How are we feeling about Florida???

peterpiper09

All-Conference
Mar 19, 2006
1,001
2,019
92
I’ll just throw my 2 cents out there.

I’m feeling very similar to pre Arkansas game. At that time, I didn’t feel the best about our chances. I just wanted to go have a good showing and not get smoked since that what everybody said would happen. Now, post pig roast, we’ve got another couple wins, including another Quad 1 victory. While I’m starting to feel a little greedy, I want to keep it on the low.

Nobody thinks we can go to Gainesville and win except maybe a group of blue collar players, their coaches, and a few diehard fans. To be fair, I don’t think it would be realistic to think we can win them all, but man it would feel good to go down there and take the SEC lead outright. I really think we can play this game with house money. We’ll probably be 6-8 point dogs, their gym will be filled with gator chomping fans, and I’m sure Shows, Oglesby, and Anderson will be present. However, we hit some shots, contend on the glass, and play pressure free, we can do it.

I like our chances. They just won a big road game with ease. They might be ripe for the picking.
 

ThroughBlue

Junior
Feb 3, 2014
106
271
63
Not the best probably because the vandy game is in the back of my mind. If we get down double digits I dont know if we can climb out against florida. They are built to not go on scoring droughts like Tennessee. Too big too many easy buckets inside, but on the other hand we are usually good defensively around the basket
 

Zuma75

All-Conference
Mar 19, 2017
852
1,190
93
Man with this team who the h*** knows! I'll be there ready for another wild ride...

Scared Despicable Me GIF
 

Rainmaker

All-Conference
May 13, 2015
978
2,301
93
While I think Florida is drifting upward better than Arkansas as far as ceiling goes, both are 17-6 and have comparable wins. Is there really that much difference?
Resume wise similar but Florida is hotter currently and a much worse matchup for us. Our bigs have to be top notch because Florida is big and deep in those positions, matchup wise Florida isn’t good for us but that being said this team can beat anyone on any given night.
 

FilsonCat

All-Conference
Apr 5, 2007
3,299
3,846
113
Florida is another team that we don't match up well with on paper. I guess it depends on which team shows up. It'll take an effort like the one we had against Arkansas to stay in this one. Maybe hope for a close game at the end.
 

peterpiper09

All-Conference
Mar 19, 2006
1,001
2,019
92
Resume wise similar but Florida is hotter currently and a much worse matchup for us. Our bigs have to be top notch because Florida is big and deep in those positions, matchup wise Florida isn’t good for us but that being said this team can beat anyone on any given night.
Thats true, but it works the other way too. How are they gonna guard OO, DA, and CC?? Could be a 3 party unless they come out to guard.
 

*Fox2Monk*

Heisman
Jun 10, 2009
44,591
80,226
113
I think we have learned how to fight so I’m hoping that we win. I’m not sure if we can beat them so short handed though. Our front court must play their best game of the season. I hope we zone them and make them beat us from 3. We must rebound. If we get out rebounded by 15 again it will get ugly. JQ would have been nice in this game for sure.
 
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May 27, 2007
31,886
24,975
113
UF is the better team and at home and will be favored by quite a bit.

That being said, we are unpredictable. Who knows what team shows up. But if we could somehow play our 2nd half the entire 40 mins vs UF, we stand a real shot here IMO
 

Catsfan3382

Junior
Jul 4, 2025
93
237
33
I don’t think we can win down there - but this team has proven doubters wrong several times this season so who knows.
I do think our ONLY chance is a lot of threes - Moreno has been great and we’ve been running a lot of offense through him but that won’t work at all against Florida’s bigs.
I‘d play Jasper early and see if he can hit his first three. He's the kinda guy who can go off if he gets hot.
At this point with how rough we started conference play, a competitive, tough 5 to 7 point loss wouldn’t be the end of the world.
 

UKCowboys

All-American
Oct 14, 2019
3,255
5,467
113
I don’t think we can win down there - but this team has proven doubters wrong several times this season so who knows.
I do think our ONLY chance is a lot of threes - Moreno has been great and we’ve been running a lot of offense through him but that won’t work at all against Florida’s bigs.
I‘d play Jasper early and see if he can hit his first three. He's the kinda guy who can go off if he gets hot.
At this point with how rough we started conference play, a competitive, tough 5 to 7 point loss wouldn’t be the end of the world.
I think this is a game where Jasper would be in over his head. Hope he sticks it in my face. But he will be running into the trees when he drives on that bunch. You better drive intending to slam it. We need MM and Garrison at the top of their games, and this is a game JQ would have really helped. And as you said, we have to hit threes
 

TFCat11

Heisman
Mar 25, 2019
5,731
10,027
108
Florida has a VERY formidable front court, so this might be the perfect opportunity for JQ to give it another go, especially having that mid week “bye” for extra recovery time!

This would be the perfect game for JQ to return, and start getting ramped up for March Madness as well👍🏼
 

Sgarrett0417

Junior
Jun 22, 2023
121
275
63
I see and hear all of the Florida bigs talk, it’s very valid. But I liken playing through your bigs to having a good run game and solid defense in football. Efficient, powerful, and can impose your will…but unlikely to bust a game wide open.

If they play through their bigs, and we end up hitting 10+ threes and can guard the 3 well, we will have a good chance.

Having a team dump the ball into the post is easier to guard than a couple of dynamic guards on the perimeter. Guard the 3, limit second chance points, make some shots. That’s the recipe. Let them make tough 2s.
 

Cats192

Heisman
Apr 22, 2011
14,829
17,622
93
They're a very good team. They're not Florida from last year good.

Auburn beat them a few weeks back. I think we need to beat them the same way.

Fland and Lee combined for 15 points on 6/15 shooting. Florida as a whole shot 37% overall and 26% from 3. I think we need to force their guards into long jump shots. Fland is shooting EIGHTEEN percent from 3. Lee is shooting 25% from 3.

Then we have to rebound. Florida outrebounded Auburn 39-32. So limiting it to 7 got it done. The other thing this does is limit how badly Condon and Chinyelu from killing you on put backs from offensive rebounds. They only combined for 11 points vs Auburn.

Haugh is their best scorer. He shoots 35% from 3. We have to really put some defensive emphasis on him to keep him from going off--and funnel the shots into Fland and Lee. Tag a guy to Haugh and tell him not to leave. It's a TOUGH matchup because of his height. This may be a game where we need Dioubate to play a lot. He's 6'7 and a good perimeter defender and he doesn't give up anything weight/strength wise.
 

peterpiper09

All-Conference
Mar 19, 2006
1,001
2,019
92
I think sag until they can make a couple shots, then adjust at that time. They may come out hot from outside, but it definitely isn’t the norm. Make them hit some outside. Preach blocking out and clogging the lane.
 

kyjeff1

Heisman
Sep 8, 2012
50,396
70,514
113
Resume wise similar but Florida is hotter currently and a much worse matchup for us. Our bigs have to be top notch because Florida is big and deep in those positions, matchup wise Florida isn’t good for us but that being said this team can beat anyone on any given night.
I think we have as many advantages in the backcourt/wings as Florida has in the front court.

I'll take DA/Oweh/Chandler over Fland and Lee.

We need to hit threes and free throws, do that and we have a shot.
 

kyjeff1

Heisman
Sep 8, 2012
50,396
70,514
113
They're a very good team. They're not Florida from last year good.

Auburn beat them a few weeks back. I think we need to beat them the same way.

Fland and Lee combined for 15 points on 6/15 shooting. Florida as a whole shot 37% overall and 26% from 3. I think we need to force their guards into long jump shots. Fland is shooting EIGHTEEN percent from 3. Lee is shooting 25% from 3.

Then we have to rebound. Florida outrebounded Auburn 39-32. So limiting it to 7 got it done. The other thing this does is limit how badly Condon and Chinyelu from killing you on put backs from offensive rebounds. They only combined for 11 points vs Auburn.

Haugh is their best scorer. He shoots 35% from 3. We have to really put some defensive emphasis on him to keep him from going off--and funnel the shots into Fland and Lee. Tag a guy to Haugh and tell him not to leave. It's a TOUGH matchup because of his height. This may be a game where we need Dioubate to play a lot. He's 6'7 and a good perimeter defender and he doesn't give up anything weight/strength wise.
I'd put Mo D on Haugh and OO on Fland.
 
Jun 30, 2025
449
677
93
Not expecting a win at all.

Given how horrendous we have been in losses, losing this one by 10 or less might be a win too.
 

LineSkiCat14

Heisman
Aug 5, 2015
38,789
60,792
113
Did I see that they are almost dead last in 3pt shooting?

You know what that means.. bet the over on 3's made for them. Book it.

As for the game: I don't think Kentucky has the mental fortitude just yet, to play for all 40 minutes this game, which is what we will need to beat Florida I think. A team like Tennessee? sure, you can sleep walk for portions of the game, but not this matchup. However, this team IS getting more consistent every game, they are becoming trustworthy of a team, which was something you didn't see even a month ago. So maybe this is the one they come out for almost the entire 40. And if they do, they can win.
 

Zuma75

All-Conference
Mar 19, 2017
852
1,190
93
They're a very good team. They're not Florida from last year good.

Auburn beat them a few weeks back. I think we need to beat them the same way.

Fland and Lee combined for 15 points on 6/15 shooting. Florida as a whole shot 37% overall and 26% from 3. I think we need to force their guards into long jump shots. Fland is shooting EIGHTEEN percent from 3. Lee is shooting 25% from 3.

Then we have to rebound. Florida outrebounded Auburn 39-32. So limiting it to 7 got it done. The other thing this does is limit how badly Condon and Chinyelu from killing you on put backs from offensive rebounds. They only combined for 11 points vs Auburn.

Haugh is their best scorer. He shoots 35% from 3. We have to really put some defensive emphasis on him to keep him from going off--and funnel the shots into Fland and Lee. Tag a guy to Haugh and tell him not to leave. It's a TOUGH matchup because of his height. This may be a game where we need Dioubate to play a lot. He's 6'7 and a good perimeter defender and he doesn't give up anything weight/strength wise.
This is what I was thinking too - attack them hard defensively at their weakest point, which is definitely their guards. Not that their guards are weak, but not as imposing as their front court.
 

TheAssignment9

All-Conference
Apr 8, 2024
529
1,209
93
Not expecting a win in the slightest. Just hope we can take them down in Rupp and get the season split.

As far as the SEC race goes, the league needs to do something about the unbalanced scheduling.

Florida doesn't have to play @ Bama, @ Arkansas, @ Tennessee, @ Auburn, etc.

We have to play all 4 of those on the road, and only one of them makes a return trip to Rupp (TN).

Our three teams that we play twice are: Vandy, Florida and Tennessee.

Theirs are: Kentucky, South Carolina and Georgia.

Last season, our 3 teams were: Tennessee, Alabama and Vandy.

There's were: Tennessee, South Carolina again and Georgia again.

Makes it really hard to feel like winning the league is on even playing field anymore.

But back to the Florida game- it's funny that their front court is a lot like Tennessee's. VERY big, with a SF who is also very big and serves as a matchup problem (Haugh/Ament).

We'll need the biggest rebounding effort we've ever seen out of our frontcourt and our guards need to be SUPER involved (Oweh, Noah, Chandler, Aberdeen etc. getting in the scrums also).

Don't expect us to win though.
 
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Mossip

All-American
Jul 20, 2007
5,914
5,388
60
As far as the SEC race goes, the league needs to do something about the unbalanced scheduling.

Florida doesn't have to play @ Bama, @ Arkansas, @ Tennessee, @ Auburn, etc.

We have to play all 4 of those on the road, and only one of them makes a return trip to Rupp (TN).

Our three teams that we play twice are: Vandy, Florida and Tennessee.

Theirs are: Kentucky, South Carolina and Georgia.

Makes it really hard to feel like winning the league is on even playing field anymore.
Rack. This needs to be addressed at some point.
 

FLBBNFAN

All-Conference
Mar 25, 2025
661
1,285
93
It has been mentioned already but this might be a good time to play zone against them. Their guards are poor shooters so let's make them beat us. We need to hold our own on rebounding because the gators sure have a strong front court.

It will be tough sledding but we could do it. Our guys should be mentally prepared for that atmosphere.
 

Runt#1969

All-American
Dec 13, 2010
21,134
8,594
113
I would d3efinitely feel better if JQ were out there for this one.

But protecting his lottery status is whats important here.

As for the game, CMP better be working OT to pull another rabbit out the hat for this one .... Or it could get ugly.

AGAIN