The Gators have had this game circled since we lost to the Buckeyes 93-75 last year in Gainesville. The #3-ranked Buckeyes did lose David Lighty and Jon Diebler, two mainstays in their lineup for four years but return All-American Jared Sullinger (6’9”, 280 pounds), who torched the Gators last year with 26 points and 10 rebounds last year, Aaron Craft, William Buford, and Deshaun Thomas. They beat Wright State on Friday, 73-42, with Sullinger scoring 19 points and grabbing 9 rebounds. Buford had 13 points and Craft had 10. The one area that Ohio State seems to lack is bench scoring. If we can get some of their starters into foul trouble, their young bench players may struggle.
Florida, no doubt, has the toughest non-conference schedule in the nation. The game tonight is the marquee matchup in the Gators’ non-conference slate. Two top-10 teams going at it so early in the season is very exciting. We moved up from #10 to #8 and we have to live up to these expectations. It all starts with shutting down Sullinger. Patric Young has been waiting for this challenge and he feels confident that he can contain him. Big Pat doesn’t weigh as much, but his upper body strength will give him the advantage over Ohio State’s big man. Patric has to limit “Sully’s” touches in the paint and the Gator defense has to be willing to leave their man and help on defense; I would expect Coach Donovan to double-team Sullinger in the post if he becomes too much for Pat to handle. Another key is to contain the Buckeyes’ point guard, Aaron Craft. He is an incredible passer, has a high basketball IQ, and has deceptive speed. Erving Walker will most likely start out on him, but Kenny Boynton will also get some time guarding him. Once he gets into the open floor, Ohio State becomes very tough to defend. I expect Scottie Wilbekin to get more minutes this game because he is the best option that the Gators have who can shadow Craft and make life difficult for him. Our guards will have to be sharp tonight, along with our post players. Ohio State is a legit Final Four-capable team and we have to show them that this will be a hard, fought game.
Erik Murphy needs to give us offensive and defensive production tonight; I hope he can give us 10 points and 5-6 rebounds. He will have to help Patric defend Sullinger and I have a feeling Erik is going to step up to the task. Mike Rosario needs to play solid defense and continue to shoot the ball with confidence. Erving needs to play under control and limit his turnovers. I expect him to shoot more and become more of a scoring guard tonight, rather than a pass-first guard. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s our leading scorer this game like he was all of last season. Kenny Boynton needs to shoot the ball like he’s been shooting and play aggressive perimeter defense. Brad Beal will have the task of guarding William Buford. Buford is their #2 scorer and can shoot, and penetrate, so Beal will have to play tough defense and regain his shooting stroke; he expect him to step up and shoot lights out tonight. Casey Prather and Will Yeguete will get major minutes tonight and they need to play their typical hard-nosed defense and hustle during their time on the court.
I think that we match up well with the Buckeyes and have the advantage with our perimeter players. Our bigs are going to determine if we win or lose this game. All the action starts in three hours from now, at 8:00 on ESPN2. The Gator pregame show begins at 7:25 on WRUF 850 with Mick Hubert and Mark Wise calling the action. Let’s pull this one out! GO GATORS!
My prediction: Florida 83-Ohio State 75
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