Scouting the Opposition: Ole Miss Men’s Basketball Hosts Florida Wednesday night

OXFORD, Miss. — Coming off their first loss of the season, the Ole Miss Rebels (13-1, 0-1 SEC) will compete in their SEC home opener Wednesday night as they take on the Florida Gators (10-4, 0-1 SEC).

Florida enters Oxford following a close loss to the Kentucky Wildcats, 87-85, and the Gators will likely have the same mindset as the Rebels: do not start SEC play 0-2. For Ole Miss, it is crucial to not fall behind early in league play, especially given the team’s best non conference start in recent history.

There’s no doubt that head coach Chris Beard wants to keep his team’s momentum going. In this new series, “Scouting the Opposition,” we are going to take a deep dive into every Ole Miss opponent to better understand who the opposition is, where the opposition excels, and where the Rebels can prevail based on the opposition’s weaknesses. 

Who are the Florida Gators?

Before we dive into the nitty gritty, let’s understand who this Florida team is. Head coach Todd Golden’s squad enters this game as the 49th-best team in the county per the NET ratings. They do not have any Quad 1 wins, as they have played the likes of perennial powers Kentucky and Baylor. Their strongest win was a Q2 neutral-court victory over the Pitt Panthers. 

Q1: 0-3

Q2: 3-1

Q3: 1-0

Q4: 6-0

Florida is currently a 10-seed per Joe Lunardi’s Bracketology. If Ole Miss were to win, this would be a great Q2 resume builder as they look to take down a fellow tournament team. 

Scouting the Gators

Florida, similar to Ole Miss, is a team made up of many transfers. In their current rotation, the Gators are utilizing four transfers and two freshmen. They are led by their two star, upperclassmen transfer guards, Walter Clayton Jr. and Zyon Pullin, who lead their team in scoring with 15.7 and 14.9 PPG, respectively. Dynamic guard play is the heartbeat of the Florida offense as the Gators are one of the best teams in the country at getting to the free throw line. Clayton and Pullin, both, love to drive the basketball and draw contact. Florida is currently averaging 26 free throw attempts per game which is 8th-best in the nation.

In addition to scoring from the line, the Gators are currently the 11th-best scoring team in the country. They average over 86 PPG with a large majority of their points coming from the free throw line, behind the 3-point arc, and from inside the paint. 

On the topic of scoring inside the paint, Florida is one of the taller teams in the SEC with its center and power forward ranging from 7 feet to 6’10. Now, I understand this is not Jamarion Sharpe or Moussa Cisse-tall; however, they rebound the ball at an astronomically high rate which leads to second-chance opportunities.

Led by their centers Alex Condon and Micah Handlogten and their star PF, Tyrese Samuel, the Gators are the number one rebounding team in the country. They are not just star rebounders on the defensive end, they are also averaging 16 offensive rebounds per game which is good for 5th-best in the land. Despite Ole Miss’ size in the frontcourt, rebounding is something the Rebels have struggled all year with, and this game will be no different. 

Outside of rebounding, the Gators’ bigs are also a team that loves to block shots. They are averaging 5.4 blocks per game, and are very deadly in the paint, defensively. They defend their paint well by blocking shots and limiting second-chance opportunities.

Florida’s pride is paint protection; they do not defend the 3-point shot at a high rate, allowing opponents to shoot 34% from behind the arc. However, Kentucky did not shoot the three well last Saturday in Gainesville. The Wildcats went 1-10 in the first half and 4-10 in the second half. Hopefully, this is not a sign of better defense around the corner from the Gators; but, Ole Miss does shoot the three ball at a very efficient rate, good for 40% on the season.

Another good sign for Ole Miss is Florida’s second-half defense. The Gators have typically struggled defensively in the second half of most games. This was especially magnified in the Kentucky game when they blew an 8-point halftime lead and gave up 50 points in the second half.

Outside of Pullin and Clayton Jr, two other players to watch out for are Will Richard and Riley Kugel. Richard, 6 ‘5, the starting small forward, and Riley Kugel, also 6’ 5 and the 6th man, are some of the better 3-point shooters on Golden’s squad. Kugel, who has started 11 of the 14 games, was recently benched for his shooting struggles; however, he seemed to find his old form against Kentucky when he shot 50% from the field and added 15 points. Richard, who is shooting 36% from three, is not afraid to shoot the three ball. And just like Richard, the rest of the Gators are not afraid to let loose behind the line; although, they are not the most efficient team from behind the line, either. 

Keys to an Ole Miss win

In order for Ole Miss to notch another quality win, the Rebels will need to shoot well from behind the arc, limit Florida in the rebounding category, and limit one of Walter Clayton Jr. or Zyon Pullin. I think this is very feasible for Ole Miss, and with a win, the Rebels can add a very big resume-boosting win. 

Make sure to catch the Rebel’s home opener this Wednesday against the Florida Gators at 8 p.m. CST on the SEC Network!