Monday, January 4, 2021 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
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By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
FLORIDA at ALABAMA
When: Tuesday, 7 p.m. (EST) Where: Coleman Coliseum, Tuscaloosa, Ala. Records: Florida (5-1, 2-0); Alabama (7-3, 2-0) TV: ESPN2 (Karl Ravech and Jimmy Dykes) Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network (Mick Hubert and Lee Humphrey)
THE BASICS
Bird's-eye view of the heart of the University of Alabama campus.
Two teams tied for first place early in Southeastern Conference play square off, with the winner sitting alone atop the standings at night's end. ... Florida got here by beating Vanderbilt handily on the road in its SEC debut last Wednesday, then chased that with a big second half and 83-79 home win Saturday over a LSU team picked to finish among the top four in the league. Alabama started its conference slate with an easy road win at Ole Miss, then rung up the most impressive victory of the young SEC season -- maybe the best win by an league team to date -- by going to No. 7 Tennessee, the preseason favorite to win the conference, and defeating the Volunteers 71-63 in a game the Crimson Tide led the entire second half, building as big as a 14-point lead. ... Alabama leads the all-time series 75-70, but Florida has won the last three meetings and 14 of the previous 17. The most recent showdown was last season's epic 104-98 double-overtime victory when the Gators erased a 21-point second half deficit behind 25 points from sophomore point guard Andrew Nembhardand 24 points and 16 rebounds from grad-forward Kerry Blackshear Jr. in the league opener for both teams. UF trailed by 21 with two minutes to go in the first half, but closed the period with seven straight points, then began chipping away in the second. The Tide still led by eight with two minutes left, and by five with 29 seconds remaining, but a 3-pointer by Blackshear, then steal and layup by Noah Locke sent the game into extras. Eventually, the Gators hit big free throws over the final 40 seconds of the second OT to complete the second-biggest comeback in program history. The trio of Nembhard, Blackshear and freshman Scottie Lewis, who posted his first career double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds, accounted for 47 of Florida's final 52 points in regulation and both extra periods. ... The Gators are 4-2 against the Tide under Coach Mike White, including 3-0 on the road.
Guard John Petty (23) was the two-time Gatorade Player in the Year from Alabama, where he played at two different Huntsville high schools and led them to a combined three state championships on his way to consensus top-30 recruiting status. A quick-twitch athlete and elite 3-point shooter, Petty was pegged early as a one-and-done candidate (he was part of a freshman class that included eventual NBA lottery pick Colin Sexton), but now he's a senior and last year was an All-SEC second-teamer as well an academic honor roller. Twice during his career Petty has hit 10 3s in a game and needs 17 more to become the program's all-team leader in that category. Last year, he led the SEC in overall shooting percentage from deep (.440), but he's gotten off to something of a slow start. To date, Petty is averaging 12.7 points on just under 43 percent from the floor and 35 percent from the arc. He's improved that second number the last two games by hitting seven of his 11 long balls in SEC play, including a 4-for-4 night on his way to 17 points against Tennessee. The Tide have all kinds of guys who can beat you, but Petty is the one who gets circled first on the scouting report.
TEAM BREAKDOWNS
Sophomore guard Tre Mann equaled his career high of 19 points in the win over LSU and now leads active Gators in scoring at 15.2 points per game.
ABOUT THE GATORS: So far, White's goal goal of making big strides both offensively and defensively, as well as with all-around pace, have come to fruition. KenPom.com advance metrics rate UF at 21st overall, but 20th in offensive efficiency, 29th in defense, and 87th in tempo. UF ranks third in the SEC at 82.8 points per game, but first in field-goal percentage (.506) and third in 3-point shooting percentage (.362). ... Through two league games, the story for the Gators has been the low-post outburst of
Colin CastletonColin Castleton, the Michigan transfer who has averaged 22.0 points and made 18 of his 23 field-goal attempts, which equates to 78.3 percent. That'll be a tough pace to maintain, but the team has confidence in Castleton and he certainly has developed some confidence in himself. The Crimson Tide's pace will be a challenge for him, but Castleton is far from non-athletic when it comes to running the floor. Tough guy, too. On Monday, Castleton and Petty were named co-SEC Players of the Week. ... Guard/Forward Scottie Lewis had another terrific all-around floor game against LSU, scoring 17 points, grabbing five rebounds, plus two assists and two steals. He has five straight games in double-figure scoring and has averaged 17.3 points on 51-percent shooting the last three. ... Shooting guard Noah Locke, the team's top 3-point threat, went 0-for-5 from distance against the Tigers. It was just the third time over the last seasons that Locke failed to make a 3-pointer in a game. He made at least two in seven of the previous eight. ... Tre Mann is now UF's leading active scorer and ranks eighth in the SEC at 15.2 points per game. He's hit double-figure scoring in all but one game thus far, twice hitting his career-high of 19, including against LSU. After turning the ball over six times in the win at Vanderbilt, Mann had just two giveaways Saturday, but also only one assist. He had a nice offensive game, though, hitting seven of his 12 shots, three of six 3-pointers, both his free throws, and grabbed five rebounds. This is an opponent that will speed him up. How will Mann react? ... After a dismal first five games, forward Anthony Duruji, the Louisiana Tech transfer who took Keyontae Johnson's place in the starting lineup, has averaged 13.5 points (on 59-percent shooting overall, with three of six makes from deep) and 6.0 rebounds in his first two SEC games. Duruji had six offensive rebounds against LSU. That's winning basketball. ... Backup point guard Tyree Appleby (7.3 ppg) continues to struggle with consistency. He had five assists in the LSU game, but also five turnovers, including a huge one in the final 30 seconds that allowed the Tigers to make the game much closer than it should have been. ... Look for junior-college transfer forward Osayi Osifo to get a few more minutes in this game. He only played two against LSU (and none at Vanderbilt), but he did his job on defense and that's half the battle. If he figures out how to play to his role on offense, Osifo will become a rotational player. ... ABOUT THE CRIMSON TIDE: Coach Nate Oates arrived by way of Buffalo and brought a breakneck, green-lighted 3-point shooting system to the SEC. They're 23-18 under Oates thus far, including 10-10 in SEC play, and have lived up to his
Herbert Jones (1)
promised style of play. KenPom puts Bama at No. 36 overall, 36th in offense, 39th in defense and 25th in tempo. Numbers-wise, the pace hasn't exactly translated. Yet. The Tide is scoring 76.7 points per game (that's 6th in the SEC), shooting 41.8 percent overall (13th) and 31.8 percent from the 3-point line (8th), but their 29.9 long-ball attempts per game is tied for first in the conference -- and they went 10-for-20 from the arc at Tennessee. On defense, Bama is going to play man and stay in man, while not pressing much, but definitely over-playing, shooting gaps and gambling for steals. ... Forward Herbert Jones, once a UF recruit, leads the team in scoring. He's ideal for the system, with his length, athleticism and attack-the-rim mentality. He's not a prolific outside shooter, but certainly capable, and he's an elite defender. ... Wildly athletic Guard Jaden Shackelford, who made the league's All-Freshman Team last season, trails only Petty in 3-point attempts. He's off to a slow start as far as knocking down shots (34 percent overall, 31 from distance), but that could change quickly. ... Guard Jahvon Quinerly was a 2018 McDonald's All-American and played as a freshman at Villanova. He transferred to Bama after the '18-19 season and sat out last year. The Tide has been at their best, as far as running their system and in the rare halfcourt sets, when he is on the floor. ... Guard Joshua Primo was a five-star and top-20 prospect, and like most Tide players is interchangeable as far as where he plays on the floor. He's made better than 48 percent of his shots and 34 percent of his 3s, including three against Tennessee. ... Jordan Bruner was among one of the top grad-transfer prospects in the country, making the jump from Yale, where he was first-team All-Ivy League in 2020. He's gotten off to a slow start shooting the ball (7-for-25 from deep), but he's considered a "stretch-4" and needs to be honored around the arc.
NUMBERS WORTH NOTING
Scottie Lewis ranks third on the team in assists with 15 through six games.
* .190 — Tennessee's 3-point shooting percentage, based on 4-for-21 brick-tossing, in Alabama's big win. That was the difference in the game. Florida has made just 31.6 percent of its 3s in two SEC games.
* 2 — UF players who have attempted at least 18 shots from the 3-point line.
* 6 — Alabama players who have attempted at least 18 shots from the 3-point line.
* 25 — Games it took Lewis to get his 15th assist for the Gators last season, when he tallied 23 for his entire freshman campaign. He has 15 (or 2.6 per game) through six.
* 2006 — The last year Alabama defeated Florida in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide won 82-77 on Feb. 26, and the Gators won their next 11 games (two regular season, three in the SEC Tournament, six in the NCAA Tournament) on the way to the program's first national championship.
LAST WORD
If the LSU game served as a solid barometer as to where the Gators stand, a road trip against a confident Bama bunch (one that certainly remembers last season's meltdown) figures to be a better one.
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