After snapping a two-game road skid in the third week of January, the Florida Gators (11-8; 4-3 SEC) look to build momentum in their return to Gainesville ahead of a tough stretch of competitions ahead. Ready to face the No. 5, No. 4 and No. 2 teams in the country, as well as Kentucky on the road in the next four contests, earning a convincing victory over South Carolina (8-11; 1-5 SEC) on Wednesday night is crucial.
To do so, Florida will have to end a pejorative statistic in the series as the first host to reign victorious in the last six games.
However, the Gamecocks recently pulled out of defeating Kentucky inside Rupp Arena, showing they have the ability to compete with mid-level conference teams on the road.
You can find everything you need to know about the matchup below.
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Florida Gators vs. South Carolina
Where: Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center, Gainesville, Florida.
When: Wednesday, January 25 at 7 pm EST
To watch: ESPN2
Radio: LEARFIELD’s Gator Sports Network / SiriusXM 380 / SXM App 970
Possibilities: Florida is a 17-point favorite over the Gamecocks, according to Sports Illustrated Sportsbook. The over/under is set at 134 points.
Series history: Florida leads all-time series against South Carolina, 47-28. In the previous meeting, the Gators defeated the Gamecocks on the road, 71-63, to continue a trend of road wins in the last six meetings of the rivalry.
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the summary
The Southeastern Conference underwent immense turnover after the 2021-22 season.
Seeing six head coach vacancies filled with fresh faces, the league looks drastically different in 2022-23. Todd Golden and Lamont Paris are representatives of those changes.
While the ultimate goal is to focus on winning against the entire league, measuring a team’s progress by comparing enemies in similar positions is common practice. For Golden, he has reigned supreme in the battle of first-year head coaches, eliminating all four he has played against this season (Mike White; Georgia; Matt McMahon; LSU, Dennis Gates; Missouri and Chris Jans; Mississippi State ).
On Wednesday, he’ll be looking for the clean sweep when the Gators take on the South Carolina Gamecock team of Paris.
On a larger scale than the first-year head coaching battle, however, the Gators have a chance to build the necessary momentum with a convincing win over the Gamecocks before an overwhelming series of contests over the next four appearances.
Achieving that goal will mean limiting the impact of true first-year forwards. Gregory “GG” Jackson II and Ohio State Guard transfer meechie johnson.
Jackson currently leads the team in points (15.9) and rebounds (6.7) per game, while Johnson provided offensive facilitation at a high rate (3.5 assists per game) for SCAR this season. It hasn’t resulted in as many wins, or efficiency as the team ranked 244 by adjusted efficiency in Kenpom (No. 240 AdjO and No. 241 AdjD), but the Gamecocks unit showed it can play opponents when it took on Kentucky inside from Rupp Arena on January 10.
colin castle he’s two inches taller than the 6-foot-9 Jackson, who ranks fifth in SCAR this season. That may present Florida with some opportunity to exploit the inside matchup on both ends of the floor, predominantly when the offense operates through the star big man.
That small South Carolina lineup will also allow Florida to incorporate Richard to the four in substitution of an injured Alex Fudge adequate without any reservations about losing strength on the defensive end or on the boards.
kyle lofton Y Myreon Jones he will continue to control the offense at spots one and two after posting 11 assists and zero turnovers on Saturday. The duo is likely to play a big role in Florida’s ability to create wide-eyed looks inside and on the perimeter.
The Gators enter the contest as an overwhelming 17-point favorite over the Gamecocks, looking to produce their first SEC win this season and iron out any remaining kinks before taking on No. 5 Kansas State on Saturday in the Big 12/SEC challenge. .
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