Gators in need of win at home against Ole Miss

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Florida Gators host the Ole Miss Rebels on Wednesday night and are looking to avoid a four-game skid.

The Gators hold a 69-48 all-time series lead and have dominated the Rebels at home throughout the series, 42-12.

A win is of the utmost importance for Florida as it continues to sit on the wrong end of the NCAA Tournament bubble. At this point, UF can’t afford a loss against a 10-15 Ole Miss squad if it plans to make the tournament.

For the Gators, this one would ideally be one to build momentum as they get to the end of the regular season and into the conference tournament.

 “[Ole Miss is] a team that’s not been very healthy over the course of the year, which as any coach understands if you’re not healthy, it’s really hard to put a consistent product on the floor,” UF head coach Todd Golden told Gators Online and others Tuesday. “And you know, now they have certain guys back like (Matthew) Murrell who has really been a good player in this league a long time. So we’ve got to be mindful of him, and I think when they are really healthy they can be really good.

“But they have just really struggled having a full lineup on the floor. I think they’ve had 15 different starting lineups this year or something like that so that has been a challenge for Kermit (Davis) and his crew, but definitely a team we know is dangerous and we have to make sure our minds are completely focused for this one otherwise it can be another tough one for us.”

Ole Miss players to watch

The key to taking down the Rebels is limiting Matthew Murrell, who leads the team with an average 14.3 points and 2.5 assists. He’s also hitting two 3-point field goals a game, and the Gators can’t let him get hot from beyond the arc.

Myles Burns does a little bit of everything for Ole Miss averaging 7.2 points and a team-high 6.2 rebounds and 2.1 steals.

 “This game, every game, I talk about it a lot,” Golden said. “It’s always something that’s really important to the foundation of our program. But yeah definitely, we’ve got to take care of the ball. We’ve got to prevent giving them opportunities to be able to run out in transition and get easy baskets. And we need to give ourselves a great chance to get a lot of shots up to be successful. So yes, ball security is going to be very important tomorrow night.” 

Alongside Burns in the frontcourt is Mississippi’s only other double digit scorer, Jaemyn Brakefield. He adds 5.4 boards and can shoot from beyond the arc as necessary.

How Florida gets it done and on the right track

Keeping the Rebels from shooting the ball well from three is going to be the key for the Gators in this one. In Florida’s loss to Vanderbilt, it was the difference in the game.

“We did our job taking care of the ball, did our job on the glass,” Golden said. “It was just a shot making difference from the three and from the foul line.”

With that, the Gators have to be able to shoot from range. They’ve struggled mightily shooting the ball from outside in their three-straight losses, and there’s no better time to get hot on Wednesday night.

Florida’s defense hasn’t looked like the No. 13 team in defensive efficiency as of late, but the defense has to close out on threes and limit second-chance opportunities for Ole Miss.

Regardless of how the defense plays, UF has to shoot the ball more efficiently. It might be able to get a win with a mediocre shooting performance, but it won’t be enough to make the tournament.

Stay tuned to Gators Online.

WHO: Ole Miss Rebels (10-15, 2-10 SEC) at Florida Gators (13-12, 6-6  SEC)

WHEN: Wednesday, February 15, 6:30 p.m.

WHERE: Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center (10,151)

WATCH: SEC Network or ESPN App; Play-by-Play: Dave Neal; Analyst: Joe Sundvold

RADIO: Gator Sports Network  from LEARFIELD; SiriusXM 380 or SXM App 970; Play-by-Play: Sean Kelley; Analyst: Lee Humphrey

BETTING LINES: Florida (-9); Over/Under: 138