What to know: Florida Gators basketball vs. Little Rock Trojans
Game Information
When: Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2016, at 7 p.m. (ET)
Where: Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center, Gainesville, Fla.
Records: Florida (8-3); Little Rock (9-3)
Coaches: Mike White- 29-18 (2nd season at Florida), 130-58 (6th season overall); Wes Flanigan- 9=3 (1st season at Little Rock/overall)
TV: SEC Network
Streaming: WatchESPN
Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network
Projected Starters
Florida | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | Class | Per Game |
Devin Robinson | F | 6-8 | 200 | Junior | 11.6 pts / 5.7 reb |
Justin Leon | F | 6-8 | 206 | Senior | 7.1 pts / 3.6 reb |
Kevarrius Hayes | C | 6-9 | 218 | Sophomore | 4.7 pts / 3.4 reb |
Kasey hill | G | 6-1 | 175 | Senior | 9.2 pts / 4.2 asts |
Kevaughn allen | G | 6-2 | 183 | Sophomore | 13.1 pts / 2.0 reb |
little rock | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | Class | Per Game |
jalen jackson | F | 6-6 | 215 | Senior | 11.6 pts / 4.8 reb |
maurius hill | F | 6-5 | 220 | Senior | 10.4 pts / 6.2 reb |
lis shoshi | F | 6-11 | 225 | Senior | 9.7 pts / 8.8 reb |
marcus johnson jr. | G | 5-11 | 175 | Senior | 14.8 pts / 3.2 reb |
kemy osse | G | 6-1 | 208 | R-Senior | 11.1 pts / 4.1 reb |
Preview
It’s been 295 days since the Gators have played a game in Gainesville, but that finally changes as the team returns home to play Little Rock. After two consecutive losses coming to Duke and Florida State, Florida got back on track with a convincing 87-46 win over Charlotte.
Little Rock was on a six-game winning streak before suffering a loss to Oral Roberts last game. The Trojans are the defending Sun Belt Conference Champions and made a NCAA Tournament appearance last season. They knocked off Purdue in the first round of the tournament.
This season, four of Little Rock’s starters are averaging double-digits. Marcus Johnson Jr. leads the team with 14.8 points per game and 31 assists. Kenny Osse has hit 28 three-pointers for the Trojans so far.
Florida and Little Rock have only met one time in history. The two teams played in 2013. The Gators won 86-56 after being tied up at half-time. Kasey Hill is the only player left on Florida’s roster that played in that game. It was just the third game of his career. Hill had 14 points and six assists that night. This will be Mike White’s first game against a Sun Belt Opponent in his time at Florida.
The atmosphere promises to be great in Florida’s first game back at the renovated O’Connell Center and the Gators could use a little more confidence heading into SEC play next week.