Gators-FSU hoops: Key for Florida shutting down FSU 3-point shooters

Micah Handlogten blocks a shot against UNF (Photo by Chris Spears)

If you’re expecting the same old, same old from the Florida State Seminoles (2-0) Tuesday night at the O-Dome (7 p.m., SEC Network), then think again. Leonard Hamilton has retired and with him the no autopsy, no foul defensive approach is a thing of the past.

Luke Loucks is the new head coach, bringing with him what Florida coach Todd Golden calls an “NBA mentality,” which is to say a 3-and-3 approach, as in shoot abandon the midrange shots altogether in favor of 3-pointers and 3-footers. It’s quite similar to what Nate Oats has used to elevate Alabama to national prominence.

The Seminoles are 2-0, having blown out Alcorn State 108-76 and Alabama State 101-64. In the win over Alabama State, the Seminoles launched 47 threes, hitting 18. That calls for a somewhat different approach to defense for Golden and the Gators, who come into the game ranked 10^th in both the Associated Press and Coaches polls.

“They're going to get their threes up,” Golden said Monday afternoon. “You gotta do what you can to try and not allow them to be catch-and-shoots and be comfortable shots within their offense where they know they're coming. And I think that's going to be the big challenge. I think they're going to get some up. We gotta make sure they're difficult. We gotta make sure they're off the dribble. We gotta make sure they're not the ones that they're really hunting. And if we do that, we'll give ourselves a better chance to win."

To the Gators’ credit, they have defended the three quite well so far. Arizona and North Florida have hit only 9-33 (27.3 percent).

While Florida State has been living large launching threes, the Gators still haven’t found their shooting groove. On the inside, the Gators are as difficult to defend as any team in the country, but their first two games have seen 13 made threes, 46 misses. The Gators went 7-27 against Arizona in game one, 6-32 against North Florida.

Golden thought the Gators took decent shots against North Florida, just didn’t knock them down.

“Against North Florida, we shot it really poorly from the perimeter, but I thought we took a lot of really good shots,” Golden said. “At times, three-point shots are volatile. It’s why a big part of our offense is getting on the glass and trying to be efficient from two because we don’t want to be a team that relies on upon making threes to be as good as we can be. I think we will be the type of team that when we shoot it well we’re going to be really hard to beat. I think that is an area that we will get better at over the next week or two. If we don’t then we’ll continue to adjust and figure out a way to get better that way.”

While the misses from the outside have piled up, the Gators have been outstanding getting second shots. Florida is No. 1 in the country in offensive rebounding at 23 per game. Against North Florida, the Gators pulled down 29 offensive rebounds. Micah Handlogten ranks third in the nation in offensive rebounding with 7.0 per game (12.5 per game overall, which ranks 10^th).  

Until the shots start falling, the Gators will have to rely on their offensive rebounding to pick up the slack.

“We’re not going to be a perfect offensive team,” Golden said. “Against North Florida, obviously an opponent we expect to beat but we were five or six for 32 from three and still scored 104 points. When we shoot it well, I anticipate us being more efficient that way. But a way to keep our efficiency from getting too low is getting second chance opportunities.”

ANTICIPATED STARTING LINEUPS

No. 10 FLORIDA (1-1): Alex Condon (6-11, 230, 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)

Florida State (2-0): Chauncey Wiggins (6-10, 255, SR); Alex Steen (6-9, 230, SR); Lajae Jones (6-7, 220, SR); Kobe Magee (6-5, 207, SR); Robert McCray V (6-4, 188, SR)

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

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

SEC teams in Kenpom.com analytical ratings: 1. Kentucky; 6. FLORIDA; 13, Tennessee; 15. Vanderbilt; 17. Alabama; 26. Ole Miss; 27. Arkansas; 31. Georgia; 33. Mississippi State; 35. Missouri; 36. Auburn; 37. Texas; 41. LSU; 47. Texas A&M; 57. Oklahoma; 101. South Carolina

SEC BASKETBALL

(Associated Press rankings)

No. 8 Alabama (2-0): The Crimson Tide has one of the most impressive early season wins, a 103-96 upset of then No. 5 St. John’s.  Thursday: No. 2 Purdue (2-0)

No. 21 Arkansas (1-1): The Razorbacks lost to No. 17 Michigan State. Arkansas missed two 3-pointers in the final 30 seconds that would have sent the game to overtime. Tuesday: Central Arkansas (1-1)

No. 22 Auburn (2-0): The Tigers have one more warmup game before facing No. 1 Houston Sunday afternoon. Tuesday: Wofford (1-1)

Georgia (3-0): The Bulldogs are averaging 106 points per game in winning three games against cupcakes.  Friday: Georgia Tech (2-0)

No. 9 Kentucky (2-0): In his first two games as a Wildcat, former Gator Denzel Aberdeen is averaging 11 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. Tuesday: at No. 12 Louisville (2-0)

LSU (2-0): In a 96-60 win over Tarleton State, LSU shot 70.2 percent from the field overall. The Tigers were 8-18 from the 3-point line and 25-29 on 2-point shots. Thursday: Florida International (1-1)

Mississippi State (1-1): In the season opening win over North Alabama, All-SEC Josh Hubbard scored 27 points and handed out eight assists. Saturday: Southeastern Louisiana (0-2)

Missouri (3-0): The Tigers are averaging 94.3 points per game, led by All-SEC Mark Mitchell, who is averaging 20.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists. Wednesday: Minnesota (2-0)

Oklahoma (1-1): Oklahoma fell behind by 19 points at halftime in their loss to No. 19 Gonzaga. Tuesday: Arkansas-Pine Bluff (0-3)

Ole Miss (2-0): After two cupcake wins, the Rebels will get their first test tonight against Memphis. Tuesday: Memphis (1-0)

South Carolina: In the Gamecocks’ come from behind win over Southern Miss, Meechie Johnson scored 33 points. Johnson hit 7-14 from the 3-point line. Wednesday: Presbyterian (2-1)

No. 20 Tennessee (2-0): Five-star freshman Nate Ament is off to a good start, averaging 20.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists through two games. Wednesday: North Florida (0-1)

Texas (1-1): The Longhorns bounced back from a season opening loss to Duke with a blowout win over Lafayette. Wednesday: Fairleigh Dickenson (0-2)

Texas A&M (2-1): The Aggies won their first two games in blowout fashion, but were blown out by Oklahoma State in game three. Friday: UCF (1-1)