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GYMNASTICS Florida hosts LSU in titanic, top-10 showdown

Alligator File Photo Alyssa Baumann posted a season-high 9.925 in the fl oor exercise against Missouri.

By Noah Ram Sports Writer

This is a meet over a year in the making. It has been in the making since Jan. 18, 2019. On that day last year, the Florida gymnastics team went into Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and got that monkey, or “Tiger,” off its back and shocked LSU. It was its fi rst win over the Tigers since 2014 and it ended their 35-meet home win streak. Now, tonight, we get the rematch. The Gators will host the Tigers on Friday night in their biggest SEC meet of the season. It will be held at the O’Connell Center and begins at 7:15 p.m.

This meet looks to be another chapter in this rivalry involving two of the most successful programs in the country. Florida and LSU have made three of the last four Super Sixes. The meet on Friday will be the 24th-consecutive the teams will meet with both ranked in the top 10.

These two teams have played each other incredibly close. Of their 22 meetings since 2013, 17 have been decided by less than half a point. “It’s been a very close rivalry over the last couple years,” coach Jenny Rowland said.

No. 2 Florida will be looking to bounce back from a less-than-stellar performance last week in a win over No. 19 Missouri in Columbia. Despite the 196.85-195.60 win, UF (2-0) really didn’t get it going until the third rotation.

“It was a situation last week we are not used to,” Rowland said. “They had an ice storm come through and it was a small crowd so the energy level was not up, and we just started a little too tight.”

Although the score may have been lower than expected, there were still some positives to take away from the meet.

Sophomore Nya Reed equaled her career-high of 9.875 to win the vault title for the secondstraight week, and sophomore Trinity Thomas won her second beam (9.925) and fl oor (9.95) title in a row.

UF’s depth continues to be arguably the most impressive tool it has. Coach Rowland is able to roll out different lineups in each event every week and see the same top-fl ight results. “There is defi nitely a lot more depth this year than we’ve had in the past,” junior Alyssa Baumann said. “I think it really pushes the team more, because we are competing for lineup spots each meet.”

For example, Baumann performed on the vault two weeks ago against Arkansas, but was replaced by Skaggs last week, who then proceeded to notch the second-highest score on the team (9.800).

No. 8 LSU comes to Gainesville with a 3-0 record. It has already faced SEC foes, No. 8 Georgia and No. 20 Auburn. Freshman Kiya Johnson won the SEC Freshman of the week for her performance against Auburn, scoring a 39.60 in the all-around category. The Tigers are coming off a second-place fi nish at last year’s NCAA Championship, their best fi nish in school history.

“This team really thrives on being able to compete and show off in front of Gator nation," Rowland said. "And having LSU on top of that really just amplifi es everything.”

@Noah_ram1 nram@alligator.org

MEN'S BASKETBALL

Keys for UF vs. No. 1 Baylor

By Evan Lepak and Brendan Farrell Sports Writers

The Gators men’s basketball team welcomes No. 1 Baylor to the O’Dome on Saturday in the Big 12/SEC Challenge, making this the third season in a row that Florida has faced the top team in the country. UF has also never won a regular-season matchup against a No. 1 team, losing its last 13 attempts. Two of our basketball writers, Evan Lepak and Brendan Farrell, each have one aspect to keep an eye on in UF's game against the Bears.

UF will need to disrupt Baylor’s offensive effi ciency

Baylor and Florida are very similar teams on paper, especially on the offensive side of the ball.

According to KenPom, both squads share comparable numbers in offensive effi ciency and tempo. The Bears are 25th and 290th, respectively in those categories, and because of this, they rarely turn the ball over. The team is averaging 11.9 per game, which is secondbest in the Big 12.

In order for the Gators to win Saturday’s game, their defense will need to be active and disruptive. Initially, the team will have plenty of energy thanks to the expected sell-out crowd at the O’Connell Center, so it’ll be important for Florida to get off to a positive start by controlling the pace of play early.

Another key part of the game on Saturday will be on the glass. Baylor has a long and athletic frontcourt highlighted by 6-foot-9 forward Freddie Gillespie who averages 9.4 boards per game, good for third in the Big 12.

UF big men Kerry Blackshear Jr. and Omar Payne have the height to compete with him, but will that translate under the basket?

On Tuesday, LSU bullied the Gators down low, out-rebounding UF 38-28 and corralling an eyeopening 15 offensive rebounds.

Payne and Blackshear Jr. combined for just nine rebounds, while LSU’s top rebounders (Darius Days and Marlon Taylor) had 19 total.

The Bears are ranked seventh, according to KenPom, in offensive rebounding percentage, and they average 39 total rebounds per game, which is second in the Big 12 behind only West Virginia.

It’s clear that the painted area of the court on Saturday will play a key role in the difference between a Florida win and a Florida loss.

@evanmplepak elepak@alligator.org

SEE MEN'S BASKETBALL, PAGE 12

Having an identity as a team in the game of basketball is everything.

Specializing in a certain area of the game because of personnel or coaching creates a solid foundation for a championship-caliber team.

Except the problem that I have seen with this Florida men’s basketball squad is they don’t have one.

UF has been all over the stat sheet this season and not exactly in a good way.

In both wins and losses, the Gators have had a myriad of different performances that I fi nd unsettling.

Defense has been a specialty for Mike Whitecoached teams in the past, and this season, Florida has allowed 66 points a game, good enough for the 93rd-ranked defense in the nation.

Yet on Saturday, the Gators locked down thenNo. 4 Auburn, allowing 47 points. But they surrendered 91 to Missouri just a week prior.

So, they’re not a team that will consistently make you work for baskets.

Is this an offensive team that plays fast-paced? Nope. Its adjusted tempo is 290th in the country, according to KenPom, and the Gators average 74 points per game, good enough for 110th in the nation.

Florida managed to put up 82 points against LSU on Tuesday, just the fi fth time this season it has reached that total.

How about the boards? Are the Gators a rough and tumble team that’ll crash the glass and outwork you?

I see you’re getting the trend here. Florida is 91st in the country at 37.8 rebounds a game and 99th with 11.17 offensive boards per contest.

And despite these unimpressive statistics, the Gators still fi nd themselves 12-6 — a position that I don’t think they’d be in if it weren’t for their impressive personnel.

This team was ranked No. 6 on the AP’s preseason poll for a reason: its roster.

A roster that features a 6-foot-5 point guard in Andrew Nembhard looking to build off a rookie campaign that featured a game-winner in the SEC Tournament.

Then at the wings there is guard Noah Locke, who is shooting a team-best 41 percent from beyond the arc along with an uber-athletic forward in Keyontae Johnson.

Not to mention the SEC Preseason Player of the Year and leading scorer Kerry Blackshear Jr.

Florida’s incoming freshmen certainly played a role in its generous preseason placement, as well.

Guards Tre Mann and Scottie Lewis both joined the Gators as fi ve-star recruits in 2019 to round out the team’s depth.

Much has been made of Lewis. A fun (and deadly) drinking game would be to watch this team play and take a shot every time a broadcaster mentions Lewis’ athleticism, defensive prowess or his admittedly impressive kick-ups.

Despite all this talent, the team frankly isn’t elite in any particular area. I am of the mindset that a team needs some part of its game to take pride in.

There also doesn’t seem to be a clear-cut leader who demands the ball in crunch time. A case of missing identity plagues the Gators Cup of Joe

SEE COLUMN, PAGE 12 Joseph Salvador Twitter: jsalvadorsports jsalvador@alligator.org