Hoops Gator Gameday: Florida vs. No. 22 Kentucky

***Florida vs. Kentucky Game Thread***

Tuesday, March 1, 2016 - 7 p.m. ET

Stephen C. O'Connell Center in Gainesville, Fla.

TV: ESPN / Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network

Notable reserves: F Skal Labissiere, F Isaac Humphries, G Dominique Hawkins, G Charles Matthews

Injured: F Derek Willis (ankle, doubtful)

Head coach: John Calipari (211-46 in seven seasons at Kentucky, 614-184 in 24 seasons overall)

Streak: Lost 1 (lost 2 of past 3)

Last game: Lost 74-62 on the road to Vanderbilt last Saturday

RPI: 15th

KenPom.com team ranking: 10th

Notable reserves: F Justin Leon, G Kasey Hill, F Kevarrius Hayes, C Schuyler Rimmer, G Brandone Francis Ramirez, G/F DeVon Walker

Injured: Alex Murphy (foot, out)

Head coach: Mike White (17-12 in first season at Florida, 118-52 in five seasons overall)

Streak: Lost 3 (lost 4 of past 5)

Last game: Lost 96-91 on the road to LSU last Saturday

RPI: 48th

KenPom.com team ranking: 44th

THREE KEYS TO VICTORY

1. Shut down Murray: In both team's previous meeting this year - an 80-61 Kentucky victory at Rupp Arena - Murray dropped 35 points on 13-of-21 shooting (8-of-10 on threes) and simply shredded UF's defense. If the Gators let him get open nearly as many times as he was back in Lexington on Feb. 6, then it could get really ugly Tuesday considering how electric and dynamic of a scorer Murray is.

2. Play more inspired defense: Florida is coming off of two performances where it allowed 87 points on 57.7% shooting from Vanderbilt and 96 points on 55.8% shooting from LSU. The Gators have prided themselves on their defense for much of this season, but recently they've looked disinterested and sloppy on that end.

3. Get Doe-Doe more involved offensively: Before his 14-point performance against the Tigers last Saturday, Finney-Smith was shooting just 25% over his previous five contests. Much of the reason why Florida even hung around against LSU was because of Finney-Smith getting more good looks on offense down the stretch. Basically, as Finney-Smith goes, UF goes.

NOTEWORTHY QUOTES FROM MIKE WHITE

On how to attack Kentucky...

“I just think Vanderbilt is unique in that they are so potent offensively. They are just so hard to defend. When Vanderbilt is playing well offensively, they can beat anyone in the country, when they’re in a really good rhythm. We’re just simply not that capable offensively, so it’s different for us. Our formula has got to be, we’ve got to defend our butts off, we’ve got to keep Ulis out of the paint, do a better job of that, you can’t do it all the time. We've got to limit the opportunities he has in the paint. We've got to do a great job blocking out.

"But it again it starts with Jamal Murray. He took some H-O-R-S-E shots in Lexington. We can't make 10 mistakes on him. We've got to limit those mistakes. He's going to get a couple open one. It's what they do. They execute well. They set good screens. He's really been off the wall. They're a good passing time. Ulis is terrific, of course, getting guys shots. But we've got to limit those opportunities. Our transition defense has got to be off the charts. And then offensively, the biggest thing with us, especially as of late, has been turning the basketball over, especially against a guy like Tyler Ulis. He had us rattled in Lexington. He set the tone defensively. As good as he is offensively, he was probably as much as anyone we've faced this year he was as big a factor defensively in that game. He can't be as big a factor for us offensively tomorrow.

"We've got to free our point guards up somehow. We've got to get into ball screens. We've got to set better ball screens. We probably need to move the ball a little bit more and get him away from the basketball."

On limiting Murray...

"It’s really pretty simple. I know it’s easier said than done because they do a good job of setting screens for him. And he’s so good off of the ball as a cutter and as a user of screens and can get his shoot off so quickly. First and foremost, we have know where he is. He’s the one guy you cannot over-help off of. His whereabouts are of the utmost importance in transition defense, loose ball, offensive rebound situations. We need to run him off the 3-point line, that’s no secret. It’s everybody’s formula for him. We just did a subpar job of doing that in Lexington. We need to do a much, much better job on Jamal Murray before we can do anything else."

On the Florida career of Finney-Smith, who will walk during Senior Night...

“I’m sure Coach Donovan and his previous staff would do a much better job of articulating what he’s meant to this program over the long haul, but I can only speak to the fact that I know he was part of the Final Four team and had success a couple years ago, a lot of personal success on that team from what I’ve read and heard. Of course, going back to last summer, I started having the opportunity to work with him. He’s come a long way really in just the past eight or nine months in terms of his consistency, his ability to lead. I think he, even from our first few games to now, I just think he’s just a much better player than he was back in October. I just don’t think the numbers always indicate that.

"He’s become so much of a focal point against really good Southeastern Conference defensive teams that have spent the majority of their scouting report on him. But even when he has a 1-for-7 night for us or what have you, he’s found ways to help us out in other areas. Very versatile defender of course, a stat-sheet stuffer type guy. He’s interchangeable defensively and offensively. He’s been good on the offensive glass, he’s been good at drawing fouls, he’s a good passer for us. He’s had a solid senior season.”

On UF's recent defensive struggles...

“I put that on me. This is a team that’s just really struggled offensively, all season, as I told our guys, we all need to, every day, our job as a staff, is to help these guys with basketball, teaching them life lessons, is as important a thing we can do and holding yourself accountable is one of the biggest lessons that these guys can take away from this program, it’s one of the things that we can to stand for, I put that on myself, searching. searching offensively, getting a ton of shots, the emphasis has probably moved toward offense too much. We’ve spent an inordinate amount of time shooting free throws, running dry offense by shooting a ton of jump shots, individual offense, skill development, Sunday, 100% of the practice was defense and today we’ll spend a lot more time on defense as well. I guess it’s always a balancing act and we’ve got to get back to defending at a high level to give ourselves a chance.”

PREDICTION

Kentucky 83, Florida 70: Kentucky, loser of two of its past three contests, will enter the O'Dome looking to get back on the right track. Meanwhile, UF should play some more inspired basketball - considering it's Senior Night and the last game in the O'Connell Center before its renovations. However, the Gators' defensive deficiencies - and offensive inconsistencies - could come back to bite them once again, especially against an opponent as dangerous as UK.

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RELATED LINKS

Visitors for the Florida-Kentucky game

Seed Watch: Florida Gators Basketball (Feb. 29)

Game Glance: UK-Florida

Florida updated 2015-16 season statistics

Kentucky updated 2015-16 season statistics