High-scoring Gators face Wake Forest in SEC-ACC Challenge

A few thoughts to jump start your Wednesday morning:

Tyrese Samuel averaged 10.8 points per game last year at Seton Hall. It was typical slug it out Big East basketball where scores in the 60s were commonplace. An outside shot for Samuel was typically something from about three feet out.

A season later, Samuel is discovering what wide open offense means as a Florida Gator. Not only does he have the green light to launch a 3-pointer if he’s wide open, but he can put the ball on the deck and drive to the rim. Last week in Brooklyn in the NIT Season Tipoff, Samuel showed skills Seton Hall people may not have known he has when he got a steal, blew by two guards and went coast-to-coast for a dunk.

That highlight reel play was part of a two-day showing of 38 points, 16 rebounds, three assists, three steals and three blocked shots as the Gators knocked off Pittsburgh then went white knuckles with top ten Baylor before falling 95-91. Heading into tonight’s SEC-ACC Challenge matchup with Wake Forest (3-3) in Winston-Salem (7:15 p.m., ESPNU), Samuel is averaging 14.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game playing for Todd Golden, who puts plenty of trust in his players.

“He’s like, ‘If you’re open, take it, I know you can make plays,’” Samuel said Tuesday. “So he puts a lot of trust in me doing those things.”

This is a big man friendly offense, which has plenty of appeal to Samuel, although the Gators are going to start a small-ball offense against Wake Forest, in part because 7-1 Micah Handlogten still isn’t 100 percent after suffering an ankle injury against Pittsburgh. Samuel will get the start surrounded by four very physical but talented guards. In the win over Pitt last week the Gators had 24 assists on 31 made baskets with just eight turnovers. Against Baylor it was a 17-11 assist-to-turnover ratio.

When the ball is shared, there are good shots for everyone.

“I think you can see that we share the ball a lot,” Samuel said. “We score a lot of points. Against Baylor we scored 91 points. Even though we lost that’s a lot of points. Coming from the Big East a lot of games are like 60, 70 points, maybe even the 70-point range. So, just the fact we’re able to share the ball and score a lot of points, I think a lot of people get to see us making assists and just sharing the ball and just being like unselfish.”

Starting lineups

FLORIDA (4-2): Tyrese Samuel (6-10, 239, GR); Will Richard (6-4, 206, JR); Riley Kugel (6-5, 207, SO); Walter Clayton Jr. (6-2, 195, JR); Zyon Pullin (6-4, 206, GR)

Wake Forest (3-3): Zach Keller (6-10, 228, SO); Andrew Carr (6-4, 220, SR); Hunter Sallis (6-5, 185, JR); Cameron Hildreth (6-4, 195, JR); Kevin Miller (6-0, 175, SO)

SEC basketball

Tuesday’s scores: No. 12 Kentucky (6-1) 95, No. 8 Miami (5-1) 73; Georgia Tech (3-2) 67, No. 21 Mississippi State (6-1) 59; Clemson (6-0) 85, No. 23 Alabama (5-2) 77; South Carolina (6-0) 65, Notre Dame (3-3) 53; Missouri (6-2) 71, Pittsburgh (5-2) 64; Syracuse (5-2) 80, LSU (4-3) 57; Ole Miss (6-0) 72, North Carolina State (4-2) 52

Wednesday’s games: FLORIDA (4-2) at Wake Forest (3-3); No. 10 Tennessee (4-2) at No. 17 North Carolina (5-1); No. 14 Texas A&M (6-1) at Virginia (5-1); No. 7 Duke (5-1) at Arkansas (4-3); Boston College (4-2) at Vanderbilt (3-3); Georgia (3-3) at Florida State (4-1); Virginia Tech (5-2) at Auburn (4-1)

Finding replacements for Raymond, Spencer

With the transfer portal set to officially open for business Sunday and the early National Signing Day on December 20, Billy Napier needs to move quickly to find replacements for former secondary coach Corey Raymond and defensive line coach/co-defensive coordinator Sean Spencer. There is $1.755 million of available salary money for the two positions based on 2023 salary.

A secondary coach to keep an eye on: Although it might seem like wishful thinking to land him, former Wisconsin defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard should be worth a call. He is currently an analyst at Illinois, having taken the job after being passed over for head coach at Wisconsin when Paul Chryst was fired. From 2016-22, Wisconsin’s defense never finished lower than 5th in the Big Ten. The Badgers led the country in total defense in 2021. There is a connection for Florida. D-Line coach Sean Spencer, who was also let go along with Raymond, held the title of co-defensive coordinator. Would Leonhard come to UF as a co-coordinator and a mentor for DC Austin Armstrong? Leonhard walked on at Wisconsin, made All-America at safety three years, then spent 10 years in the NFL after going undrafted. Graham Mertz was at Wisconsin from 2019-22 and reportedly is friends with Leonhard. Two other names you may hear: Texas A&M secondary coach TJ Rushing, who does not know if he will be retained by new coach Mike Elko. Rushing was on the Arizona State staff with Billy Napier in 2017. At A&M, Rushing was making $600,000 a year. Doug Belk, the defensive coordinator at Houston, is a Valdosta native who was on the Alabama staff as a grad assistant when Napier coached the wide receivers in 2015. His base salary at Houston is $550,000. He had a great reputation as a recruiter when he was at West Virginia and that carried over to Houston. He’s a free agent since the firing of head coach Dana Holgorsen.

A D-Line coach to keep an eye on: A familiar face for Gator fans and someone Napier is familiar with from his days in the Sun Belt Conference is Troy’s Bam Hardmon, who has coached D-line and outside linebackers in nine seasons on the Troy staff. He is a former Broyles Award nominee. Troy had 39 sacks this year, seventh in the country (The Gators had 22 sacks, 94th). Troy gave up 102.08 yards per game on the ground, 14thnationally. He makes $173,000 a year so Florida could offer a significant raise. Another name you may hear: Jess Simpson, D-line coach at Duke, former Miami D-line coach, played at Auburn, coached high school ball at Burford, Georgia where he won seven state championships.

College Football Playoff: Four unbeatens at the top

College Football Playoff top 25: 1. Georgia 12-0; 2. Michigan 12-0; 3. Washington 12-0; 4. Florida State 12-0; 5. Oregon 11-1; 6. Ohio State 11-1; 7. Texas 11-1; 8. Alabama 11-1; 9. Missouri 10-2; 10. Penn State 10-2; 11. Ole Miss 10-2; 12. Oklahoma 10-2; 13. LSU 9-3; 14. Louisville 10-2; 15. Arizona 9-3; 16. Iowa 10-2; 17. Notre Dame 9-3; 18. Oklahoma State 9-3; 19. North Carolina State 9-3; 20. Oregon State 8-4; 21. Tennessee 8-4; 22. Tulane 11-1; 23. Clemson 8-4; 24. Liberty 12-0; 25. Kansas State 8-4

SEC football

No. 8 Alabama (11-1): Linebacker Dallas Turner is one of three finalists for the Bednarik Award, given yearly to the best defensive player in college football … Placekicker Will Reichard is one of three finalists for the Groza Award.

Arkansas (4-8): Arkansas is on the verge of hiring Bobby Petrino as its next offensive coordinator. Petrino was the head coach at Arkansas from 2008-11 where he compiled a 34-17 record … Linebackers Chris Paul (6-1, 233, SO) and Jordan Crook (6-0, 220, SO) are in the portal. Paul was in on 74 tackles in 2023, 62 in 2022. Crook was in on 28 tackles in 2023. Also in the portal is WR Sam Mbake … Michigan State OG Keyshawn Blackstock (6-5, 310, JR) has committed to Arkansas.

Auburn (6-6): DL Enyce Sledge (6-2, 311, FR) and DL Stephon Johnson (6-3, 337, FR) have entered the transfer portal.

No. 1 Georgia (12-0): Georgia secondary coach Fran Brown is the new head coach at Syracuse. Brown spent two years on the Georgia staff after a 2-year stint at Rutgers … Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo is a finalists for the Broyles Award … Former 4-star linebacker Darris Smith (6-5, 240, SO) is in the portal. Smith is from Baxley, GA.

Kentucky (7-5): Starting center Eli Cox will return to Kentucky for a sixth season in 2024 … DL Jamarius Dinkins (6-5, 280, SO) and WR Dekel Crowdus (5-10, 171, SO) are in the portal along with safety Jalen Geiger (6-1, 199, SR) and OL Grant Bingham (6-5, 321, FR).

No. 13 LSU (9-3): Quarterback Jayden Daniels is a finalist for the Maxwell Award along with Oregon QB Bo Nix and Washington QB Michael Penix. It is expected these three will be the finalists also for the Heisman Trophy … Wide receiver Malik Nabers is a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award … Offensive coordinator Mike Debrock is one of five finalists for the Broyles Award, given to the nation’s top assistant coach … Running backs Corren Norman (5-9, 205, SR) and Armoni Goodwin (5-8, 200, JR) are in the portal.

Mississippi State (5-7): New HBC Jeff Lebby will retain WR coach Chad Bumphis … QB Will Rogers (6-2, 215, SR) is in the portal, joined by running back Simeon Price (6-0, 215, SO) and wide receivers Nakai Poole (6-3, 210, FR) and Jacobi Bellazar (5-11, 165, JR). Rogers has thrown for 12,315 yards and 94 touchdowns in his career.

No. 9 Missouri (10-2): Cody Shrader is a finalist for the Doak Walker Award, presented to the nation’s top running back. Shrader led the SEC and finished second in the country in rushing with 1,499 yards (13 TDs) … Tight end Max Whisner (6-4, 242, RFR) is in the transfer portal.

No. 11 Ole Miss (10-2): TE Jayvontay Conner (6-4, 220, FR) will enter the transfer portal.

South Carolina (5-7): EDGE Donovan Westmoreland (6-1, 234, SO) will enter the transfer portal.

Tennessee (8-4): Although snubbed by both the Associated Press and Coaches polls, the Vols claimed the No. 21 spot in the College Football Playoff top 25.

Texas A&M (7-5): QB Max Johnson (GR) is in the transfer portal and expected to commit to North Carolina. Johnson has thrown for 5,853 years and 47 TDs at both LSU and Texas A&M … Also in the portal is wide receiver Raymond Cottrell (6-3, 210, FR), who is from Milton, FL.

Vanderbilt (2-10): In the transfer portal are quarterbacks AJ Swann (SO) and Ken Seals (GR). Swann threw for 1,457 yards and 12 TDs this year while Seals threw for 1,183 and 11 TDs. Also in the portal is OL Kevo Wesley (6-4, 317, SR) … Middle Tennessee State DE Zaylin Wood (6-2, 273, JR) has committed to transfer to Vandy.

ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Paul Finebaum has one word for the folks who think the Southeastern Conference could be shut out of the College Football Playoff if 8th-ranked Alabama knocks off No. 1 Georgia in the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta Saturday afternoon.

“Preposterous” is Finebaum’s word to describe an SEC-less final four but there are plenty of pundits who suggest it could happen. Finebaum used the Florida-Florida State game as exhibit No. 1 for why the SEC champ will get in no matter Saturday’s outcome.

“In the AP poll yesterday, five of the top 11 teams are from the SEC, and you’re going to tell me that Florida State, without its best player, struggled against a 7-loss Florida team Saturday deserves to be in, should be in over Alabama or Georgia?” Finebaum said. “That is preposterous … it would be patently absurd.”

Not only would it be patently absurd, can you imagine ESPN not having a say in who gets in? It would be one thing if the SEC champ had two losses, but it is guaranteed that the SEC champion will either be unbeaten Georgia or once-beaten Alabama. Leaving one of those two out would be a ratings and financial disaster for ESPN. In its wildest dreams, Florida State will never command the ratings of either Alabama or Georgia. Nor will Washington or Oregon. Michigan? Maybe.

Here is a scenario that could play out: Alabama beats Georgia, Oregon beats Washington, Michigan beats Iowa, Florida State beats Louisville and Texas beats Oklahoma State. Texas is out because Okie State is a 3-loss team that was hosed by both UCF and South Alabama. Florida State and Michigan are in because they are unbeaten and the committee picks Alabama and Georgia to fill out the bracket.

It could happen.