What to know: Florida Gators vs. James Madison Dukes
Game Information
When: Wednesday, December 20, 2017 at 7 p.m. (ET)
Where: Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center, Gainesville, Fla.
Records: Florida (6-4); JMU (4-8)
Coaches: Mike White- 54-28 (3rd season at Florida), 155-68 (7th season overall); Louis Rowe- 14-31 (2nd season at JMU/overall)
TV: SEC Network
Streaming: WatchESPN
Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network
Projected Starters
Florida
F Keith Stone (6-8, 245) Avg./Game: 5.6/2.8r
G Jalen Hudson (6-6, 192) Avg./Game: 19.5/4.2r
G Egor Koulechov (6-5, 205) Avg./Game: 15.3/7.1r
G KeVaughn Allen (6-2, 193) Avg./Game: 11.8/2.8r
G Chris Chiozza (6-0, 175) Avg./Game: 12.0/5.8a
JMU
F DeVelle Phillips (6-9, 210) Avg./Game: 8.9/8.3r
F Ramone Snowden (6-6, 230) Avg./Game: 6.1/4.3r
G Stuckey Mosely (6-3, 190) Avg./Game: 20.7/4.2r
G Joey McLean (6-0, 150) Avg./Game: 13.3/2.8a
G Darius Banks (6-5, 225) Avg./Game: 9.0/2.3r
Preview
The Florida Gators are in desperate need of a couple wins this week before bouncing straight into SEC play after Christmas.
The first home matchup of the week comes against the James Madison Dukes.
Florida comes in with its pride a little banged up after losing four of its last five games. The most recent came in a 71-69 loss to the Clemson Tigers as the Gators snapped a seven-game winning streak in the Orange Bowl Classic.
23 points (including the first 12 points of the game) from Jalen Hudson and double figures from both Chris Chiozza and KeVaughn Allen were not enough to overcome a 12-2 Clemson run in the second half.
The run erased what was once a 12-0 Florida lead and the Gators went cold in the final minutes, making just one of their final 10 field goal attempts.
JMU won its most recent game over FIU, but has lost four of its last six.
Stuckey Mosely leads the Dukes in scoring with 20.7 points per game on a 45.7 shooting percentage and 45.8 three-point percentage. Joey McLean averages double figures behind him at 13.3.
Ramone Snowden is the team’s best passer with 35 assists this season, while DeVelle Phillips is the leading rebounder (8.3) and shot blocker (21).
The Gators hold a 2-1 record all-time over JMU, but the two teams haven’t met in nearly 25 years.
The last matchup came in the first round of the 1994 NCAA Tournament. Florida won 64-62 on its way to its very first Final Four appearance.
The Gators have played the second-toughest schedule in college basketball to this point and have not started out near the way they hoped. Florida needs a win over JMU to get some much-needed confidence back.