Florida will look to bounce back from its opening night loss to rival Florida State when it hosts Charleston Southern on Friday night.
The Gators could never find a rhythm offensively in the 81-60 defeat via the Seminoles, and things weren’t much better on the defensive side of the court.
As for Charleston Southern, it earned a 100-68 win over Columbia International in its regular season opener.
Let’s run through what to watch for and make a prediction for this matchup.
Game Details
- Charleston Southern (1-0) at Florida (0-1)
- Location: O’Connell Center – Gainesville, FL
- Game Date: Nov. 9
- Game Time: 7 p.m. EST
- Watch: SEC Network+
Players to Watch
Andrew Nembhard (Florida)
The 5-star freshman point guard looked like he belonged in the game against Florida State, and while there weren’t a ton of bright spots, his potential was on full display.
Nembhard had 12 points and four assists while playing a team-high 34 minutes. He also committed five turnovers, but shouldn’t be too worrisome for Florida fans considering that it was his first game against a traditionally good defensive team.
Mike White is clearly fine with putting Nembhard on the floor and letting him learn on the job, and his confidence and skills should only grow from here.
KeVaughn Allen (Florida)
The senior guard was an All-SEC First Team preseason selection prior to the 2017-18 season, but he hasn’t been able to find the consistency needed to rank among the league’s top players.
Allen only attempted four field goals and did not score in the loss to Florida State, which raises concerns about his producing moving forward after his averages took a hit during his junior season.
While he averaged 11.0 points per game last season, he only shot 36.1 percent from the floor and equally struggled from the beyond the arc in making just 32.8 percent of his shots.
For the Gators to be an SEC contender, they need him to provide a scoring punch and on-court leadership on a nightly basis.
Christian Keeling (Charleston Southern)
Keeling leads a dynamic Bucs backcourt, and he should create problems for plenty of opposing teams after earning first team All-Big South honors for the second consecutive season.
The 6-4 junior averaged 17.6 points and 5.2 rebounds per game last year, which included 12 games of 20 or more points.
He had 13 points and three steals in the opener, and his contributions will stand out right from the opening tip.
Key Stats
One area of concern with Florida is what it’ll do when the 3-point shot isn’t falling, and the performance against Florida State didn’t exactly ease those worries.
The Gators made just 6 of 24 attempts from beyond the arc in that game, and overall, shot only 37 percent from the floor.
They did a good job of getting to the free-throw line but connected on just 14 of 21 attempts for 67 percent.
Perhaps even more concerning is that Florida allowed its rival to go 11 of 23 from deep, which had a lot to do with ineffective defense at a lot of different positions.
Charleston Southern took 42 3-pointers and made 16 of them in its first game, so the Gators’ perimeter defense better be ready.
Game Outlook
- Spread: Florida -21.5
- Over/Under: 142
- KenPom Projection: Florida, 97 percent chance to win
- ESPN BPI Projection: Florida, 94.0 percent chance to win
I said before the season that Florida’s keys to success would be playing more physical and aggressive on both sides of the court.
Unfortunately, neither of those characteristics were on display against the Seminoles, which leads you to wonder if/when we’ll finally see this team add those elements.
But I’m also someone that doesn’t go completely crazy over one game, especially when it involves a difficult matchup and an inexperienced point guard.
It’s going to take this Florida team some time to get everyone on the same page, and how the Gators handle the up-tempo style and pressure defense of the Bucs should tell us a lot.
Florida should get back on track with a win, even if Charleston Southern makes things difficult at times due to its style of play.
Prediction: Florida 84, Charleston Southern 70
For more SEC basketball coverage, follow me on Twitter @theblakelovell.