Gators begin their easiest 3-game stretch of the season tonight

Xaivian Lee scored 44 points in two games last week (UAA Photo)

The next three games – all of them played in the friendly confines of the O-Dome – won’t test 23^rd-ranked Florida but it will give Todd Golden a chance to get on a winning roll prior to the opening of Southeastern Conference play at Missouri on January 3. The Gators (6-4) have played one of the toughest schedules in the country. They’ve lost to No. 1 Arizona, No. 3 Duke and No. 5 UConn by a combined 11 points and all three games on the road.  

The Gators face Saint Francis (2-9) tonight (6:30 p.m., SEC Network), a game that should allow Golden to empty his bench early, which could mean an Olivier Rioux sighting. The Red Flashes are 0-9 against Division I teams. They rank near the bottom of the kenpom.com analytics (No. 361).

This is a vertically challenged team with only one player – starting center Gestin Liberis (6-9, 215) – taller than 6-6. The lack of size forces Saint Francis to launch plenty of threes with 33.4 percent of their points coming from the 3-point line. Leading scorer Skylar Wicks (18.8 points, 7.0 rebounds) hits 40 percent (22-55) of his threes for a team that makes 31.3 percent while launching 24 shots from deep per game.

Golden has to hope that this will be the third straight outstanding game for Xaivian Lee. Last week Lee scored 44 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and handed out nine assists in games against UConn and George Washington. Against GW, Lee hit 4-8 of his threes while scoring 24 points, by far the best game the Princeton transfer has had as a Gator.

The Gators have a dominant front court that combines for 42.3 points, 26.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. Tommy Haugh leads the Gators with 18.6 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.

As a team, the Gators are averaging 82 points per game despite the fact they’re hitting just 26.8 percent of their 3-pointers. If the Gators ever start hitting 30-35 percent of their threes per game they might be unstoppable.

Anticipated starting lineups

No. 23 FLORIDA (6-4): Alex Condon (6-11, 235, JR); Rueben Chinyelu (6-11, 265, JR); Tommy Haugh (6-9, 215, JR); Xaivian Lee (6-4, 185, SR); Boogie Fland (6-3, 185, SO)

Saint Francis (2-9): Skylar Wicks (6-6, 180, RSR); Gestin Liberis (6-9, 215, RJR); Zion Russell (6-2, 185, RSR); Victor Payne (6-4, 190, SO); Chris Moncrief (6-6, 190, SR)

Associated Press top 25: 1. Arizona 9-0; 2. Michigan 10-0; 3. Duke 10-0; 4. Iowa State 11-0; 5. UConn 10-1; 6. Purdue 10-1; 7. Gonzaga 10-1; 8. Houston 10-1; 9. Michigan State 9-1; 10. BYU 9-1; 11. Louisville 9-1; 12. North Carolina 9-1; 13. Vanderbilt 10-0; 14. Arkansas 8-2; 15. Nebraska 11-0; 16. Alabama 7-3; 17. Kansas 8-3; 18. Illinois 8-3; 19. Texas Tech 7-3; 20. Tennessee 7-3; 21. Auburn 8-3; 22. St. John’s 6-3; 23. FLORIDA 6-4 and Virginia 9-1; 25. Georgia 9-1

Coaches top 25: 1. Michigan 10-0; 2. Arizona 9-0; 3. Duke 10-0; 4. Iowa State 11-0; 5. UConn 10-1; 6. Purdue 10-1; 7. Gonzaga 10-1; 8. Houston 10-1; 9. Michigan State 9-1; 10. BYU 9-1; 11. Louisville 9-1; 12. Vanderbilt 10-0; 13. North Carolina 9-1; 14. Arkansas 8-2; 15. Nebraska 11-0; 16. Alabama 7-3; 17. Kansas 8-3; 18. Illinois 8-3; 19. Texas Tech 7-3; 20. St. John’s 6-3; 21. FLORIDA 6-4; 22. Virginia 9-1; 23. Tennessee 7-3; 24. Auburn 8-3; 25. Iowa 9-2

RATING THE SEC

1. FLORIDA (6-4): The Gators have losses to No. 1 Arizona, No. 3 Duke and No. 5 UConn. They had chances to win all three games. If the guards start making shots the Gators will win the SEC easily. Tommy Haugh is playing like one of the five best players in the country.

2. Tennessee (8-3): The Vols blew out No. 11 Louisville Tuesday night and they lost by three to Houston, a game they should have won. Maryland transfer Ja’Kobi Gillespie leads with an average of 17.3 points and 5.4 assists per game.

3. Arkansas (9-2): The Razorbacks have wins over Louisville and Texas Tech and narrow losses to Michigan State and Duke. John Calipari is getting a lot of mileage out of Nick Pringle and Trevon Brazile, but freshman point guard Darius Acuff Jr. is scoring 17.7 points and handing out 5.7 assists per game.

4. Alabama (7-3): When the Crimson Tide hits threes they can stay close with nearly every team in the country. Slow them to a half court style and their lack of rebounding kills them. LaBaron Philon Jr. is averaging 21.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game.

5. Auburn (8-3): The Tigers lost by one to Houston but blown out by Michigan and Arizona. Auburn can score points but struggles to get stops against the good teams. The best player is UCF transfer Keyshawn Hall, averaging 20.9 points and 8.8 rebounds per game.

6. Vanderbilt (10-0): Yes, the Commodores are unbeaten and yes, they are ranked No. 13 nationally, but they haven’t played anybody. They do shoot 37.5 percent from the 3-point line. Well-traveled Duke Miles, a sixth-year player now on his fourth team, scores a team leading 16.6 points per game.

7. Georgia (9-1): The only loss is by three to a decent Clemson team. Georgia has wins over Xavier and Cincinnati. Guards Jeremiah Wilkinson (17.1 points) and Blue Cain (16.1 points) are the Bulldogs’ only double figures scorers.

8. Kentucky (7-4): The blowout loss to Gonzaga was an eye-opener. Kentucky was vastly overrated when the season began. Does Denzel Aberdeen have regrets that he left Florida? He’s averaging 12.1 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.

9. LSU (9-1): The Tigers were blown out by 24 points by Texas Tech, the only ranked team LSU has played. The best win is against SMU. UNLV transfer Dedan Thomas is the best player, averaging 15.3 points, 2.9 rebounds and 6.9 assists per game.

10. Texas (8-4): Three of the four losses are to ranked teams, all of them decisive. The best win is against a pretty good North Carolina State team. The Longhorns average 86.7 points per game.

11. Oklahoma (8-3): The closest thing to a big win is an 18-point decision over a very average Wake Forest team. Sixth-year transfer Nijel Pack leads the scoring at 17.3 points per game. He’s on his third team.

12. Texas A&M (8-3): The three losses are to unranked teams. The Aggies have won six of their last seven. The Aggies are scoring 92.9 points per game.

13. Missouri (8-2): The Tigers have won their last two since getting blown out by Kansas. Jacob Crews is hitting 52.9 percent of his 3-pointers.

14. Ole Miss (6-4): The Rebels have already endured a 4-game losing streak. AJ Storr leads the team in scoring at 13.3 points per game.

15. South Carolina (7-4): The Gamecocks have yet to play a ranked team. They are shooting a rotten 29.8 percent from the 3-point line.

16. Mississippi State (6-5): The Bulldogs have a blowout loss to Iowa State. The other four losses were to unranked teams.

SEC TUESDAY SCORES

14 Arkansas (9-2) 108, Queens (5-7) 80: Trevon Brazile scored 26 while freshman Darius Acuff Jr. had 23 points and 10 assists.

20 Tennessee (8-3) 83, No. 11 Louisville (9-2) 62: The Vols hit 55 percent from the field while holding Louisville to 7-34 shooting behind the 3-point line. Ja’Kobi Gillespie led the Vols with 23 points, three rebounds and five assists, while Jaylen Carey had 12 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and two steals off the bench.

Oklahoma (8-3) 89, Kansas City (2-10) 67: Xzavier Brown scored 21 points to lead the Sooners.

Texas (8-4) 95, LeMoyne (5-6) 53: All five Texas starters scored in double figures, led by Tramon Mark with 18 and Matas Vokietaitis had 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Clemson (9-3) 67, South Carolina (7-4) 61: The Gamecocks hit only 19-51 overall from the field and 4-26 from the 3-point line.

Mississippi State (6-5) 87, Long Island (6-5) 83: Josh Jubbard hit six 3-pointers and scored 34 points to lead the Bulldogs while Jayden Epps chipped in with 20 points and 10 rebounds.

WEDNESDAY’S GAMES

Saint Francis (2-9) at No. 23 FLORIDA (6-4)

No. 13 Vanderbilt (10-0) at Memphis (4-5)

South Florida (6-4) at No. 16 Alabama (7-3)

Alabama A&M (6-4) at Ole Miss (6-4)

THURSDAY’S GAME

Western Carolina (4-5) at No. 25 Georgia (9-1)

FRIDAY’S GAME

Southeastern Louisiana (4-7) at LSU (9-1)