After the Gators opened the “Golden” era by defeating the Stony Brook Seawolves 81-45 in Monday’s season opener at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center, Florida will host the Kennesaw State Owls Friday at 7 p.m.
Here are a few key notes to know about KSU before the two programs face off against each other for the first time ever.
The duo of Youngblood and Burden
The Owls, who play in the Atlantic Sun Conference, are coming off of a successful season opener of their own, defeating the LaGrange Panthers 99-56 Monday. The 99 points are the seventh-highest total points scored in a single game in Kennesaw State’s program history.
Leading the Owls in that game was junior guard Chris Youngblood. The Tuscaloosa, Alabama, native scored 20 points against the Panthers off an efficient 8-for-10 shooting night. Five of those 10 shot attempts came from behind the arc.
Youngblood as a player can defend, shoot the ball well behind the three-point line and become a playmaker when needed. To stop the Owls, UF needs to always focus on Youngblood off the ball to avoid any opportunities for the ASUN Preseason All-Conference player to get the hot hand.
Florida under head coach Todd Golden in the season opener held the Seawolves to their lowest scoring total in a single game in program history due to a resilient early defensive effort by UF, smothering Stony Brook with man-to-man defense.
“I feel as if we take pride in defense, and that’s something that we want to pick up in this program,” Gators forward Alex Fudge said. “We want to build on that and probably be one of the national leaders defensively…it’s a good thing when you playing defense.”
The Gators need to repeat the intensity on defense shown from Monday night to stop a Kennesaw State team that shot 59% from the field to start the season. This requires not only stopping Youngblood, but also Owls senior guard Terrell Burden.
Burden, who starts with Youngblood in the backcourt, is the primary ball handler for Kennesaw State and is a usual name to pop up on the stat sheet. Last season, he averaged 29.3 minutes a game and started all 30 games for the Owls. In the game against LaGrange, he scored 19 points off 85.7% shooting and assisted on seven KSU baskets.
Quick defense turns into quick offense
The Owls are a fast-paced style team that wants to make opponents create mistakes by playing halfcourt press on defense. That press forced 15 LaGrange turnovers, which turned into 24 points with Kennesaw State running in transition to score after the steal/turnovers.
Pushing down the court, Kennesaw State’s first game saw plenty of moments where players went out of their way to double team players inside the paint to attempt to steal the ball at any cost. These steals quickly contributed to 31 fast break points. In other words: the Owls are always running.
In a single spurt of offense in the second half during the LaGrange game, KSU went on a 24-6 run over six minutes.
Florida forwards Colin Castleton, CJ Felder and Fudge all had two turnovers each against Stony Brook, most of them being self-inflicted turnovers. For instance, Felder’s first turnover against Stony Brook was due to him not being able to control the ball when receiving a bounce pass from Kowacie Reeves resulting in a steal.
These types of mistakes could keep the game close for Kennesaw State, despite the Gators being favored by 94.7%, according to ESPN analytics.
The challenge in the front court
The big’s down under the basket for the Owls are senior forwards Alex Peterson and Demond Robinson. Peterson started for KSU to open the season; however, Robinson last season was the usual starter, starting in 30 games as a junior.
Robinson is a six-foot-eight rim protector that uses his frame to his advantage for rebounding against opponents. He transferred to Kennesaw State after his sophomore season at Murray State University where he was always in the top 10 in total blocks in the Ohio Valley Conference.
Peterson, an inch shorter than Robinson, has a wingspan above seven feet, which aids him for scoring inside over taller players under the basket with hook shots while contested. The Tappahannock, Virginia, native throughout his career with the Owls has averaged above 54% shooting.
Both forwards do most of their work inside the paint, usually never trailing outside the key for a three-point shot. Peterson and Robinson combined have only made three shots behind the perimeter at Kennesaw State.
Castleton, a vocal leader and huge piece in Golden’s offense, will have to face this unique situation of Robinson challenging the fifth-year senior in rebounding and then have Peterson taking him on in the post on the offensive end.
Nevertheless, the Gators should have no issues with this non-conference opponent at home.