5 things to know about the Florida Gators, Part 2

1. Match up nightmare

Starting at the four spot for the Florida Gators is sophomore forward Keyontae Johnson. Johnson stands at just 6’5″, but plays so much bigger, that he is a a really tough match up for any team. Kentucky will have a definite size advantage at the four, with both EJ Montgomery and Nate Sestina being far bigger than Johnson, but that also works both ways. Defending Johnson within Florida’s offense will be extremely difficult. Johnson is the leading scorer for Florida at 13.7 points per game and second in rebounding at 7 per game.

Johnson’s 54.2% shooting ranks third in the Southeastern Conference as he plays stronger in the post than his size suggests. His ability to handle on the perimeter, despite being a forward, creates match up problems for defenders. He shoots 37.2% from three and 77.4% from the free throw line. If Montgomery and Sestina can’t contain Johnson on the perimeter, look for Florida to try to attack that match up as often as possible. In the first match up, Florida went to Johnson time and time again, as he racked up 19 points on 8 of 13 shooting, to go with 9 rebounds and 2 steals.

2. The one that got away

No slight to any player that Kentucky utilizes today, but starting big man for Florida, Kerry Blackshear Jr, is the one that got away for Coach Cal. You know it, I know it, we all know it. Blackshear Jr was the missing piece to the Kentucky starting lineup that Calipari desperately wanted. Alas, he ended up in Gainesville, where he’s averaging 13.2 points, fourth in the SEC at 7.5 rebounds, and nearly two assists per game. Against Kentucky a few weeks ago, Blackshear Jr finished with 18 points and 6 rebounds, but also racked up 5 turnovers and 4 fouls.

Blackshear has the ability to step away from the basket as a proven shooter, both at Virginia Tech and now at Florida. The 6’10, 240 pound senior is a load to handle in the post, but also shoots just under 32% from three and hits 79.6% from the charity stripe. Blackshear does have a tendency to get into foul trouble, racking up 4 or more fouls in twelve games already this season, including in the first game against the Cats. If Kentucky can get Florida in foul trouble early, there’s a potential to load up on points in the paint.

3. Traditional bigs

For the first time in a few weeks and since the last Florida match up, Kentucky is going to play a team that has multiple traditional bigs. Outside of Keyontae Johnson at the four, the Gators suit up four traditional bigs. Lately, Kentucky has faced a ton of teams with either a stretch four or one good big paired with a bunch of athletic ball-handling forwards. Florida is mostly the opposite. Obviously, with Kerry Blackshear in the post, that’s about as solid as a college team can get in the middle, but Florida follows that up with three potential big options off the bench.

Freshman Omar Payne stands at 6’10”, 223 pounds, playing 16 minutes off the bench for Head Coach Mike White. Abuja, Nigeria native, Jason Jitoboh is a mountain of a human being, measuring at 6’11” and a whopping 300 pounds coming off the bench. Lastly, Dontay Bassett also comes off the bench and is 6’9″ and 236 pounds. If Kentucky’s bigs don’t play strong, Florida has the size to push people around some in the post. With how dominant Johnson was, the back up bigs weren’t used a ton for Florida against Kentucky the first time around, but could prove helpful this afternoon.

4. Playing their best ball

Florida has been a team that has confused college basketball fans all year. A preseason consensus top-5 team, the Gators really struggled to get it going early in the season. Despite the hype, Florida dropped four of their first 11 games, falling out of the conversation as a national title contender. Those struggles continued into SEC play, as they dropped three of five conference games over a stretch in January, to go along with a loss in the SEC-Big 12 Challenge, making it four losses in six games.

As of late though, Florida has been playing their absolute best basketball of the season. Peaking at the right time like a Coach Cal type team, the Gators are finding their footing as the season goes on. After the first week of February, Florida was sitting at 15-9 and on the outside, looking in for their NCAA Tournament hopes and a 17-point loss at Ole Miss could’ve made the Gators let go of the rope. However, since then, Florida had won three straight in dominating fashion. Wins of 17, 18, and 14 over a week and a half have made the Gators start to look like the team we all thought they’d be at the beginning of the season. They played Kentucky very tough in Rupp Arena, and have since then picked up a win over LSU by 15 points. With Kentucky’s obvious breakdown earlier this week, this is a true chance for another big win for the Gators, who now sit at 19-11 on the year.

5. Splitting the match up

As far as opponents in the Southeastern Conference go, Florida has had the most success against Kentucky since Coach Cal arrived, with Tennessee sitting near the top with them. In the last seven match ups, Florida has split with Kentucky at 3-4. There have been stretches where Kentucky has dominated the series, but the Florida has beat Kentucky eight times in Cal’s first 10 years in Lexington.

A spread of 3.5 in favor of the Gators awaits the Cats as they travel to Stephen C O’Connell Center this evening, with Florida looking to stop Kentucky from achieving a four-game win streak in this series. A win today for Florida could keep them tied for second in the SEC and would mark a second loss in a row for Kentucky. A win would do wonders for their résumé, and would not look great on Kentucky’s with back to back losses. Florida is currently slated at around a 9 seed in the tourney, needing one big win to ensure they won’t fall off the bubble.

Go Cats. Beat. Gators.

@BrettBibbinsKSR