Hatters Set Sights on Powerful Gators

ORLANDO – After a week off following a heart-breaking loss at Charleston Southern, the Stetson men's basketball team will return to action tonight when they face ninth-ranked Florida in the Amway Center.

The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start and will be televised on Sun Sports with Larry Vettel and Bill Koss calling the action.

The Hatters (3-2) will be trying to snap a 16-game losing streak to the Gators (4-1), a streak that includes nine straight losses to Florida head coach Billy Donovan, who will be looking for his 400th career victory.

Stetson's last victory over Florida came in the 1983-84 season-opener when the Hatters took a 77-73 victory. This will be the third neutral site game in a series that dates back to the 1920-21 season. Florida took the only previous game played in Orlando, a 70-54 final at the Orange County Civic Center in 1984.

The Hatters are still trying to solve the turnover problem that has plagued them through the first five games of the year. Stetson has turned the ball over almost 23 times per game, and opponents have converted those mistakes into an average of 21.8 points per game.

Stetson comes into the game having enjoyed some success shooting the ball from the perimeter, hitting better than 40 percent from three-point range, but will face one of the best three-point shooting teams in the nation in Florida.

Even without guard Erik Murphy, who suffered a torn meniscus in practice and is out indefinitely, the Gators are averaging better than 10 three-pointers per game, second in the nation, and are shooting 43.6 percent from the outside.

Murphy ranks sixth on the Florida team with 10 points per game, leaving the Gators with just five players scoring in double figures for a team that is posting just shy of 90 points per game.

The Hatters are not as high-powered offensively as Florida, averaging 69.4 points per game, but are also holding opponents to just 68 points per game.

Junior center Adam Pegg leads Stetson with 12.6 points per game, and his matchup with Florida sophomore center Patric Young (10.4 points/8.6 rebounds) will be one of the keys to the Hatters hopes of pulling an upset.

Florida had rebounded well from an 81-74 loss at No. 3 Ohio State on Nov. 15, averaging 92.0 points and 50.0 percent shooting over three consecutive wins. The Gators have built that momentum ahead of a stretch that includes a trip to No. 5 Syracuse on Friday, a home game against 23rd-ranked Arizona on Dec. 7, a matchup with No. 25 Texas A&M in Sunrise, Fla. on Dec. 17 and a visit from No. 22 Florida State on Dec. 22.

The Hatters enter a tough stretch of their own, with the game against Florida being the first of three games over six days. Stetson will host East Tennessee State in the Atlantic Sun Conference opener for both teams on Thursday night before going on the road to face unbeaten Indiana on Sunday in Bloomington.

Sophomore guard Aaron Graham comes into the showdown with the Gators with a hot hand, having hit five of the Hatters' season-high 13 three-pointers in the loss at Charleston Southern.

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Players Mentioned

#20 Aaron Graham: G; 6' 4"; Freshman

#41 Adam Pegg: F/C; 6' 9"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#20 Aaron Graham
: 6' 4"; Freshman
: G

#41 Adam Pegg
: 6' 9"; Junior
: F/C

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Hatters Set Sights on Powerful Gators

Players Mentioned

#20 Aaron Graham

#41 Adam Pegg

Players Mentioned

#20 Aaron Graham

#41 Adam Pegg