Gators will Open SEC Play Saturday Against No. 6 Kentucky

A year later and the playing field with Kentucky seems far more level than it did when Colin Castleton was Florida’s only inside force and outside shooting was far more miss than hit. Despite so many glaring deficiencies that included vertical challenges and a gang that couldn’t shoot straight, only 13 points separated an NIT Florida team and John Calipari’s Kentucky team making its annual pilgrimage to the NCAA Tournament.

Size certainly has something to do with Florida’s improvement. The Gators have four bigs that Todd Golden rotates with great effectiveness. Their inside presence combined with a better perimeter game and exceptional passing has turned Florida into one of the better offensive teams in the Southeastern Conference. A year ago the Gators averaged 71.6 points per game, in part because they didn’t rebound well enough to get the extra possessions and also because shooting was so erratic.

This year, Florida (10-3) averages 86.3 per game, which ranks third in the SEC and 12th nationally. The Gators lead the SEC and the nation in rebounding (45.38 per game). A year ago, the Gators averaged 12.3 assists per game. This year they’re averaging 16.77.

Five Gators average double figures, led by Walter Clayton Jr. (15.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists per game), followed by 6-10 Tyrese Samuel (14.3 points, 8.8 rebounds), Zyon Pullin (14.1 points, 3.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists), Will Richard (11.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 38.8 percent 3-point shooting), and Riley Kugel (11.5 points, 4.2 rebounds). The Gators get 6.8 points and 7.1 rebounds from 7-1 Micah Handlogten, 8.2 points and 6.8 rebounds from 6-11 Alex Condon and 4.9 points and 4.6 rebounds from 6-9 Thomas Haugh. Recently Denzel Aberdeen has played well enough at both ends of the floor to merit increased playing time.

The overall talent is significantly upgraded from last year and so is the depth, which is a big reason the Gators have own 10 games prior to January 1 for the first time since the 2016-17 season.

“I do think it’s our depth, our depth and our talent,” Golden said Thursday prior to the Gators practice for Saturday’s SEC opener with 6th-ranked Kentucky (10-2) at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center (12:30 p.m., ESPNU). “Obviously, we only have one year to compare it to – and we’re a lot better than we were last year. There are different guys who can do it on different nights. I think we’ve had four guys who have scored over 20 points in a game this season. The good thing for us, I feel like we didn’t peak too early. We weren’t playing our best ball in November and we found ways to get better. We’re starting to play better right now and going into SEC play is obviously good timing for that. But I would point to our depth and our unselfishness as well. We do a good job of sharing the ball.”

Improvement shows in the NCAA Net Rankings and the analytics of Ken Pomeroy. Florida has the No. 48 Net Ranking nationally and they’re No. 35 at kenpom.com. Net Rankings and kenpom analytics are strong indicators of a team on its way to the NCAA Tournament in March. Joe Lunardi has the Gators as a No. 10 seed in the West Regional in his latest bracketology while Jerry Palm of CBS has the Gators a No. 11 in the South Regional.

The Gators have played a good but not overwhelming schedule leading up to conference play. The Gators lost by three to Virginia and four to Baylor in neutral court games in November. In December, the Gators went 6-0 with solid wins over Richmond, East Carolina and Michigan so there is momentum heading into Saturday’s encounter with Kentucky.

“I think we’re in a good groove right now,” Golden said. “As you know, with injuries and ebbs and flows of the season, that can change. The good thing is for us I think we have a number of guys who can start and are starting-capable players. We’ve had four or five different starting lineups this season. I think this group is playing well. Riley had a good game last game coming off that foot. I think he’s playing a little better. We’ve got a good team, man. We’ve got a good team and with our assist-to-turnover – I think we had 46 assists our last two games – so in terms of the comfort and sharing it we’re doing a good job that way. Hopefully, we can do it again on Saturday.”

To beat Kentucky, the nation’s 4th-ranked scoring team (91.1 per game) that shoots 50.25 percent from the field overall and ranks second nationally in 3-point shooting (41.64 percent), Golden knows the Gators have to play a very physical game and win the battle of the backboards.

"You know, they're an elite offensive team,” Golden said. “They play with great pace. They have multiple perimeters who can really push it and playmake. They're an elite effective field goal percentage team and they're an elite ball-handling team. They don't turn it over very much. You got to do everything you can to make them miss on that first shot and then we got to own the boards. That's got to be something that's a strength for us on Saturday because they're a good offensive rebounding team but they're not an elite offensive rebounding team and I think defensively my hope is with them traveling and us being at home, that our physicality and our pace will show up that way as well. Again, they make a lot of baskets and they don't turn the ball over. They're a very, very good offensive team."

Anticipated starters

FLORIDA (10-3): Tyrese Samuel (6-10, 239, GR); Micah Handlogten (7-1, 235, SO); Zyon Pullin (6-4, 206, GR), Walter Clayton Jr. (6-2, 195, JR); Will Richard (6-4, 206, JR)

Kentucky (10-2): Aaron Bradshaw (7-1, 226, FR); Tre Mitchell (6-9, 231, GR)(; Justin Edwards (6-8, 203, FR); Antonio Reeves (6-6, 195, SR); D.J. Wagner (6-4, 192, FR)

Game notes: Samuel has three consecutive double-doubles … The Gators already have six games with 20 or more offensive rebounds, the most of any Florida team since 1996-97 … Golden is now 83-56 in his fifth year as a head coach in Division I, 26-20 at Florida. Kentucky’s John Calipari is 802-253 overall, 399-115 in 15 seasons at Kentucky.