and set a program record for wins. Their 13-5 league record was good enough for fourth place in the ACC, with the team reaching the title game of the conference tournament before losing to top-ranked Duke. Four starters are gone from that bunch, however, including the outstanding front court of Terance Mann, Phil Cofer and 7-4 center Chris Koumadje, not to mention standout sixth man and first-round NBA draft pick Mfiondu Kabengele, the 6-10, 250-pound forward who led the team in scoring. All told, FSU is trying to replace 70 percent of its scoring, 65 percent of its rebounding and 69 percent of its made 3-pointers. ... Hamilton's teams have been defined by size and athleticism. While usually not overall fast or quick, they're always physical, evidenced by their 27 fouls Wednesday at Pittsburgh. ... After Forrest, the Seminoles' other returning starter is M.J. Walker, who was second on the team with 44 makes from the 3-point line at 32.8 percent for the season. ... Guard Devin Vassell, an 11-minute-per-game backup last season, made six of his seven field-goal attempts in the opener to finish with 14 points, including a pair of 3s after making 26 at 41 percent in his limited action last season. ... FSU has six newcomers, among them three freshmen, two junior-college transfers and graduate-transfer Dominick Olejinczak, by way of Ole Miss. The 7-foot, 260-pound Olejinczak did not play in FSU's opener. ... Of the freshmen, 6-8, 225-pound forward Patrick Williams (5 points, 2 rebounds vs Pitt) was a five-star prospect out of Charlotte, N.C., and 7-foot, 260-pound center Balsa Koprivica (2 points, 1 rebound) was a top-50 prospect and teammate alongside Payne, the UF freshman, at Montverde (Fla.) Academy last season. 

NUMBERS WORTH NOTING   * 1 — UF players that went scoreless in the UNF game. Freshman point guard Ques Glover had a frustrating 11 minutes and 53 seconds, missing all four of his shots, including a couple bunnies, but don't worry about the rookie from Knoxville, Tenn. He'll be fine.
 
 

* 3 — FSU players who fouled out in the season-opening loss at Pitt (starting forward Raiquan Gray, and backups Malik Osborne and Koprivica).

* 6 — Minutes it took Koprivica to pick up those five fouls and subsequent disqualification.

* 21 — Years since a Florida player last carded a double-double in his first game as a Gator, ala Blackshear against UNF. On Nov. 16, 1998, freshman forward Mike Miller scored 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in a 76-62 defeat of Georgia Southern at the O'Dome. 

* 2013 — The last year the Gators defeated the Seminoles. The date was Nov. 29 and it took redshirt sophomore Dorian Finney-Smith hitting one of two free throws with 1.3 seconds remaining to clinch a 67-66 win that wasn't in the books until FSU guard Ian Smith's 50-foot oh-so-close heave bounced off the back of the rim. The outcome clinched a fifth straight win for the Gators in a series that has done a 180 since. 


LAST WORD

Ask the hard-core Florida fans and they'd probably say they want this "W" as much as any on the schedule this season (yes, including Kentucky).