Florida's Tyrese Samuel looking for redemption vs. Kentucky

After four seasons at Seton Hall, Florida forward Tyrese Samuel has a lot of college basketball under his belt. The 6’10” 239 lbs. grad student from Quebec has played in rowdy road environments all across the Big East, but tonight, he’ll get to experience Rupp Arena for the first time.

“Yeah, I just talked to Duke (trainer Duke Werner) [about Rupp Arena],” Samuel told reporters yesterday. “He’s just like, ‘The one thing that’s good about it is none of the 24,000 people are going to come on the court and shoot or try to block my shot.’ But I heard it’s crazy there and I heard it’s going to be loud. It’s going to be an intense game, so I’m excited.”

Playing in a famous venue like Rupp is just one reason Samuel is looking forward to tonight. The Gators’ starting forward played his worst game of the season vs. the Cats in Gainesville, scoring only three points, a season-low and well below his 13.3 points per game average. Samuel, who leads the SEC in field-goal percentage (59.4%), was only 1-6 (16.7%) from the floor, struggling against Kentucky’s fast guards and Tre Mitchell.

“It was just a rough game,” Samuel said of Florida’s 87-85 loss to Kentucky on Jan. 6. “I’ve just gotta go out there for this game and just be a little bit more patient, take my time. I feel like I was probably rushing a little bit. But I feel like I’m capable of doing anything I kind of want on the court, so I really just being patient and just using my God-given abilities to do what I gotta do.”

Since losing to Kentucky, Florida is 4-2 and riding a three-game winning streak. The Gators are far from a polished product, however, blowing a 21-point second-half lead vs. Georgia on Saturday and needing overtime to come away with a win. Tonight, they will be seeking their first Quad 1 win of the season, an important benchmark for a squad projected to be on the NCAA Tournament bubble. If the Gators pull off the upset, it will be their first road win against an AP top-10 opponent since 2003.

“I think it’s big,” Samuel said of tonight’s game. “We came (up) short last time, unfortunately, but I think we’re ready. I think we understand what we did wrong the last game and I think we’re going to be ready and find a way to execute to win this game.”

Samuel said that’s a challenge that starts at tipoff.

“Just going out there and knowing it’s gonna be hostile, so you just gotta be ready. The team that punches first. Don’t let them punch and try to be a counter-puncher. Just go on their punch first, and I think we should be all right.”