UF guard Brandon McKissic (23), the transfer from Missouri-Kansas City, will be one of a handful of Gators getting their first crack at rival Florida State when the two teams square up Sunday at the O'Dome.
Will This Be the Year?
Saturday, November 13, 2021 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
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By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The last time Florida beat Florida State in basketball was eight years ago. And that one almost didn't happen.
Dorian Finney-Smith, a miserable 2-for-12 from the floor that night but a warrior on the glass with 10 rebounds, went to the free-throw line with just 1.3 seconds left in a tie game. He missed the first, but dropped the second. FSU fired an inbound pass to guard Ian Miller near half court, and the Seminoles guard wheeled and launched a 50-foot shot that looked dead-on, but banged off the back of the rim, as the Gators escaped for 67-66 victory in front of a sold-out O'Connell Center crowd.
That UF team went to the Final Four.
The seven UF teams since are on a seven-game losing in the rivalry series.
Will it be eight?
"It's disrespectful that we haven't won one in all these years," Florida senior forward Colin Castleton said.
Florida State has built itself into the preeminent hoops program in the state, having averaged 24.5 victories over the last five years, winning Atlantic Coast Conference championships and making deep runs into the NCAA Tournament under Coach Leonard Hamilton, now 70 and in his 20th season in Tallahassee. At one time, Hamilton was 4-8 against Florida, but the scales have tipped heavily in his direction, with the next renewal of the 70-year-old series between the Gators (1-0) and 20th-ranked Seminoles (1-0) set for Sunday at 1 p.m. at Exactech Arena.
FSU lost its four leading scorers, including NBA lottery pick Scottie Barnes, off a 2020-21 team that went 18-7 in the pandemic-shortened season and advanced to the Sweet 16. The Seminoles opened the '21-22 season Wednesday night by scoring 100-plus points and mauling Penn by 39.
"[Florida State is] a confident team, especially considering the turnover they had and the guys they lost," said UF coach Mike White, winless in six cracks against FSU since joining the Gators in 2015. "I thought they looked really good the other night; playing downhill offensively and on the offensive glass; forcing a lot of turnovers defensively. A group that's playing really hard, as expected, and a team that's going to compete at a high level in the ACC again."
[Read senior writer Chris Harry's "Pregame Stuff" game setup here]
During the seven-game streak, FSU has won a few close ones, but mostly had its way against the Gators, with double-digit victories in each of the last four (an average margin of 15.5 points), including two at the O'Dome.
All of this makes for juicy pregame fodder, but both coaches will say the results of the recent past mean nothing as far as the present. A psychological edge? Maybe, but it's worth noting that the meat of the rotation Florida will put on the floor Sunday will have next to no context to the Seminoles' mastery.
"I can't speak to the last seven years," UF grad-transfer guard Brandon McKissic said. "I can only speak to this year."
CHARTING THE GATORS: The Florida State Streak (now at seven games)
Date
Score
Site
What happened
Dec. 30, 2014
FSU 65-63
Tallahassee
UF walk-on forward Jacob Kurtz's rebound attempt bounces off his hands and into FSU's goal inside a second to play.
Dec. 29, 2015
FSU 73-71
Gainesville
FSU guard Dwayne Bacon sinks short game-winning jumper in the lane with four seconds left. offsetting terrific 32-point night from UF freshman KeVaughn Allen.
Dec. 11, 2016
FSU 83-78
Tallahassee
Bacon fried the Gators again, this time with 24 points (16 in the second half), with forward Terrance Mann adding 16 points, 8 rebounds. UF had a chance inside a minute to tie, but Allen missed a 3-pointer.
Dec. 4, 2017
FSU 83-66
Gainesville
UF came back from the PK80 ranked fifth in the country, only to get smacked by Mann (24 points) and the Noles. FSU won the boards 51-34 (with 23 on the offensive end) and forced 17 turnovers.
Nov. 6, 2018
FSU 81-60
Tallahassee
FSU led by 11 at halftime, scored 50 in the second half and led by as many as 35. Guards PJ Savoy (20 points, 5-7 from 3) and Trent Forrest (13 points, 5 assists) led the way. Allen went scoreless in 24 minutes for UF.
Nov. 10, 2019
FSU 63-51
Gainesville
The No. 6 Gators shot a dreadful 22 percent in the first half, but trailed by just four. The margin was quickly double-digits early in the second and never fell below. Guard Devin Vassell led the Noles (13 points). For UF, forward Kerry Blackshear Jr. had 10 points, 13 rebounds, but went 0-5 from the floor.
Dec. 12, 2020
FSU 83-71
Tallahassee
Keyontae Johnson threw down a one-handed transition alley-oop to force FSU, down 11-3 early, to call timeout. Johnson's tragic collapse came moments later. Seminoles freshman Scottie Barnes (17 points, 5 assists) went 7-for-10 from the floor.
FSU began the streak in 2014 when UF walk-on forward Jacob Kurtz, in a tie game, jumped to catch an air-ball desperation jumper by Seminoles guard Devon Bookert and inadvertently tipped the ball into the goal with less than a second to play. That was Billy Donovan's farewell Florida State game.
McKissic was a high school freshman in St. Louis that year. Last year, he was getting set to start his senior season at Missouri-Kansas City on the way to scoring 17.3 points per game and being named Summit League Defensive Player of the year. His three 2021 transfer mates — guards Phlandrous Fleming Jr. (Charleston Southern) and Myron Jones (Penn State), plus forward CJ Felder (Boston College) — were in their own basketball worlds, oblivious to another FSU victory in the series.
As for Sunday's other three rotational Gators, they were in a daze in their lone meeting with the Seminoles.
The most vivid memory Castleton (Michigan), Tyree Appleby (Cleveland State) and Anthony Duruji (Louisiana Tech) — all of whom were in their first UF seasons in 2020-21 — have of this rivalry is the chilling image of Keyontae Johnson sprawled across the floor at Tucker Center in Tallahassee last Dec. 12 when UF's star forward collapsd four minutes into a game the Gators were winning by eight points. For each, it was just their fourth game in a Florida uniform.
Mike White huddles and consoles his players after watching Keyontae Johnson collapse to the Tucker Center floor during their game against Florida State last Dec. 12 at Tallahassee.
A lot of orange-and-blue and garnet-and-gold water has flowed under the college basketball bridges the last nearly 12 months. God-willing, whatever drama plays out on the floor in the latest edition of the series will be basketball related, not life and death.
"I don't know how he feels, but I would assume this weekend could be hard for him," White said of Johnson. "But what this team has to do is focus on what it has to do for 40 minutes, sticking to the game plan, and be the best team it can be."
The Gators, both the new ones and returnees, know about the series, but more importantly they know the reputation the tear-your-face-off Seminoles will bring to town. Under Hamilton, that has become FSU's identity; that and annual teams of incredible size and length and veterans who play to that identity. Witness his '22-22 roster with four 7-footers (all backups) and four starters in their fourth or fifth seasons.
"Their size, their physical play and their confidence," said Felder, who faced FSU in conference play twice during his time at BC, when asked to recall his experience with the Seminoles. "You have to come ready to play because they're coming to try and punk you."
Fleming was injured and missed a chance to face Florida State during his freshman season at Charleston Southern. The Seminoles won 69-58 and came a possession or two away from the Final Four, falling to eventually NCAA runner-up Michigan in the Elite Eight.
"I've watched a lot of film. I've watched last year's game. I've watched their game against Penn," said Fleming, who averaged 20.1 points, 7.3 rebounds and was Big South Conference Defensive Player of the Year last season. "They're going to try to bully us and keep with their character. They've done a great job with that over the years, so it's a credit to them. But I think we're ready for it. I know I am."
Fleming and McKissic were stars at the mid-major level and only got so many chances against Power 5 powerhouses. They came to Florida for more such games. They never backed down in their previous stop and they don't plan against bigger and better players, either.
"I embrace. I love it. I cannot wait," McKissic said. "These are the kind of games I love to play in the most: physical games. We just have to match their intensity, and I think this [UF] team has some dog in it. I know I do. If they bark, I'm going to bark back."
That UF team went to the Final Four.
