Mike White’s Florida Gators squad is looking to start out strong in their non-conference slate.
That slate features an appearance in the PK80 Invitational in Portland against the potential likes of Stanford, Duke, and Texas, as well as Cincinnati and Clemson.
The road to an NCAA tournament bid starts, however, against the Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs, who compiled an 19-14 record in the Big South Conference last season under head coach and former Auburn assistant Tim Craft.
Let’s take a deep dive into who you need to be watching when these two square off on Monday night.
Players to Watch
Egor Koulechov (UF)
A transfer from Rice, Koulechov brings a ton of shooting to the Florida starting lineup after shooting 47.4 percent from three-point range last season.
The Gators, who were fourth in the SEC last season in that category, lost three of their best shooters in Devin Robinson, Canyon Barry, and Justin Leon, so any influx of shooting that can be easily inserted into their lineup is definitely welcome.
If Koulechov can even get to 45 percent from three this season, he can be one of the country’s more prominent perimeter threats.
David Efianayi (GW)
The leading scorer from the Runnin’ Bulldogs’ scrimmage, Efianayi is certainly the best player of the Gardner-Webb squad that features a multitude of scoring options from the guard position.
A crafty finisher around the basket, Efianayi will need to be excellent around the basket amongst the likes of Kevarrius Hayes and Gorjok Gak for the Runnin’ Bulldogs to find sustained success on the offensive end.
Jalen Hudson (UF)
Hudson, a transfer from Virginia Tech, has already been utilized in the starting lineup by White as a big wing body that can score at all levels.
Hudson is a bigger guard, which is something Florida lacks across the board.
If Hudson can continue his fast start that started during the exhibition season, look for him to be a big contributor from the starting lineup in the scoring category, as well as accumulating a little bit of every stat in the book.
How Florida Can Win
If Florida can get good production from their big men against the Runnin’ Bulldogs, they should win the game comfortably.
Keeping Hayes out of foul trouble will be very crucial for Florida’s success not only now in this game, but for the future schedule of the Gators.
How Garnder-Webb Can Win
Forcing turnovers for smaller teams is very important, simply because they can’t keep up physically.
If the Runnin’ Bulldogs can get to running on the offense end and limit possessions ending in shots for Florida, they can give the Gators a definite problem that might lead to other issues in the long run.
Game Details
Date: November 13
Time: 7 PM EST
TV: ESPNU