What to know: #21 Florida Gators basketball at #5 Duke
Game Information
When: Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2016 at 9 p.m. (ET)
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York City, N.Y.
Records: Florida (7-1); Duke (8-1)
Coaches: Mike White- 28-16 (2nd season at Florida), 129-56 (6th season overall); Mike Krzyzewski- 978-263 (37th season at Duke), 1,051-329 (42nd season overall)
TV: ESPN
Streaming: WatchESPN
Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network
Projected Starters
Florida | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | Class | Per Game |
Devin Robinson | F | 6-8 | 200 | Junior | 11.8 pts / 5.6 reb |
Justin Leon | F | 6-8 | 206 | Senior | 7.5 pts / 3.8 reb |
John Egbunu | C | 6-11 | 255 | R-Junior | 9.1 pts / 7.5 reb |
Kasey hill | G | 6-1 | 175 | Senior | 7.6 pts / 4.0 asts |
Kevaughn allen | G | 6-2 | 183 | Sophomore | 12.4 pts / 2.5 reb |
Duke | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | Class | Per Game |
Jayson Tatum | F | 6-8 | 205 | Freshman | 10.0 pts / 8.0 reb |
Chase Jeter | F | 6-10 | 230 | Sophomore | 4.2 pts / 3.0 reb |
Amile Jefferson | F | 6-9 | 224 | Graduate | 14.7 pts / 9.8 reb |
Luke Kennard | G | 6-6 | 202 | Sophomore | 19.4 pts / 6.8 reb |
Matt jones | G | 6-5 | 204 | Senior | 9.6 pts / 3.0 reb |
Preview
Florida looks to end a five-game losing streak to non-conference top-five opponents against Duke on Tuesday. The Blue Devils started the season as the top-ranked team in the nation, before suffering a loss to Kansas early. Since then, they have won six consecutive games, including a victory over Michigan State.
The Gators are coming off of a win in their first game as a ranked team this season. Florida’s .585 shooting percentage against UNF was the best single-game percentage this team has had under head coach Mike White. The Gators are now 2-0 since suffering the loss to Gonzaga in the AdvoCare Invitational.
Duke brings in a high-powered offense with four different players averaging double-digits. Luke Kennard leads the Blue Devils with 19.4 points per game. Grayson Allen (17.1), Frank Jackson (15.4) and Amile Jefferson (14.7) follow behind Kennard. Kennard is coming off of a 35-point performance against Maine. He was 11-for-16 from the field and 4-for-9 from three-point range. Jefferson put up 20 points of his own last game.
This will be Florida’s 16th meeting with Duke. The Gators have an abysmal 4-12 all-time record in this matchup, but 12 of those meetings came before 1975. The last time these two teams met was in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament in 2000. Florida took the game 87-78.
The Gators and Blue Devils share some strange ties in this game. White’s father, Kevin White, is the current athletic director at Duke. In addition to that, Florida director of basketball operations Kyle Church is the son of Duke women’s soccer coach Robbie Church.
A signature win in this game would be a huge sign that the program is headed in the right direction and would add stock to Florida’s resume moving forward this season.