Florida Gators

SEC/BIG 12 CHALLENGE
FLORIDA at No. 11 WEST VIRGINIA 

When: Saturday, 2 p.m. (EST)
Where: WVU Coliseum, Morgantown, W.Va.   
Records: Florida (9-4); West Virginia (11-4)  
TV: ESPN (Karl Ravech and Jimmy Dykes) 
Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network (Mick Hubert and Lee Humphrey) 



THE BASICS 
 
Florida and West Virginia will meet in the second hour of the 10-hour SEC/Big 12 Challenge, the ESPN-manufactured matchup series now in its eighth season (and its sixth since the network, seeking maximum exposure, made the shrewd move of forwarding the event from December to the week between the NFL conference championship games and Super Bowl). ... UF is riding a three-game winning streak (and four victories over the previous five) in Southeastern Conference play, most recently Wednesday night's 78-71 defeat of cellar-dwelling Vanderbilt. WVU, ranked 14th in this week's Associated Press poll, has won two straight Big 12 games, including Monday night's 88-87 defeat of No. 10 Texas Tech, a game the Mountaineers won on a go-ahead bucket with just six seconds remaining. ... UF leads the all-time series 6-3, with a pair of wins during the Mike White era, the first coming the first year the SEC/Big 12 Challenge was moved into the middle of the conference seasons. The Gators waxed the Mountaineers 88-71 on Jan. 30, 2016 (White's debut season as UF coach), thanks to a 12-for-20 barrage from the 3-point line, with five makes and 24 points from senior forward Dorian Finney-Smith. The two were later paired up for a Dec. 4, 2018 date in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden, where Florida, led by KeVaughn Allen's 19 points and a defense that forced the Mountaineers into just 29-percent shooting and 21 turnovers, prevailed 66-56. ... In addition to being 2-0 vs. WVU, White is 4-3 in SEC/Big 12 challenges and 5-4 in overall games against Big 12 teams during his six seasons at Florida.

STARTERS (Probable Lineups)

Florida	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Class	Per Game
Omar Payne	F	6-10	231	Sophomore	4.1 pts / 3.8 reb
Colin Castleton	F	6-11	231	Junior	12.8 pts / 5.4 reb
Tyree Appleby	G	6-1	170	R-Junior	10.5 pts / 2.8 reb
Noah Locke	G	6-3	203	Junior	10.7 pts / 2.4 reb
Tre Mann	G	6-5	190	Sophomore	14.7 pts / 5.2 reb / 3.9 ast

West Virginia	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Class	Per Game
Jalen Bridges	F	6-7	220	Freshman	4.6 pts / 1.9 reb
Derek Culver	F	6-10	255	Junior	13.1 pts / 10.2 reb
Taz Sherman	G	6-4	190	Junior	12.1 pts / 1.6 reb
Miles McBride	G	6-2	200	Senior	15.9 pts / 3.7 reb / 4.2 ast
Jordan McCabe	G	6-0	188	Junior	2.5 pts / 1.4 reb

ONE TO WATCH  
 

TEAM BREAKDOWNS
  

ABOUT THE GATORS: They've won three straight, but the coaches have plenty to pick at the last two games, starting with the manner the Gators closed out the wins at Georgia and again at home against Vanderbilt. Both times, UF allowed cushy, double-digit margins get whacked against pressure defense; not to mention some poor rebounding and guarding in the post. A performance even remotely similar against West Virginia will find the Gators on the bad end of a lopsided score; and the Mountaineers aren't the types to let teams get back into games. ... KenPom.com ranks Florida 25th overall, including 24th in offensive efficiency, 47 on defense and 105th in pace. The Gators score 77.8 points per game, shooting a league-best 47.9 percent overall and 37.8 from the 3-point line. On defense, they give up 70.3 points, 42.4 percent and

34.6 on deep balls. ... Come tip-off, West Virginia will be safely in the top 25 of the NCAA Evaluation Took metrics, meaning UF has a huge opportunity to soak up some heavy NET points, if the Gators, a solid target themselves at No. 26, can pull off the upset. ... Guard and scoring leader Tre Mann is shooting nearly the same overall as the 3-point line (41.9 percent to 41.5, respectively), and is now at 81.3 from the free-throw line (compared to 65.5 last season). That last stat is good for late-game situations when both Mann and Tyree Appleby figure to get the ball (they were 6-for-6 inside the final two minutes). Appleby, with four straight games scoring in double figures, is playing really well. Even better, he has picked up his assist-to-turnover ratio the last two games (9/4), a trend that will need to hold against the handsy Mountaineers. Mann needs to follow suit on that front. He had six turnovers against the Commodores. Those will be dunks against WVU. ... Shooting guard Noah Locke has seven 3s the last two games and is up to 40.5 percent from deep on the season. He's also played at 35 minutes in five straight games. That may be too many. ... Forward Omar Payne shot 90 percent and averaged 9.5 points and 9.0 rebounds over two games and was rewarded for it with his first start of the season against Vandy. He spent it in early foul trouble, finishing with no points and three rebounds over 21 minutes. The way Payne's first start played out may deter the coaches from pairing both Payne and 6-11 Colin Castleton in the first yet a second straight game. The two, together, can't be in foul trouble again -- and WVU makes officials blow the whistle. Castleton got in first-half foul trouble and scored all 13 of his points in the second half on 6-for-8 shooting. ... Sophomore guard Scottie Lewis returned Wednesday after missing four games due to health/safety protocols. He did so with a splash: 10 first-half points on 5-for-6 shooting and his usual high motor. Lewis played a surprising 27 minutes and appeared no worse for wear. ... Forward Anthony Duruji (6.0 ppg, 3.9) was the odd starter out last game. He had five first half points off the bench, but was a second-half DNP. Coaches want to see him apply energy and that elite athleticism moreso than he showed the previous two games. The Gators will need his activity on the glass this game. ... Junior forward Osayi Osifo has been a pleasant spark off the bench the last two outings, going 5-for-5 from the floor and averaging 4.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 13.0 minutes -- and 4.0 fouls, also. Freshman guard Samson Ruzhentsev scored five points in just six minutes to go with two rebounds and only one turnover. Both Osifo and Ruzhentsev are earning trust. 

ABOUT THE MOUNTAINEERS: They've gone 302-165 and reached the NCAA Tournament nine times (including the 2010 Final Four) since Bob Huggins returned to coach his alma mater in 2007. With his success over those 14 seasons, "Hugs" has climbed to No. 8 on the all-time list for Division-I victories with 820, which places him

fourth among active coaches behind only Duke's Mike Krzyzewski (1,163), Syracuse's Jim Boeheim (1,074)and North Carolina's Roy Williams (896). Huggins' 39-year career record of 892-376 spans five schools: NAIA-classified Walsh (3 seasons), Akron (5), Cincinnati (16, including the 1992 Final Four), Kansas State (1) and WVU (14), where he starred as a point guard from 1975-77. ... KenPom ranks WVU's schedule as one of the nation's hardest (15th). The Mountaineers' lone loss in non-league play came in a neutral-site meeting with No. 1 Gonzaga, an 87-82 defeat that remains (by far) the Bulldogs' only non-double digit win of a so-far unbeaten season. ... As for overall numbers, KenPom has West Virginia ranked 17th, with the No. 16 offense, No. 30 defense and playing at a middling tempo of 173. The Mountaineers will push the ball after opponent makes. They're scoring 75.4 points per game, shooting 42.6 percent and 36.6 from long range. Defensively, they give up just 69.3 points, allow an idential 42.6 overall, but are closing out the 3-point line at a stirring 29.5 percent. ... WVU's other losses were to Kansas and Oklahoma on the road, plus Texas at home. Their best win came Monday, courtesy of McBride's clutch shot against Tech. ... After McBride, the Mountaineers lean on the big body of Derek Culver for their heavy lifting inside. The 6-10, 255-pound Culver is shooting 47 percent on the season, which is OK, but he is a double-double beast with seven so far (with another three games where came either one point or rebound short). Culver had 22 points and 19 rebounds against Oklahoma State. ... Wing Taz Sherman is their next-best perimeter threat at nearly 40 percent from the arc with 25 makes, but guard Sean McNeil is tied with McBride with a team-high 26 from deep, but he also leads the club in attempts. McNeil is hitting at 34 percent. ... Forward Jalen Bridges (52 percent overall) and backup 6-7, 237-pounder Gabe Osabuobein are high-effort types who excel on defense and crash the glass. They don't always get the ball, but they make life miserable for opponents.  


NUMBERS WORTH NOTING  
 

* .286 — Florida opponents' combined 3-point percentage during the Gators' three-game winning streak, based on 18 makes in 63 attempts (and that's with Vanderbilt going 5-for-13 in the second half Wednesday). 

* 2 -- Consecutive losses by the Gators in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. Florida won four of its first five in the event, but lost at Texas Christian 55-50 in 2019 and home to No. 1-ranked Baylor 72-61 in 2020. 

* 36.2 -- Offensive rebound percentage for the Mountaineers, that's over a third of their missed shots, which ranks 12th nationally. Box out, fellas.   

* 1970 — The last year UF played WVU at Morgantown. The two teams first faced off in 1963 with the Gators pummeled 114-67. Florida won the next two (in '67 and '69), but lost a 88-87 overtime thriller in '70, which was 51 years ago. 

* 2,309 -- Points scored by basketball icon Jerry West during his three seasons at WVU (1957-60) when he averaged 24.8 points, 13.3 rebounds and was named MVP of the 1959 Final Four when the Mountaineers lost to California in the NCAA title game. 


LAST WORD

For the first time this season, WVU Coliseum will allow fans at a game, but the 1,000 that gain entry won't be nearly as difficult as the accustommed sellouts of 14,000-plus. That's not to say the Gators' assignment won't be just as difficult, though, given the opponent. This could end up being UF's most formidable challenge of the season.