The Florida basketball team will face another loaded schedule in 2019-20, but Coach Mike White (above) will counter it with what figures to be his most talented UF team to date.
Harry Fodder: Game-By-Game Hoops Breakdown
Tuesday, September 10, 2019 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
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By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Florida basketball program is one of two (along with powerhouse Kentucky) to reach the NCAA Tournament each of the last three seasons and one of just 10 among the nation's so-called "power" conferences to win at least one game in each of those years. The Gators have done so despite a run of bad luck relative to front court personnel and, frankly, without overwhelming talent. Kerry Blackshear
They've done so, a case can be made, by being tested.
Who did you play?
Where did you play them?
Who did you beat?
Throw out on the RPI and NPI and KenPom metrics, and the criteria for NCAA at-large bids comes down to those three questions, each of which is a reflection of a team's schedule. The Gators compete in the Southeastern Conference, which about 10 years ago issued a league-wide edict to its members to play more competitive schedules. In their own way and at their own pace, each has done well to fall in line.
The Gators, under Coach Billy Donovan, were at the forefront of that competitive upgrade and the trend has continued in earnest during the tenure of his successor, Mike White, who in March became just the sixth coach in SEC history to win at least 20 games in his first four seasons in the league. Winning 20 in the upcoming 2019-20 season will definitely be a challenge, but, frankly, it will also be on the lower end of expectations — both external and internal — given the talent White and his staff have accumulated. Doing so took some five-star recruiting by the UF staff, but also a massive overhaul of a roster that will include just four players who took the floor for the Gators last season, led by sophomore point guard Andrew Nembhard, plus eight scholarship newcomers, including graduate-transfer center Kerry Blackshear, by way of Virginia Tech, and a pair of McDonald's All-America freshmen in forward Scottie Lewis and combo guard Tre Mann.
There will be plenty of time (and stories) dedicated to UF's new personnel between now and the season opener Nov. 5 against North Florida. This story — after the SEC officially announced Tuesday its league wide schedule — is an overview of what (and whom) the Gators will be facing in White's fifth and most anticipated season.
* Note: Non-conference starting times and networks will be announced in the coming weeks (times that are provided are ET.
Oct. 29: Exhibition (opponent to be determined), 7 p.m. The buzz: The Division II Sunshine State Conference is expected to provide the Gators with a preseason tune-up game for the eighth straight season. Last year, it was Florida Southern. The year before, it was Tampa. Before that: Eckerd, Palm Beach Atlantic, Barry and FSC, respectively. Next up could be Embry-Riddle, Florida Tech, Lynn, Nova Southeastern, Rollins or Saint Leo. A couple of the previous SSC games were pseudo-competitive, as any D-II squad that gets a crack at an entity like Florida is going to come in jacked up, regardless whether the game counts.
Nov. 5: North Florida The buzz: This will mark the fifth straight season UF has faced UNF, but the first time the Gators have opened against their Osprey neighbors from Jacksonville and the Atlantic Sun Conference. Under White, UF has had its way and then some with UNF, since their first meeting in the 2016 NIT, a game the Gators won by 29, despite having to play on the road as a "home" team while the O'Connell Center was under renovation. The Gators' average margin of victory in that game and the three since has been 35.5 points, including last season's 98-66 blowout. Those Ospreys, who went 16-17 overall, had no seniors, but forward Noah Horchler (16.0 ppg, 9.3 rpg) and swingman Garrett Sams (12.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg) are back and will lead the team in their final season. UF holds a 7-0 advantage in the series that dates to 2006.
Florida State has been the aggressor (and, candidly, it has not been close in that department) during its current and all-time best five-game winning streak over Florida.The Seminoles lost a bunch of players, but will have enough, like point guard and defensive wiz Trent Forrest (3), to come to the O'Dome and make it six in a row.
Nov. 10: Florida State The buzz: So Florida and Florida State have been playing basketball almost annually since 1951. At no time in the nearly 70-year series (with UF in front 43-27) has it been as lopsided in the Seminoles' favor as with the current, all-time best (or worst, for the Gators) five-game FSU winning streak. It began back in 2014, in Donovan's final season, with the infamous Jake Kurtz "own goal" at the buzzer. The last two years, the Seminoles have blasted the Gators — by 17 in Gainesville in 2017 when UF was ranked No. 5; and by a FSU series-record 21 last year in Tallahassee — and will look to make it six straight. They'll have to do so minus a handful of Seminoles who had big roles in their mastery over the Gators. Guard Terance Mann and PJ Savoy, as well as front court beasts Phil Cofer, Mfiondu Kabengele and 7-4 Christ Koumadje are gone after helping Coach Leonard Hamilton and his program to four straight NCAA berths, including a second straight trip to the Sweet 16 last season. The best returning player is point guard and defensive stopper Trent Forrest (9.3 ppg, 3.7 apg) but the Seminoles also welcome McDonald's All-America forward Patrick Williams, from Charlotte, N.C., as well as 7-foot, 240-pound center Balsa Koprivica, a four-star prospect from Montverde (Fla.) Academy. The Gators, like two years ago, will be at home and considerable favorites. Big game, especially for UF fans, with an early afternoon tip expected.
Nov. 14: Towson The buzz: The basketball Tigers will come to town 47 days after a Sept. 27 visit from their FCS football brothers. Interesting note about Towson, out of the Colonial Athletic Association, is that it opened last season against Virginia, which was playing its first game since that historic and epic loss as a No. 1 seed to Maryland-Baltimore County in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Cavaliers won by 31 and went on to win their first national championship. Three weeks after that UVA loss, Towson beat UMBC. The Tigers, who went 10-22 last season, will welcome back their three top scorers, including guard Brian Fobbs (17.5 ppg, 5.9 rpg) and 6-8, 240-pound forward Nakye Sanders (8.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg).
Nov. 17: at Connecticut The buzz: Remember that time Florida and Connecticut played three times over a 13-month span? Perhaps, you'd rather forget. On Dec. 2, 2013, the No. 12 Huskies beat the 15th-ranked Gators, 65-64, when a missed shot landed in the hands of UConn guard Shabazz Napier, who hit a 16-footer as time expired to send the packed house at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs into hysteria. From there, Florida won the next 30 games, went undefeated in the SEC and ascended to the nation's No. 1 ranking before getting thumped by UConn, 63-53, in the national semifinals at the Final Four in Arlington, Texas. To add insult to insult, the Huskies came to Gainesville the following January, for the return match of that home-and-home series, and erased a double-digit second-half deficit (and took advantage of UF's abysmal 8-for-20 effort from the free-throw line) to win 63-59 at the O'Dome, one of several lowlights of Florida's last losing season (and another in that frustrating final turn under Donovan). All that, of course, is history. The '19-20 Huskies will be in the second year under Danny Hurley after going 16-17 in Year 1. The backcourt of senior Christian Vital (14.2 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 41 percent from 3) and sophomore guard Alterique Gilbert (12.6 ppg) returns. UConn also will be helped by the nation's 21st-ranked signing class, including 6-10 power forward Akok Akok, who was pursued by virtually every top program in the northeast. This is the first of another home-and-home deal with the Huskies, who will come to Gainesville in the fall of '20.
Nov. 21-24: Charleston Classic, (TD Arena, Charleston, S.C.) (ESPN) The buzz: The last three seasons (and four of the previous five), the Gators played in a tournament over Thanksgiving break, including two trips to the Bahamas in the Battle 4 Atlantis. This year's tournament will come a week earlier in Charleston, S.C., where TD Arena (capacity 5,100) will be the site of the eight-team Charleston Classic. This event has been staged annually since 2008, but College of Charleston, the host school, has only played in it three times. Florida is the clear-cut headliner in 2019, as the Gators are the lone team in the field coming off an NCAA appearance, and one of just two teams (along with Xavier, which went 19-16 and played in the NIT) that posted a winning record last season. UF will open against St. Joseph's in a Thursday, 2:30 p.m. game (meaning the famous flapping Hawks mascot will be doing his thing early). The Hawks lost their best player, Lamarr Kimble, to Louisville as a grad transfer. Miami, which should be better than its 14-18 mark of a season ago, is on the same side of the bracket as UF for a possible second-round meeting (Hello, Keith Stone). The rest of the field: Penn State, Buffalo, Missouri State, UConn and Towson, with the latter two participants presenting the unique potential for a quick turn-around rematch, with the Gators having played both UConn and Towson the week before.
Nov. 29: Marshall The buzz: Florida has never played Marshall in basketball. The Thundering Herd, out of Conference USA, are coached by Dan D'Antoni, the older brother of Houston Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni and one of best players in Marshall history. D'Antoni took over the post five years ago and in 2018 not only guided the Herd to their first NCAA Tournament berth in 31 years, but as a No. 13-seed upset fourth-seeded Wichita State in opening-round play. Marshall went 23-14 last season and won the College Insider Postseason Tournament, but during '18-19 faced just three Power Five conference opponents — Maryland, Virginia, Texas A&M — and lost those games by an average margin of 35.7 points. The Herd's top returning player is 6-5 sophomore guard Taevion Kinsey (10.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg). Interesting stat: Marshall averaged 80.5 points last season and gave up an average of 80.5.
Historic Hinkle Fieldhouse (capacity 9,100) in Indianapolis, one of the oldest active college basketball venues in the nation, is home to the Butler Bulldogs. Dec. 7: at Butler, noon (Fox) The buzz: The return game of the home-and-home series that began last season when the Gators, in their best all-around performance of the '18-19 campaign, atomized the Bulldogs, 77-43, on Dec. 29 at the O'Dome. It was a rout from the start, as UF scored the game's first 21 points, and in no way resembled the meeting between the two teams just 37 days earlier in the Bahamas, where Butler won 61-54. This will mark Florida's first trip to historic Hinkle Fieldhouse, built in 1928 — for the next 22 years it was the largest basketball arena in the America — and where the final, championship-game scenes of the 1986 motion picture "Hoosiers" were filmed. Butler returns three of its top four scorers, including point guard Kamar Baldwin (17.2 ppg, 86 percent FT) and forward Jordan Tucker (9.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg), who turned eligible midseason after transferring from Duke. The Bulldogs added 7-1 grad-transfer Derrik Smits, son of former NBA star and 7-4 Indiana Pacers center Rik Smits, who averaged 12.2 points and 5.7 rebounds per game at Valparaiso last season.
Dec. 17: Providence (Barclay's Center, Brooklyn, N.Y.) The buzz: Make that four straight years the Gators have been dispatched to the Big Apple area for an ESPN showcase event. In 2016, it was Duke at Madison Square
Providence coach Ed Cooley
Garden in the Jimmy V Classic. In 2017, UF played Cincinnati at the Never Forget Tribute Classic, honoring 911 victims and first responders, across the river in New Jersey. In 2018, it was back to the Garden to face West Virginia in the Jimmy V. Now comes a trip to Brooklyn (home of the NBA Nets), and a spot in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Game, to take on Providence, which went 18-16 last season and lost to Arkansas in the first round of the NIT. Coached by the universally respected Ed Cooley, who last April was a top candidate for the Michigan opening, the Friars will be among the preseason favorites to contend for the Big East title, what with six of their top seven scorers returning, led by 6-7 senior guard Alpha Diallo (16.0 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 3.1 apg) and 6-10, 250-pound center Nate Watson (11.7 ppg, 5.2 rpg). Grad transfer point guard Luwane Pipkins scored a team-high 16.0 a game to go with 4.9 rebounds and 5.2 assist at Massachusetts last season, and has outbursts of 35 against Harvard and 44 against LaSalle on his resume.
Dec. 21: Utah State (BB&T Center, Sunrise, Fla.) The buzz: Florida heads back to BB&T Center and the Orange Bowl Classic for the 14th straight year and 21st time overall. The Gators have won 17 of the previous 19 after getting back on the winning side last season against Florida Gulf Coast one year after having a seven-game run of wins snapped by Clemson in 2017. This time, UF gets Utah State, a very good mid-major out of the Mountain West Conference. The Aggies are coming off a 28-7 campaign when they shared the league's regular season title (along with Nevada) and won the postseason tournament to clinch their first NCAA berth in eight years. Utah State returns three starters, led by senior guard Sam Merrill (20.9 ppg), and will roll out a 7-2, 220-pound JuCo transfer in Kuba Karwowski. The Gators have had some South Florida gimmes over the years, but this won't be one of 'em; not from a program that was a No. 8-seed last March and finished No. 38 overall in the KenPom rankings. Florida State and South Florida will play in the early game of the OBC double-header.
Dec. 28: Long Beach State The buzz: Another first-time meeting for the Gators, although the program has some history with the opposing coach. Twenty years ago, current 49ers coach Dan Monson was on the sidelines in Phoenix when Gonzaga forward Casey Calvary leaped (some might say, scaled the back of UF forward Brent Wright) and put in an offensive rebound with four seconds remaining that gave the 10th-seeded Bulldogs a 73-72 upset of the No. 6-seed Gators in the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament West Region, denying UF and Donovan, then in his third season, a berth in the Elite Eight. That run by the Zags got Monson a high-major job at Minnesota and left a fellow named Mark Few in charge back in Spokane. This season, Monson will be in total rebuild mode after losing his top four scorers from a squad that finished 15-19 overall and 8-8 in the Big West Conference, while dropping all five of its games against high-major opponents, including a 32-point loss at Arizona State and by 28 at Mississippi State. LBSU's most productive returning player is backup guard Edon Maxhuni, who averaged 7.8 points and shot 47 percent from deep, but started just seven games.
Jan. 4: Alabama, 6 p.m. (ESPN2 or ESPNU) The buzz: Forever in the shadow of the Alabama football program, the Crimson Tide went outside the box four years ago in hiring an NBA guy — Avery Under Nate Oats, Buffalo was 59-13 the the last two seasons. Johnson, the former world-champion point guard and NBA Finals coach — and the result was a 75-62 overall record, a 34-38 mark in SEC play, and one NCAA berth (to go with three trips to the NIT). Johnson exited in the spring following Bama's 18-16 campaign, and the school landed a potential rising star in Nate Oats, who went 96-43 in four seasons at Buffalo, with three Mid-American Conference Tournament titles, three NCAA appearances and twice reaching the round of 32. What a challenge (and opportunity) for Oats and his squad to open SEC play on the road against one of the league favorites. Despite the loss of power forward Donta Hall (10.5 ppg, 8.8 rpg) and guard Dazon Ingram (transferred to Central Florida), the cupboard won't be bare. Point guard Kira Lewis Jr., the youngest player in the country in '18-19, was named to the SEC All-Freshman team last season after leading the Tide in scoring (13.5 ppg), 20-point games (5), assists (2.9 pg) and minutes (31.6). His 35.8-percent shooting from distance ranked third on the team. Junior wings John Petty (10.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg) and Herbert Jones (6.4 ppg, 3.5 rpg) also return, with both needing to take on larger roles with more consistent production. Grad-transfer guard James "Beetle" Bolden averaged 12.2 points at West Virginia last season. Oats' top signee figures to be 6-9, 240-pound freshman Raymond Hawkins, by way of desert prep school and basketball boutique Las Vegas Findley Prep.
Jan. 7: at South Carolina, 7 p.m. (ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU) The buzz: This one can be summed up rather succinctly for Florida fans: Chris Silva is gone. During Silva's four seasons in Columbia, the Gators went 2-5 against the
A.J. Lawson
Gamecocks and Silva, the lithe and aggressive power forward, basically was a Gator-killer along the way. His numbers against UF weren't crazy (just 13.0 points and 6.3 rebounds a game), but the 2018 SEC Defensive Player of the Year made life miserable for the Gators in the post — at both ends — and converted 30 of 35 free throws. In the 2019 SEC opener, the Gamecocks stole a 71-69 win at the O'Dome by capitalizing on a blown UF defense, as Silva caught a length-of-the-floor baseball pass and dropped in a layup with just over a second to play. Some may also recall his 13 points, nine boards and nine free-throws in USC's win in the 2017 Elite Eight that denied the Gators a trip to the Final Four. Goodbye, Mr. Silva, and good riddance. As for players who actually will be on the court for the Gamecocks, All-SEC candidate A.J. Lawson (13.4 ppg, 4.3 rpg) and Keyshawn Bryant (9.0 ppg, 3.8 rpg) will man the backcourt, with forward Maik Kotsar (6.7 ppg, 4.7 rpg) the third starter returning. They'll join forces with 6-9, 235-pound grad-transfer forward Micaiah Henry, by way of Tennessee Tech, and a freshman class of all 3-star prospects, led by 6-8, 215-pound forward Jalyn McCreary. Coach Frank Martin will be dealing with some significant roster turnover, but don't expect the Gamecocks' physical (and fouling) style of play to change too much.
Jan. 11: at Missouri, 8:30 p.m. (SEC Network) The buzz: The Joey/Jontay Porter happenings pretty much tell the story of Missouri basketball under Cuonzo Martin. Joey Porter was the No. 1-rated prospect in the nation when he signed with the Tigers, only to suffer a back injury that kept him out for all but two games; the final two (one in the SEC Tournament, one in the NCAA Tournament). Little brother Jontay had a great freshman season while his brother convalesced, but suffered a season-ending knee injury during practice last October. The Tigers went on to go 15-17 overall and 5-13 in SEC play. Their best player was senior point guard Jordan Geist, so he's gone, as well. Now, it's up to 6-10, 260-pound forward Jeremiah Tillmon (11.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg) and junior guard Mark Smith (11.4 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 45 percent from 3) to lead the Tigers back to relevance after a season they were middling, at best, on offense (129th by KenPom) and defense (51st). Guard Dru Smith, who sat out last season after transferring from Evansville, averaged 13.7 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.0 steals in the Missouri Valley Conference and may end up being one of the Tigers' best players. Mizzou's top rookie figures to be Tray Jackson, a 6-8, 200-pound and four-star power forward who garnered top-100 honors from most recruiting services. This game will mark UF's first trip to Columbia since Chris Chiozza and the Gators stole a win (literally) with less than a second remaining on 2018.
Mississippi guard Breein Tyree (4) averaged 17.9 points per game last season, good enough for third in the SEC.
Jan. 14: Ole Miss, 7 p.m. (ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU) The buzz: For 15 seasons, Kermit Davis rolled out some awfully good mid-major squads at Middle Tennessee State, as several high-seed NCAA Tournament foes (Hello, Tom Izzo) will attest. Davis returned to his home state of Mississippi last year, replacing NIT fixture Andy Kennedy, and not only got the Rebels' program back to respectability, but got Ole Miss to the NCAA Tournament for just the third time in 17 years in his inaugural season. The team went 23-11 overall and 10-8 in conference play, good for a tie at sixth place. The Rebels were ousted in Round 1 by Oklahoma, but Davis has his blueprint and, obviously, it works. He'll have to do it this season minus guard Terrence Davis (15.1 ppg, 5.8 rpg), the SEC's No. 10 scorer, but that will mean more shots for guard Breein Tyree, who was the league's third-leading scorer at 17.9 points per game and 37.5 percent from the arc, as well as more minutes for Devontae Shuler (10.3 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 40.2 percent from 3). Ole Miss lost 7-foot, 260-pound center Dominik Olejniczak to the grad-transfer market (Florida State), but 6-8, 252-pound Bruce Stevens (8.5 ppg, 4.4 rpg) is still around and will need to be more productive. The incoming class was rated in the league's bottom third, but Austin Crowley is a four-star prospect from Kansas, and Ole Miss also lured a pair of from Daytona (Fla.) State College players, including 6-10, 240-pounder Khadim Sy.
That's Auburn guard Samir Doughty getting into the lower body of Virginia's Kyle Guy, while the Cavalier's All-American was launching a desperation 3-point attempt with just a half-second left in the 2019 Final Four. Guy, his team down two, famously made three free throws to send UVA to its eventual national title and end the best season in Tigers history.
Jan. 18: Auburn, 1:30 p.m. (CBS) The buzz: The Tigers were one controversial call (but a good call, yes, as Kyle Guy was definitely fouled in the act) from playing for the national championship last season. After three years of rebuilding, what a two-year run it has been for Coach Bruce Pearl, though not without controversy (See Person, Chuck). The Tigers won a share of the SEC title in '18, then won the league's postseason tournament and went to their first Final Four in '19. Time will tell how Auburn's FBI-turned-NCAA issues play out, but in the interim the Tigers must deal with life after Bryce Brown (15.9 ppg), Jared Harper (15.3 ppg) and forward/first-round NBA pick Chuma Okeke (12.0 ppg. 6.8 rpg), the team's lone double-figure scorers during Auburn's school-record 30-win season. The team returns just one player, guard Samir Dougty (7.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg), who averaged over 20 minutes, and will look for big jumps in production from forward Anfernee McLemore (6.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg), and guards J'Jon McCormick (4.1 ppg) and Jamal Johnson, who as a freshman at Memphis averaged 6.9 points and 3.3 rebounds two seasons ago before transferring. Austin Wiley (6.9 ppg, 4.0 rpg), the 6-11, 260-pound junior center, was considered one of the league's best pro prospects before he, along with forward Danjel Purifoy (3.7 ppg, 2.1 ppg) sat out the '17-18 season due to NCAA violations. Those two combined to start just six games in '18-19, but that won't be the case in '19-20. Of Auburn's five-man freshman class, small forward Isaac Okoro was the lone five-star, and three were rated as four-star prospects, including combo guard Tyrell Jones and forward Jaylin Williams. The Tigers won't have the experience of their past couple teams (and probably not the shooters, as Brown, Harper and Okeke all hit at least 37 percent or better from 3), but they'll be wildly athletic and play to Pearl's up-tempo, wide-open system that last season ranked sixth nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency, and led the SEC in 3-pointers attempted (29.8) and made per game (11.2).
As a freshman, Javonte Smart averaged 11.1 points, shot nearly 33 percent from the 3-point and made headlines late in the season when his name surfaced in connection with pay-for-play allegations that implicated LSU coach Will Wade. Both Smart and Wade were suspended, but Smart returned after cooperating with the university's internal investigation, while Wade sat out the rest of the season -- and watched his team capture the conference regular season title -- for refusing to meet with LSU officials. Wade eventually was reinstated, but the story won't be over until the NCAA says it is.
Jan. 21: at Louisiana State, 7 p.m. (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU or SEC Network) The buzz: Speaking of NCAA issues ... What happens with LSU between now and when the Gators go to Baton Rouge maybe be as big a story as any in the SEC, given the scandalous cloud that's hovered over Coach Will Wade and his program for going on two years. Didn't phase them too much during '18-19, though, as the Tigers went 28-7 and captured their first SEC regular-season crown in 10 years (albeit, nefariously), despite Wade's suspension from the postseason for refusing to cooperate with university officials looking into pay-for-play allegations. Point guard Tremont Waters and power forward Naz Reid are gone, but LSU returns a solid nucleus in guards Javonte Smart (11.1 ppg, 3.3 rpg), who was at the center of the program's NCAA issues last season, along with Skylar Mays (13.4 ppg, 3.3 rpg), Marlon Taylor (6.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg) and bruising, try-hard forward Emmitt Williams (7.0 ppg, 5.4 rpg). Throw in 6-9, 230-pound five-star signee Trendon Watford, from Birmingham, Ala., and this is clearly a team that will be in the mix (assuming the Tigers don't get hit by NCAA cops for mixing it up).
Jan. 25: Baylor (SEC/Big 12 Challenge on ESPN) Baylor forward Tristan ClarkThe buzz: ESPN did something of a a disservice to both programs by picking this matchup — same opponent, same venue as 2018 — as part of the seventh version of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. It would have been one thing had UF been sent to Baylor, given the Bears came to the O'Dome just two years ago and were obliterated by 20, but this was the Gators' turn for a home game (and road games for Texas Tech and Texas, two teams UF has not faced in the made-for-TV event). Oh well. Certainly doesn't mean this game won't be a good one, what with both the Gators and Bears expected to be entrenched in the Top 25 deep into the season. Baylor fought through injuries and still went 20-14 overall, 10-8 in the league, good enough for an 8-seed and second-round NCAA loss to Gonzaga. Offensively, Scott Drew's team finished 20th in KenPomand should be really good on that end again, once power forward 6-9, 240-pound sophomore Tristan Clark (14.3 ppg, 6.2 rpg) is recovered from a season-ending knee injury suffered in January. The Bears also will have back Mario Kegler (10.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg), who started his career at Mississippi State, and Mark Vital (7.2 ppg, 7.2 rpg), plus guard Jared Butler (10.2 ppg, 36 percent from 3). A couple transfers, Macio Teague (UNC-Asheville) and Davion Mitchell (Auburn) — will be in a rotation that just might end up being one of Drew's best all-around teams during his 16 seasons at Waco.
Jan. 28: Mississippi State, 7 p.m. (ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU) The buzz: UF's loss last year in Starkville, where the Gators blew a five-point lead with inside two and a half minutes remaining, was among the most frustrating of a season that certainly had its share of frustrations. In that one, the Bulldogs' three best players — Quinndary Weatherspoon, Aric Holman and Lamar Peters — made the key plays down the stretch to seal the outcome. All three of those guys are gone, most prominently Weatherspoon, who was second in the SEC in scoring
Tyson Carter
18.2 per game, and whose length-of-the-floor drive and layup (yes, a layup) proved the difference in the game. MSU went on to finish 23-11, 10-8 in the SEC, and bowed out of the NCAA's first round in an upset loss to Liberty, the first tournament trip in Coach Ben Howland's four seasons at State (and first for the program since 2009). The Bulldogs finished an overall 22nd in KenPom's rankings, mostly because of an offense that had five guys score at least 9.5 points per game. Three are gone, which leaves sophomore power forward and 2018 McDonald's All-American Reggie Perry (9.8 ppg, 7.2 rpg), point guard Tyson Carter (10.5 ppg, 5.1 apg, 36 percent from 3) and off-guard Nick Weatherspoon (9.6 ppg) the top players returning. Abdul Ado (4.7 ppg, 4.5 rpg), at 6-11 and 240 pounds, flashed nicely at times during his freshman year and should take on a much bigger role in the frontcourt. So will 6-8, 253-pounder Prince Oduro, who sat out last season after transferring from Sienna, where he averaged 9.1 points and 5.1 boards as a freshman. MSU's signing class was rated near the bottom of the league, but has a four-star wing in Elias King and 7-foot, 224-pound center in Quinten Post, by way of Germany.
Feb. 1: at Vanderbilt, 8:30 p.m. (SEC Network) The buzz: Here's that "NBA Guy" plan again. It's been tried a bunch of places — Reggie Theus (UNLV), Eddie Jordan (Rutgers), Chris Mullen (St. John's), Mark Price (UNCC),
New Vandy coach and former NBA star Jerry StackhouseJohnson (Alabama), to name a few — with little success. Such experiments remain ongoing at Wake Forest (Danny Manning), Georgetown (Patrick Ewing), Memphis (Penny Hardaway) and Michigan (Juwan Howard), with the jury still out. Now add Jerry Stackhouse, the former North Carolina All-American and NBA star to the mix. Stackhouse was an out-of-the-box hire for the Commodores, who were thought three years ago to have landed a gem in Bryce Drew. Injuries and inconsistency, though, derailed Drew's program and the Commodores really had no choice, as far as their fan base, but to make a change after Vandy went 9-23 and posted the first 0-18 league record in SEC history. Stackhouse compiled more than 16,000 points for eight teams over 18 NBA seasons, then moved into coaching in 2015. Two years later, he led Raptors 905 to the D League championship and was honored as that level's Coach of the Year. He has zero collegiate experience, but will not have zero talent. In junior point guard Saben Lee (12.7 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.8 apg), sophomore wing Aaron Nesmith (11.0 ppg 5.5 rpg) and 6-10, 240-pound sophomore center Simisola Shittu (10.9 ppg, 6.7 rpg), a McDonald's All-American in 2018, Stackhouse has a nucleus to work with. It would have helped if stretch-4 Matt Ryan (8.1 ppg, 33 percent from 3) had not grad-transferred to Notre Dame, but among the five-man incoming freshman class are the names Scottie Pippen Jr. and Kenyon Martin Jr., who were teammates at Chatworth (Calif.) Sierra Canyon. Their NBA dads, obviously, believe in Vandy's new NBA dad. Feb. 5: Georgia, 7 p.m. (ESPN2 or ESPNU) The buzz: It's a maddening fact, but a fact nonetheless. Georgia, one of the SEC's bottom-feeders the last two seasons, came to Gainesville and came away
Atlanta product and UGA-bound Anthony Edwards was rated by some as the nation's No. 1 prep prospect.
victorious. Awful losses, both of them, especially last season when the Bulldogs, who went a dismal 2-16 in league play, snapped UF's five-game winning streak in the next-to-last home game, basically undermining all the good the Gators had done in righting their season. This will be UGA's second turn under Coach Tom Crean and the program figures to be better than its 11-21 mark of '18-19, despite losing a pair of front court players who gave UF fits in 6-11 forward Nicolas Claxton, a second-round NBA pick who was the team's leading scorer, rebounder and shot-blocker, and power forward Derek Ogbeide. The best returnees for the Bulldogs are 6-9, 235-pound forward Rayshaun Hammonds (12.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 49.2 percent from floor), as well as perimeter seniors Jordan Harris (9.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 41 percent from 3) and Tyree Crump (9.7 ppg, 35 percent from 3). The program spotlight, however, will be on Crean's new guys. Atlanta product and McDonald's All-America wing Anthony Edwards not only is rated by some services as the nation's No. 1 prospect, but is being talked about as the overall No. 1 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. Edwards, who highlights a consensus top-10 class that also includes a quartet of four-star recruits, was a double-double machine at the prep level, scoring 25.7 a game to go with 9.6 boards. UGA also landed a solid grad-transfer in Donnell Gresham Jr., who averaged nearly 10 points, five rebounds and three assists and helped guide Northeastern to the Colonial Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament championships.
Feb. 8: at Ole Miss, 2 p.m. (ESPN2 or ESPNU) The buzz: The first time White returned for a game at his alma mater, the experience was obviously an emotional one for the UF coach, who was once was a four-year starting point guard for the Rebels. White may have been more struck that trip by the sparkling new Pavilon at Ole Miss, now one of the premier facilities in the league. The Gators won that first homecoming in 2016. Two years later, they lost the second and played pretty poorly in the process. He said then that the novelty of being back in Oxford had probably worn off. Such will be the case again for his third visit in five seasons.
Buzz Williams has a career coaching record of 253-155 (and winning percentage of .620), along with eight NCAA tournament berths, in stops at New Orleans, Marquette and Virginia Tech, the latter of which he bolted in April for the vacant Texas A&M job.
Feb. 12: at Texas A&M, 8:30 p.m. (SEC Network) The buzz: The Aggies, who went 14-18 and finished 11th in the league with a 6-12 mark, cut ties with Billy Kennedy, who over his seven seasons won a share of a SEC title and reached the NCAA Tournament twice, including a Sweet 16 run in 2018. A case can be made that A&M hit one of the offseason's coaching-hire home runs in landing Buzz Williams, a Lone Star State native who led Virginia Tech to a school-record three straight NCAA tournaments and before that got Marquette to three Sweet 16s and an Elite Eight. Williams inherited a considerable rebuild situation, with junior forward Savion Flagg (13.9 ppg, 7.7 rpg), and the backcourt of senior Wendell Mitchell (13.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg) and junior TJ Starks (12.3 ppg, 3.5 apg) the best of the bunch coming back. The Aggies had four signees committed to Kennedy, but all four asked out of their letters. No problem. Williams, instead, coaxed a couple of the players he signed while at Virginia Tech, guard Andre Gordon and forward Yavuz Gultekin, to come to College Station, instead. The immediate future might have been better for Williams had talented shooting guard Admon Gilder, who missed the entire '18-19 season due to a blood clot, opted to return. Gilder, instead, did the grad-transfer thing to Gonzaga.
Feb. 15: Vanderbilt, 8 p.m. (SEC Network) The buzz: White got off to a rough start in the Vandy series, losing his first five games against the Commodores, including at home, on the road and in the Gators' SEC Tournament opener in 2017, when the Gators came in with a double-by and No. 2 seed. Last year, Florida swept the series for the first time since 2011 and will be facing his third Vandy coach in five years (Kevin Stallings, Drew and Stackhouse).
New Arkansas coach Eric Musselman furthered the league's coaching profile when he made the jump from Nevada, which he led to three straight Mountain West Conference championships and 110 wins over four seasons.
Feb. 18: Arkansas, 7 p.m. (ESPN, ESPNU or ESPN2) The buzz: The Razorbacks and Mike Anderson enjoyed a long and tight relationship, dating to his days as lead assistant alongside icon Nolan Richardson, but Anderson was fired in March after his eighth season finished at 18-16 and in the NIT. Anderson's scorecard in Fayetteville: 162-109 overall, with three NCAA trips and just two tournament wins. Enter Eric Musselman, who did some pretty impressive things in four seasons at Nevada, including last season's 29-5 run that had the Wolfpack ranked in the Associated Press Top 10, but ended with a first-round NCAA loss to Florida. Musselman made a living off transfers while in Reno, and will have a couple key ones on his first Arkansas squad after the program said goodbye to All-SEC power forward Daniel Gafford and his 16.9 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game. Volume-shooting sophomore guard Isaiah Joe is back after scoring 13.9 points and averaging more than eight 3 attempts per game. So is Mason Jones (13.6 ppg, 36 percent from 3), who dropped a career-high 30 on the Gators last season. The impact transfers will be guard Jimmy Whitt Jr. (12.3 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 4.0 apg), who actually started his career at Arkansas in '15-16, transferred to Southern Methodist, where he started every game the last two seasons, and is back with the Hogs via the grad rule. Also, 6-7 forward Jeantal Cylla, by way of UNC-Wilmington, where he scored 13.7 points and grabbed 4.5 rebounds per, will get touches.
For the second straight year, Kentucky landed one of the top grad-transfer big man prospects. Last year, it was Stanford's Reid Travis. This time, it's 6-9, 245-pound Nate Sestina, by way of Bucknell, where he scored 15.8 points and grabbed 8.8 rebounds in the Patriot League last season, and should give the always-youthful Cats a level of experience, not to mention even more depth for an already stacked front court.
Feb. 22: at Kentucky, 6 or 8 p.m. (ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU) The buzz: The UF coaching staff won a couple monumental head-to-head recruiting battles against UK by, first, landing Lewis, the star forward from New Jersey,in the early signing period, then claiming the two-month-long Blackshear sweepstakes, despite the former Virginia Tech center being on his official visit to Lexington the day Wildcats coach John Calipari left for the NBA Draft to watch three of his players selected. But guess what? Turns out Kentucky won't need either guy to garner preseason top-five consideration after signing a recruiting class rated No. 2 nationally. What else is new, right? UK's freshman haul is led by a trio of potential starters in Tyrese Maxey, Kahlil Whitney (both McDonald's All Americans) and Keion Brooks. The Cats had a couple bigs flirt with the NBA underclassmen process, but both EJ Montgomery (3.8 ppg, 4.1 rpg) and Nick Richards (4.0 ppg, 3.3 rpg) opted to return and bolster a front court that landed one of the best grad-transfers on the market in Bucknell's Nate Sestina (15.8 points, 8.8 rpg and second-team All-Patriot League). Sophomore point guard Ashton Hagans (7.4 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 4.3 apg) was one of the SEC's top on-ball defenders as a rookie and sophomore guard Immanuel Quickley (5.2 ppg) should get more minutes following the defections of perimeter stars Tyler Herro and Keldon Johnson to the NBA. Kentucky went 30-7 last season, lost in the Elite Eight and put three guys in the NBA, but will be favored to win the league in 2020. In other words, same 'ol story in Lexington.
Feb. 26: Louisiana State, 9 p.m. (ESPN2 or ESPNU) The buzz: The two teams won cliffhanger classics on each other's home floor last season, then one-upped each other with a pulsating down-to-the-wire showdown in the SEC Tournament, culminated by Nembhard's game-winning three-pointer with one second left to put the Gators in the tournament semifinals for the first time in five years. It'll be difficult to out-do what they did last year entertainment-wise. How the Tigers react to what figures to be mounting NCAA scrutiny could be a factor to their performance over the long haul as well. Either way, both teams have the goods to be near the top of the league standings down the home stretch.
Guard Jordan Bowden (23) did his part in the Volunteers' sweep of the Gators, scoring 17 points in UT's big comeback win at Gainesville, and 13 in UT's home win a couple weeks later.
Feb. 29: at Tennessee, 2 p.m. (ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU) The buzz:The buzz: Florida has dropped four of five against Tennessee since the programs switched coaches in 2015, with UT's Rick Barnes mostly having his way against White, but also against the bulk of the SEC the last two seasons. The Volunteers went 26-9 and won a share of the SEC regular-season crown in 2018, then followed that up with with a school-record for victories and 31-6 mark, good enough for a No. 2 NCAA seed, with the season ending with an overtime loss to Carson Edwards and Purdue in the Sweet 16. Barnes, though, has some rebuilding to do after losing two-time SEC Player of the Year, first-team All-American and league scoring leader, Grant Williams, along with forward Admiral Schofield, center Kyle Alexander and point guard Jordan Bone. Those four pitched in 56.1 points per game for the Vols, who averaged 82.0 per game (that's 68 percent). They'll need increased production from UT's other two returning starters, guards Lamonte Turner (11.0 ppg, 2.8 rpg) and Jordan Bowden (10.6 ppg, 3.5 rpg), while leaning on a couple incoming freshmen in combo guard Josiah-Jordan James, a McDonald's All-American, and power forward Oliver Nkamboa. The Vols also hope that 7-1, 240-pound Uros Plavsic, a transfer from Arizona State, is granted a waiver that will allow him to play this season. Tennessee swept two against Florida last season, erasing a second-half double-digit lead at the O'Dome, but the Gators swept a couple fierce off-the-court battles against the Vols the last year in landing Mann and, of course, Blackshear, who was interested in UT and will definitely hear it from the fans at Thompson-Boling Arena.
March 4: at Georgia, 7 p.m. (ESPN2 or ESPNU) The buzz: The Gators are 3-1 under White when venturing to Athens, but on paper — and given the upgrades on the Bulldogs' roster — this one, even seven months out, looks like a tough SEC road finale.
March 7: Kentucky, 1 p.m. (CBS) The buzz: It's UF's turn to host what has seemingly become an annual regular-season finale against UK. The last time the Gators did so was pretty unforgettable as far as "Senior Day" celebrations go, as UF honored the wildly popular Chiozza, who that afternoon not only set the program's all-time assists record by led Florida to just the sixth sweep of their regular-season series with Kentucky in school history. UF's lone senior in '20 will not have assaulted a bunch of career statistical charts, but the O'Dome figures to turn out (and turn up) for Blackshear's one home crack at Kentucky and its stable of stars.
Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., has become quite the semi-permanent (soon to be just-plain permanent) home to the SEC Tournament.
March 11-14: SEC Tournament (Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tenn.) The buzz: This will be the second of three consecutive years back in the Music City, where last year the Gators made some noise by ousting LSU, the tournament's top seed, and got White past the tournament quarterfinals for the first time in his four UF seasons. Just like Florida figures to be a contender for the SEC regular-season title, the Gators should be in the mix for their first league tournament crown since 2014. The SEC Tournament will return to Nashville in 2021, then head to Tampa in 2022 for one year, then be back on Tennessee's version of Broadway in 2023, and for the next 12 years after that. At least.
the Battle 4 Atlantis. This year's tournament will come a week earlier in Charleston, S.C., where TD Arena (capacity 5,100) will be the site of the eight-team Charleston Classic. This event has been staged annually since 2008, but College of Charleston, the host school, has only played in it three times. Florida is the clear-cut headliner in 2019, as the Gators are the lone team in the field coming off an NCAA appearance, and one of just two teams (along with Xavier, which went 19-16 and played in the NIT) that posted a winning record last season. UF will open against St. Joseph's in a Thursday, 2:30 p.m. game (meaning the famous flapping Hawks mascot will be doing his thing early). The Hawks lost their best player, Lamarr Kimble, to Louisville as a grad transfer. Miami, which should be better than its 14-18 mark of a season ago, is on the same side of the bracket as UF for a possible second-round meeting (Hello, Keith Stone). The rest of the field: Penn State, Buffalo, Missouri State, UConn and Towson, with the latter two participants presenting the unique potential for a quick turn-around rematch, with the Gators having played both UConn and Towson the week before. 
