With a week off following a 20-point win over Richmond, Florida has taken the time to prepare for its upcoming December schedule.
First up: A road game against No. 17 Miami.
The Gators (6-1) take on the Hurricanes (7-1) tonight at 7 in Coral Gables. The meeting will be the 69th between the two in-state schools, a series which Florida leads 45-23, but the first time the Gators will play at Miami since 2005.
Last year’s game in Gainesville is still fresh in Florida players’ minds, a 69-67 loss in which the Hurricanes erased a 15-point second half deficit and guard Angel Rodriguez buried the go-ahead three with 16 seconds left.
"We came out in the second half with big headedness and took it for granted, and they came back and took the game from us," sophomore Devin Robinson said of last year’s game.
"We definitely don’t want to let that happen again ... so it’s definitely different from last year and I hope we get a better outcome."
It will be hard for Florida to out-shoot Miami. The Gators are shooting 42.7 percent from the field this season and 30.4 percent from beyond the arc, while the Hurricanes are shooting 51.1 percent and 42.5 percent in those categories, respectively.
Miami has four players averaging double-digit points per game and two three-point shooters in Sheldon McClellan and Ivan Cruz Uceda who are shooting above .500 from beyond the arc.
"When you’re trying to prepare for an opponent defensively, a team that’s as good as Miami is offensively, those numbers are staggering," coach Mike White said about the Hurricanes’ shooting ability. "There’s not just one way to defend Miami, you’ve got to be pretty good at a lot of things."
One big advantage that the Gators will have over the Hurricanes is their rebounding ability on both ends of the floor and the rotation of size Florida has in its frontcourt. Tonye Jekiri, Miami’s senior 7-footer, leads the Hurricanes with 10.3 rebounds per game, but is the only player averaging five or more.
For the Gators, Dorian Finney-Smith (9.0 rebounds per game), John Egbunu (8.3) and Devin Robinson (8.0) are spreading the wealth on the boards. White knows Florida will have to win that battle tonight to have a chance to win.
"I’ve been really pleased with our offensive rebounding, we’ve come a long way," White said. "As we’re shooting the ball right now, it has to be a strength for us."
This is White’s first experience with the in-state rivalry, so he said he wasn’t too sure what to expect from what will presumably be a hostile environment on the road in Coral Gables.
Robinson knows exactly what type of game to expect, and understands that Miami is now the ranked team and Florida the underdog, roles reversed from last year’s meeting.
"They’re gonna talk, and it’s gonna be a hard-nosed game," Robinson said. "If we don’t come in there with that dog mentality, then we’re gonna lose at their place and they’re gonna be talking like they’re the best in Florida, and we definitely don’t want that happening."
Follow Alex Maminakis on Twitter @alexmaminakis
Devin Robinson shoots a three during Florida's 105-54 win against North Carolina A&T on Nov. 16, 2015, in the O'Connell Center.
