Scouting Report: Florida Gators

We often talk about how hard it is to win conference games. Well, it is even more difficult to win conference games the second time through the schedule. Wednesday night will mark the #10 Kentucky Wildcats (15-4, 5-2) first rematch of the season as they welcome the Florida Gators (14-6, 4-3) to Rupp Arena. Back on January 6th, the ‘Cats began Southeastern Conference play with a big 87-85 road win at the O’Connell Center. Now the Gators will seek revenge having won three straight and four of their last five.

Kentucky has not necessarily looked like themselves of late. It all started with the ugly endgame collapse against Georgia at Rupp Arena. The Wildcats led by 28 points with 7:55 remaining only to see their lead cut to single digits by the final buzzer. Then, they went on the road and laid an egg in a 79-62 loss at South Carolina. Finally, on Saturday, they narrowly escaped a disastrously bad start in Fayetteville with a 63-57 win over the Razorbacks. The silver lining, and ultimately the only thing that mattes, is that the ‘Cats are 2-1 in those three games. However, it’ll take a better effort and more complete performance in order to defeat the Gators for a second time on Wednesday evening.

Per Bart Torvik, the Florida Gators have the 10th best adjusted offensive efficiency in the country since the first matchup in Gainesville. Both Walter Clayton Jr. and Zyon Pullin scored 23 points the first time around as Kentucky struggled to guard ballscreens. That has been a common theme this season, though it was substantially better the last time out at Arkansas. Neutralizing the Gators rebounding advantage once again will be a major key as will getting back to putting up points like one of the best offenses in college basketball.

As always, we have prepared a full, in-depth scouting report for Kentucky’s next opponent. We will take a deep dive into the Gators’ personnel, break down their offensive and defensive schemes, and highlight the keys to the game for the ‘Cats. Let’s dive in and get to know more about the Florida Gators.

Florida Gators Personnel

Starters

#1 Walter Clayton Jr.: 6’3″ 195 lbs, Junior Guard

15.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.8 apg

Playmaking point guard. Shares primary ball-handling responsibilities with #0 Pullin. Shooter! No 3s! Half of his shots have been 3′. Making over two 3s per game. Get OVER the ballscreens and handoffs. CHASE off of downscreens and get OVER the flares. Be very willing to SWITCH anytime there is too much space. When you switch you are switching out to take him away from 3. Very good right-hand driver off of the ballscreens. We have to go over, but we need to corral him at the point of the screen. Fight hard to get back in front. Most aggressive offensive player. He is going to push it hard in transition. Protect the basket and get the ball stopped. If you help do so aggressively to take it off of him. Averages 2.5 turnovers per game. Contest everything.

#0 Zyon Pullin: 6’4″ 206 lbs, Graduate Student Guard

14.9 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 4.8 apg

Playmaking point guard. Shares primary ball handling responsibilities with #1 Clayton Jr. Very capable shooter, but more aggressive as a right-hand driver. Will get all the way to the rim, especially when he is driving it right. Big and physical. Likes to shoot the pull-up jump shot as well. Give all of them a hard contest. More likely to shoot the pull-up or pass it going to his left. Do not over help. He is an excellent passer. 81 assists with just 18 turnovers in 17 games. We would rather make him finish a contested 2 than over help and let him find the open man. You can start the game by hoping underneath the ballscreens and handoffs. We will adjust if he makes a couple. Stay between him and the basket. Make him finish contested 2’s from outside of the paint.

#5 Will Richard: 6’4″ 206 lbs, Junior Guard

11.8 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.3 apg

SHOOTER!!! NO 3s!!! 111 of 185 shots have been 3s. Shooting 35.1% from 3. You need to be tight to him at all times to take away the catch-and-shoot 3s. Get OVER the ballscreens and handoffs. CHASE off of downscreens and get OVER the flares. Be very willing to SWITCH anytime there is too much space. When you switch you are switching out to take him away from 3. Absolutely no help off of him. Tighten up to him as the ball is driven towards you. Find him in transition and pick him up early. Always the next most dangerous in transition. Pressure him out on the perimeter. If he isn’t dribbling you aren’t close enough. Not super comfortable handling it. Wants to shoot jump shots. 26 assists, 28 turnovers. Contest all of his pull-up jump shots. Crashes the offensive glass. Box out. No 3s!!!

#4 Tyrese Samuel: 6’10” 239 lbs, Graduate Student Forward

13.2 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 1.8 apg

Super physical 4-man. Will ballscreen or handoff and roll to the basket within their ballscreen continuity offense. Capable of catching it and driving it right. No right-hand drives!!! Good operating out of the short roll where he can use his athleticism and strength. Be ready for him to drive it at you to his right. Be physical. Stay down, wall up, and make him score over you. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. Will get it on the high-low too. You need to be physical and get him off of the block. His percentages will go down the further off of the block you make him catch it. Will face up and use a spin move to try and get around you. Always coming back right. Pick your spots to come take it off of him. 36 assists, 40 turnovers. Elite offensive rebounder. Box out!!!

#3 Micah Handlogten: 7’1″ 235 lbs, Sophomore Center

7.4 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 0.7 apg

Tall, mobile 5-man. Runs the floor hard in transition. Don’t get beat on the rim run. Will ballscreen or handoff and roll to the basket within their ballscreen continuity offense. Need to stay lower than him on the roll while corralling the ball. Stunt and fake at the ball handler while continuing to give ground. Play with your hands up to deter the lob. Don’t help up off of him at the rim and give up an easy dunk. Doesn’t want the game to be physical. Be physical and get him off of the block. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. He is 5-8 from 3, but you can close out short to begin the game. We will adjust if he makes a couple. If you are out there, you can pressure him on the perimeter. Likes to throw the high-low to #4 Samuel. Elite offensive rebounder. Box out!!!

Bench

#2 Riley Kugel: 6’5″ 207 lbs, Sophomore Guard

10.5 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.6 apg

Super athletic, talented wing. Has not shot a good percentage this season. Very willing shooter, but shooting 29.3% from 3. Still need to be there to give a hard contest to the obvious catch-and-shoot 3s. More dangerous as a right-hand driver. No right-hand drives! Looking to attack closeouts in a straight line to his right hand from the perimeter. Need to close out with high hands and choppy feet, then bounce back and be ready to guard the right-hand drive after taking away the initial catch-and-shoot. They will throw it ahead to him to attack in transition. Look for opportunities to come take it off of him when he is driving right. Not thinking about passing. 31 assists, 45 turnovers. Be physical and make him score over you. No right-hand drives.

#21 Alex Condon: 6’11” 230 lbs, Freshman Forward/Center

7.9 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 1.4 apg

Backup forward that will come in to play the 5. Mobile for his size. Runs the floor well in transition. Don’t get beat on the rim-run. Very skilled around the basket. They will throw it to him on the roll or in the post. Need to stay lower than him on the roll. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. Be physical and get him off of the block. His percentages will go down the further off of the block you make him catch it. He loves to use the shot fake and step through inside. Always shot faking and pivoting around to finish past you. Stay down, wall up, and make him score over you. Very good footwork. No quick drop steps. Not very comfortable handling it. Look for opportunities to come take it off of him. 27 assists, 33 turnovers. Excellent offensive rebounder. Box out.

#10 Thomas Haugh: 6’9″ 210 lbs, Freshman Forward

3.5 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 0.6 apg

Backup forward. Skilled out on the perimeter. Capable shooter. Will look to pick-and-pop some. 6-21 from 3. You need to be there to give a hard contest to the obvious catch-and-shoot 3s. When you take away the catch-and-shoot 3s he will look to drive it right. No right-hand drives. Close out with high hands and choppy feet and then bounce back to guard against the drive. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. Be physical and get him off of the block. His percentages will go down the further off of the block you make him catch it. Stay down, wall up, and make him score over you. Will shoot the trail spot 3 in transition. Get out and take him away. Very good offensive rebounder. Box out.

#11 Denzel Aberdeen: 6’5″ 190 lbs, Sophomore Guard

3.0 ppg, 1.1 rpg, 0.9 apg

Backup guard. Big and athletic on the perimeter. Will share some primary ball handling duties alongside #1 Clayton Jr. and #0 Pullin. Much more dangerous and aggressive as a right hand driver than as a shooter. No right hand drives!!! He is just 5-19 from 3-point range this season. You can help off of him when he doesn’t have it, but you have to help aggressively to go make a play. Go UNDER the ballscreens and handoffs. Closeout short to him on the perimeter and just throw a hand up to contest if he shoots. We are going UNDER and closing out short in order to stay between him a the basket on the right hand drives. We will adjust if he makes a couple. Get all the way back and stop the ball in transition. No right hand drives. No layups for him.

Florida Gators Offense

In year one under Coach Todd Golden the Florida Gators really struggled on the offensive end of the floor. Their defense was good enough to beat a lot of people, but they just couldn’t put the ball in the basket. They ranked 313th in three-point shooting at 31.4% and ranked even lower in offensive rebounding. However, this season, they’ve done a bit of a 180-degree turn. 

Their 33.1% mark from beyond the arc still isn’t great, but it is much better. Then, in terms of rebounding, they now rank second nationally grabbing 40.7% of their own misses. Overall, their offense is 13th in KenPom’s adjusted offensively efficiency. Florida sets a ton of ballscreens in the half court and will get to some set plays out of a Horns alignment, but they are looking to attack in transition first and foremost. The Gators are going to come at you in a hurry. Protecting the basket, stopping the ball, and beginning to matchup with the next most dangerous guy will be the mantra on Wednesday night. However, the best way to slow down transition offense is by scoring. The ‘Cats must get back to scoring 80+ points against the Gators.

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Back pedaling in transition will get you beat on Wednesday night. You have to sprint all the way back and protect the basket, then stop the ball, and then matchup beginning with the next most dangerous guy. Mississippi State just never got all the way back to protect the basket here. You have to get all the way to the restricted arc before turning around if you are the first guy back.

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Again, the Florida Gators are going to bring it in a hurry in transition. They play at 18th fastest pace in the country, per KenPom, and put up over 85 points per game. #5 Richard is always the next most dangerous guy in transition. That means he is where you begin setting your matchups after protecting the basket and stopping the ball. You have to communicate at a really high level in transition against the Gators. Do not lose Richard for an easy, uncontested 3.

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We can’t let Florida come off of the ballscreens with so much freedom in this game. #1 Clayton Jr. was far too comfortable in our first matchup and it led to him scoring 23 points. Give more resistance at the point of the screen, take a better angle to get back in front of the ball, and then provide some rim protection at the end of his drives.

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Simply being on the same page and having all five defenders attempting to execute the same ballscreen coverage led to improvements on Saturday against Arkansas. Too often, we aren’t working together as a unit and therefore end up out of position when guarding the ballscreens. That certainly was true back in early January against Florida. Both Justin Edwards and Aaron Bradshaw are on the same side of the screen here which allows #0 Pullin to dribble into a pull-up jump shot with zero resistance. They are too good offensively to give them easy, uncontested baskets.

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Switching is always something we can do to keep a guy on a guy and make it harder on the Florida Gators guards. However, you can’t fall into the trap of switching for the sake of switching. We have to go OVER ballscreens and handoffs when #1 Clayton Jr. is coming off. With Rob Dillingham calling out to switch all of this action it got him in a position where he was caught underneath the handoff and that gave Clayton Jr. room to spray one in from behind it. Also, Dillingham has to get his hands up to contest even if he is a step late. Contest everything!

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Here is a look at a set play the Gators will go to when they think #4 Samuel has an advantage inside. From a 1-4 High alignment they will run an Iverson cut over the top for a catch while Samuel rolls down into the post off of the high cross screen. This is where “you have to be doing something.” The Mississippi State defender aggressively digs down on the post off of #11 Aberdeen which is smart. However, he never actually impacts the play. He even allows Samuel to step through the double team and finish an And-1. That can’t happen. If you are going to go there has to be either a steal or a foul without an And-1.

Florida Gators Defense

The Florida Gators have experienced an identity shift from a year ago. Last season they were excellent defensively but not very good offensively. However, now they are explosive offensively but lacking on the defensive end of the floor. 

Per Synergy, the Gators have played man-to-man on all 1,471 defensive possessions this season. They have been very good at protecting the rim with a 11.2% block rate and hold opponents to just 47.9% shooting from 2-point range. Those numbers are not as eye-popping as they were back on January 6th, but they still point to their strength being on the interior. Where they have struggled though is out on the perimeter. Florida doesn’t force turnovers and allows opponents to shoot 33.0% from three-point range. Those two areas should play right into the hands of Kentucky who is among the best at not turning it over and shooting from beyond the arc. We need to see a return to high-scoring offense in this one.

Keys to the Game

• Contain the drive on ballscreens. The Florida Gators set a lot of ballscreens and generally have two true point guards in the game. We have to do a great job of containing the dribble without over-helping. Make it hard on #1 Clayton Jr. and #0 Pullin.
• Transition defense. Florida is one of the few teams that play as fast offensively as we do. Protect the basket, stop the ball, matchup beginning with the next most dangerous guy. The best way to slow down the Gators is by scoring.
• Rebound!!! This one is going to be tough. The Gators rank second nationally in offensive rebounding percentage. We simply cannot get demolished on the offensive glass. 75% or better defensive rebounding percentage. Did a very good job of this down in Gainesville.
• Shoot 75% or better from the free throw line.