It’s still early in the college basketball season, but tonight’s non-conference matchup between No. 13 Kansas and No. 19 Florida has Final Four implications written all over it.The Jayhawks (6-2) will head down to Gainesville to face off with the Gators in one of the most highly-anticipated non-conference games of the season.
Here's our preview.
Rosters
Florida starts Scottie Wilbekin and Michael Frazier at the guard sports, Will Yeguete and Casey Prather at the forward positions and Patric Young at center. Kansas starts Frank Mason and Wayne Selder in the backcourt, Andrew Wiggins and Perry Ellis in the frontcourt and Tarik Black at center.
The biggest difference in these two teams is depth. Billy Donovan only plays six or seven Gators each game while Bill Self shuffles in about nine Jayhawks per contest.
The point guard position may be Florida’s biggest advantage in this game. Scottie Wilbekin is an experienced guard that knows how to score and find his teammates. Frank Mason has had an inconsistent start to this freshman season, but has shown flashes of brilliance. Regardless, Wilbekin has the clear advantage here. Edge: Florida
Wayne Selden and Michael Frazier have both having solid seasons up to this point. Across the board, their numbers are pretty similar, but Frazier is the superior shooter in this matchup. Selden is streaky with his J, while Frazier is knocking down more than 50 percent of this 3-pointers. Edge: Florida
Without a doubt, the matchup between Casey Prather and Andrew Wiggins in the one to watch tonight. The super-senior against the freshman phenom. Prather is putting up better numbers this season (19.1 points per game), but Wiggins hasn’t disappointed either (15.4 points per game). Wiggins is the superior NBA prospect, but right now, Prather is the better overall player. Edge: Florida
Here is where Kansas has the major advantage. Perry Ellis is a go-to scorer on the block while Will Yeguete is a nice role player for the Gators. Yeguete will make all the hustle plays, but Ellis can make the big plays down the stretch that can win the game for Kansas. Edge: Kansas
Tarik Black and Joel Embiid split the time at center for Kansas while Patric Young is the primary big guy for Billy Donovan. Young has proven himself as a very good college player, but his game is extremely limited. Outside of the paint, Young is lost. Black has similar offensive ability to young, but Embiid has pretty nice touch from midrange and will even step back and shoot a 3-pointer if you leave him open. The biggest difference in this matchup is Embiid’s ability to change shots on the defensive end of the court. Edge: Kansas
Until freshmen Kasey Hill and Chris Walker return to the Gators bench, Billy Donovan has a very short rotation to work with. In Florida’s last game, only six Gators played more than seven minutes. That’s not the case for the Bill Self, who often rotates nine players into the mix during the game. Edge: Kansas
Overall Edge: Kansas
Matchup To Watch: Andrew Wiggins Vs Casey Prather
Wiggins and Prather will be the two best players on the court tonight and should find themselves matched up against one another the majority of the time. Prather is a versatile scorer, and Wiggins has the athletic ability to be a shutdown defender.
It’ll be interesting to see if Wiggins’ athleticism causes any problems for Prather, who is a good, but not great athlete.
X-Factor: Joel Embiid
Embiid, a former volleyball player, is raw as a basketball player but does a fantastic job changing shots around the rim. At 7-foot-1, Embiid’s length is a nightmare to play against.
Florida doesn’t have great size, so look for Embiid to control the glass too. The other match-ups in this game are pretty even, but Florida doesn’t have anyone that can match up against Embiid.
Prediction
The game will be played in Gainesville, which is huge for Florida because Kansas has not played well away from home this season.
If Florida is going to win tonight, the Gators will need to get out in transition and make at least eight 3-pointers to spread out the Jawhawks’ defense. If Kansas is going to win, the Jawhawks are going to need to control the tempo of the game, slow it down and pound it inside to Perry Ellis and Embiid.
Whichever team can control the tempo will have a great chance to leave with a win.
Kansas 71, Florida 63
[tps_footer]By Mike Lucas[/tps_footer]
