Gators understand they can't afford to take South Carolina lightly
Although this is his first run through the ever tough Southeastern Conference, what’s at stake every single night for 5th-ranked Florida (16-2, 3-2 SEC) isn’t lost on Florida Atlantic transfer Alijah Martin. Even though South Carolina (10-8, 0-5 SEC) is winless in SEC play, Martin knows the crowd at Colonial Life Arena will be ready to blow the roof off its hinges to help the Gamecocks get their first conference victory.
“They are going to be super desperate,” Martin said Monday before the Gators left for the airport to fly to Columbia. “Obviously, it's going to be a sold out show. Everyone wants to see Gatorball, so it's going to be tough. We gotta lock in. They'll be fired up. They really want one, and, of course, Florida's coming to town and teams want that even more.”
South Carolina is 0-5 in the SEC, but the Gamecocks are much better than their record and they are a real challenge at home. In December, South Carolina upended then 25th-ranked Clemson 91-88 in overtime. Last week, the Gamecocks had No. 1 Auburn on the ropes before falling, 66-63.
Just a week ago, then unranked Missouri came to the O-Dome, built up a 19-point lead and held on for dear life for an 83-82 win. That game serves as a reminder to Martin and his teammates that you can’t judge an SEC opponent by its record. Every SEC opponent is a tough matchup. ”The Missouri game proves that,” Martin said. “They showed it to us, too. They came out on it. They came out and punched us right in the mouth, but I think we learned a lesson going forward. We learned how to adjust and how to fight back.”
Florida bounced back from the loss to Missouri with an 84-60 blowout win over Texas. That same Texas team beat Missouri in a very physical, hand-to-hand combat kind of game in Austin Tuesday night.
Florida coach Todd Golden knows the Gators should be ready to play a tough team from the opening whistle for 40 full minutes.
“That was lesson we learned last Tuesday against Missouri,” Florida coach Todd Golden said. “They were a very, very good team that wasn’t ranked at the time, but has since been ranked and is playing like one of the top 25 teams in the country. Obviously, South Carolina has not won yet, but still, they’re a very tough team. They beat Clemson at home this year. They have guys who know how to win. Obviously, they had a lot of success last year. So we have to go into this game with same mentality we had Saturday, when I thought we were the mentally and physically more tougher team. We cannot go out there and expect to just play a game for 40 minutes and come out victorious. They’re going to be geared up and ready to go. I think them beating us at their place last year will give them some confidence, and we’ll have to go up there and be really competitive.”
Game notes: Martin comes into the game averaging 16.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game ... Leading scorer Walter Clayton Jr. (17.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.7 assists) can break the school record for most consecutive games with at least one made 3-point shot. Currently, Clayton is tied with Michael Frazier II with a 41-game streak ... Will Richard, who played his freshman year at Belmont, needs 22 points for 1,000 in a Florida uniform. Clayton spent his freshman and sophomore seasons at Iona. He is 45 points away from 1,000 in a Florida uniform ... Alex Condon is averaging a double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds) in Southeastern Conference games ... The Gators, who are No. 5 in the NCAA NET rankings, lead the country in rebounds (45.28 per game). The Gators are sixth in offensive rebounds (15.22 per game) ... The Gators are fifth nationally in 3-point defense, allowing opponents to hit just 27.7 percent of their shots ... Florida scores 85.9 points per game (8th nationally) while allowing 65.6 per game.
Anticipated starting lineups
No. 5 FLORIDA (16-2, 3-2 SEC): Alex Condon (6-11, 230, SO); Rueben Chinyelu (6-10, 255, SO); Will Richard (6-4, 206, S); Alijah Martin (6-2, 195, GR); Walter Clayton Jr. (6-2, 195, SR)
South Carolina (10-8, 0-5 SEC): Collin Murray-Boyles (6-8, 245, SO); Nick Pringle (6-10, 220, SR); Zachary Davis (6-7, 200, JR); Morris Ugusuk (6-4, 170, SO); Jacobi Wright (6-2, 185, SR)
SEC BASKETBALL
Tuesday’s scores
No. 4 Alabama (16-3, 5-1 SEC) 103, Vanderbilt (15-4, 3-3 SEC) 87
No. 6 Tennessee (17-2, 4-2 SEC) 68, Mississippi State (15-4, 3-3 SEC) 56
Texas (13-6, 2-4 SEC) 61, No. 22 Missouri (15-4, 4-2 SEC) 53
Wednesday’s games
No. 5 FLORIDA (16-2, 3-2 SEC) at South Carolina (10-8, 0-5 SEC)
No. 11 Texas A&M (14-4, 3-2 SEC) at No. 21 Ole Miss (15-3, 4-1 SEC)
No. 23 Georgia (14-4, 2-3 SEC) at Arkansas (11-7, 0-5 SEC)
Saturday’s games
No. 23 Georgia (14-4, 2-3 SEC) at No. 5 FLORIDA (16-2, 3-2 SEC)
No. 6 Tennessee (17-2, 4-2 SEC) at No. 1 Auburn (17-1, 5-0 SEC)
LSU (12-6, 1-4 SEC) at No. 4 Alabama (16-3, 5-1 SEC)
No. 8 Kentucky (14-4, 3-2 SEC) at Vanderbilt (15-4, 3-3 SEC)
No. 11 Texas A&M (14-4, 3-2 SEC) at Texas (13-6, 2-4 SEC)
No. 15 Mississippi State (15-4, 3-3 SEC) at South Carolina (10-8, 0-5 SEC)
No. 21 Ole Miss (15-3, 4-1 SEC) at Missouri (15-4, 4-2 SEC)
Oklahoma (14-4, 1-4 SEC) at Arkansas (11-7, 0-5 SEC)
Coaches top 25: 1. Auburn 17-1; 2. Duke 16-2; 3. Alabama (15-3; 4. Iowa State 15-2; 5. Houston 14-3; 6. FLORIDA 16-2; 7. Tennessee 16-2; 8. Michigan State 16-2; 9. Kentucky 14-4; 10. Marquette 15-3; 11. Kansas 13-4; 12. Purdue 15-4; 13. Texas A&M 14-4; 14. Mississippi State 15-3; 15. Oregon 15-3; 16. Ole Miss 15-3; 17. Illinois 13-5; 18. UConn 13-5; 19. Wisconsin 15-3; 20. Michigan 14-4; 21. St. John’s 16-3; 22. Memphis 14-4; 23. West Virginia 13-4; 24. Missouri 15-3; 25. Texas Tech 13-4
Associated Press top 25: 1. Auburn 17-1; 2. Duke 16-2; 3. Iowa State 15-2; 4. Alabama 15-3; 5. FLORIDA 16-2; 6. Tennessee 16-2; 7. Houston 14-3; 8. Michigan State 16-2; 9. Kentucky 14-4; 10. Marquette 15-3; 11. Purdue 15-4; 12. Kansas 13-4; 13. Texas A&M 14-4; 14. Mississippi State 15-3; 15. Oregon 15-3; 16. Ole Miss 15-3; 17. Illinois 13-5; 18. Wisconsin 15-3; 19. UConn 13-5; 20. St. John’s 16-3; 21. Michigan 14-4; 22. Missouri 15-3; 23. West Virginia 13-4; 24. Memphis 14-4; 25. Louisville 14-5
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