Florida travels to Baton Rouge to play LSU on Thursday in its final regular-season road game of the season. The game will be televised live by the SEC Network (whip-around coverage) from Maravich Assembly Center beginning at 8:30 pm. ET.
BATON ROUGE, La. – Florida travels to Baton Rouge to play LSU on Thursday in its final regular-season road game of the season.
The game will be televised live by the SEC Network (whip-around coverage) from Maravich Assembly Center beginning at 8:30 pm. ET.
It will be the second meeting this season between the Tigers and Gators, who earned the hard-fought 53-45 decision in Gainesville on January 17.
The Gator's 53 points are still the fewest they've scored all season, however, it was all they needed for the victory.
LSU is coming off a thrilling one-point win against Tennessee, while Florida has had to wrestle with its loss at Georgia after holding the halftime lead in its last outing.
Florida enters the game in a five-way tie for fourth place in the Southeastern Conference standings and a win on Thursday would greatly improve the Gator's chances of earning a double-round-bye for the SEC Tournament. A victory would come at a place where Florida hasn't seen many wins. In fact, the Gators are just 4-13 all-time in Baton Rouge against the Lady Tigers.
Whip-Around the SEC- Thursday's game will be part of the SEC Network's 'whip-around' coverage of women's basketball.
- This is the second time this season with the whip-around coverage, the first on January 7 when the Gators defeated Tennessee in Knoxville.
- It will be a stagger start for the seven games featuring all 14 league teams played Thursday, similar to what ESPN does during its NCAA Tournament coverage.
- Two games will start at 7 p.m. ET, one at 7:30 p.m., one at 8 p.m., two at 8:30 p.m. and the final one tipping off at 9 p.m. ET.
- All games will be available to watch in their entirety online via SECNetwork.com and the WatchESPN app.
- SEC Network will flip between games to give viewers the most exciting action of the night.
Twice the Fun- In this year's 16-game SEC schedule, the Gators are scheduled to play Auburn, Georgia and LSU twice.
- Florida defeated LSU, 53-45, on January 18 in Gainesville.
Familiar Final Foes- Each SEC team plays three league opponent twice during the regular season.
- Florida's final three opponents are a re-match against one of those teams
- The Gators lost at Georgia on February 21 after falling to the Bulldogs on January 14.
- The Gators defeated LSU on January 18 in Gainesville and will be looking to sweep the season series.
- Auburn downed the Gators on February 14 and Florida will be hosting the Tigers in both team's regular-season finale on February 28.
Last Time We Played- Florida snapped a two-game skid to LSU with a 53-45 win on January 18, 2016, in Gainesville.
- Led by freshman Eleanna Christinaki's 11 second-half points, Florida took control of the game in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Tigers, 20-7, and knocking down 58.3 percent of their shots in the final 10 minutes of action.
- Florida's 53 points, 19 field goals, 38 field goal attempts and 32 rebounds were all season lows. Nevertheless, they all came in winning effort.
Where we Stand- The Gators enter Thursday's set of league games with an 8-6 SEC record.
- In the SEC standings, Florida is ...
- in the big cluster - a five-way tie for FOURTH with Auburn, Georgia, Kentucky and Missouri.
- One game behind Mississippi State (9-5) for third place
- One game ahead of Tennessee (7-7) for ninth place.
- South Carolina (13-0) has already secured the regular-season title
- SEC women's basketball does NOT divide teams into East-West like other league sports - just Nos. 1-14.
14 Down, 2 to Go!- Florida has just TWO regular-season games remaining, including Thursday's outing at LSU
- Two of UF's final three games are on the road, as were four of the last six to end the regular season.
- A look at Florida's remaining stretch:
- Feb. 25 at LSU (3-11 - T-No. 12 in SEC)
- Feb. 28 host Auburn (8-6 - t-No. 4 in SEC)
Preseason Picks- Florida was voted by the league's coaches and media to finish 12th in the 14-team league.
- LSU was selected 10th by the coaches and tied for ninth by the media.
The Series vs. LSU- 39-Gane Series: UF trails 13-26
- UF Home: 8-12; Away: 4-13; Neutral: 1-1
- Five of the last six games in the series have been decided by single digits
- Eight of UF's 13 wins against the Tigers have come in Gainesville, most recently a 53-45 victory on Jan. 17, 2016
- Florida's last win against LSU in Baton Rouge was back on Feb. 2, 2012 (73-64). That win was the Gator's first in Baton Rouge since a 71-64 victory on Jan. 21, 1996.
Team Ties- UF redshirt-senior Viktorija Dimaite was prep teammates with LSU senior Anne Pedersen at The Rock School located in Gainesville, Fla.
- LSU Assistant Coach Charlene Thomas-Swinson was a Gator assistant coach from 2002-05 under then-head coach Carolyn Peck.
Florida's DEPTH at a Glance!On the 13-player roster...- 10 Gators average at least 12.4 minutes of playing time per game
- 9 Gators average at least 5.2 points per game
- 11 Gators have made at least one three-pointer (Fleming and Lorenzen have never attempted a three-pointer).
- 11 have started at least one game during their respective Gator careers (Dimaite and Young have not), while 10 of the 13 have started at least once this season.
- 9 DIFFERENT Gators have been UF's leading scorer in a game this season
- 7 DIFFERENT Gators have been UF's leading rebounder in a game this season
- 6 DIFFERENT Gators have scored 20 or more points in a game this season
Balance, too! Looking Back: Georgia def. Florida 74-63 (Sunday, February 21 (Athens, Ga.))- Georgia senior Tiaria Griffin scored a career-high 28 points with 22 coming in the deciding second half and the Lady Bulldogs defeated No. 22/25 Florida, 74-63, at Stegemen Coliseum on Sunday afternoon.
- Entering the game, Florida led at halftime 11 times and won all 11 of those games. On Sunday, however, Georgia had other plans as it ripped out of the locker room down, 32-27, and scored six straight points as part of a 9-1 run and took a 36-33 lead.
- Ronni Williams was the only Gator scoring in double-figures with 18 points. It was her team-leading 16th game in double digits this year; 48th time in her career.
- First time in 12 games this season that Florida lost after leading at halftime.
- Florida was outscored in the third quarter, 24-14, for just the eighth time this season.
- Florida shot 30.6 percent in the second half, while Georgia hit 55.6 percent that included 7-9 from beyond the arc, as the Dawgs outscored the Gators 47-31 in the second half.
What's Next?- Hard to believe it's here, but the Gators host Auburn in their regular-season finale on Sunday, February 28.
- Tip-off from the O'Connell Center is set for 2 p.m. ET.
- While the game will not be televised, SEC Network + will provide live online video available through the WatchESPN app and SECNetwork.com.
- Florida's five seniors will be honored in a postgame ceremony.
Gator Watch- Ronni Williams, a preseason Second Team All-SEC performer, is UF's leading scorer (11.1 ppg) and rebounder (7.8 ppg).
- In SEC games, Williams is averaging team-bests of 8.8 rebounds per game, while netting 11.7 points.
- Williams ranks No. 4 in the SEC for rebounding in league games
- She has recorded eight double-doubles this season (13 in career)
- Has 16 double-figure scoring games this year (most on team)
- SEC Player of Week (honored Feb. 9) for 20-point, 15-rebound game vs. No. 12 Texas A&M - first such honor of career
Rookie Review- Eleanna Christinaki is the only true freshman on the Gator squad and has made quite an impact!
- Has 14 double-figure scoring games - second-most on the team
- Is UF's assists leader
- Has been UF's leading game scorer 8 times
- Has been UF's leading rebounder twice
- Has been UF's assists leader in a team-best 15 games
- THREE TIMES named the SEC Freshman of the Week (Dec. 8-14, Jan. 5-11 and Jan. 25-Feb. 1)
STOP! THIEF! Wait - no, don't stop!- Junior newcomer Simone Westbrook is a huge reason why the Gators lead the SEC in steals (SEC games) this season.
- The crafty guard leads the team in thefts and ranks No. 4 in the league (all games) for steals (Tied-No. 9 in SEC games)!
- Westbrook has had at least one steal in every game except two (Arkansas State, Texas A&M).
- She's had a career-high six steals in four games this year.
- UF has posted 10-plus steals in all but five games this season.
- UF has at least 10 steals in 16 of the last 19 games (entering LSU game)
Game Day at a Glance- Who: Florida (20-7, 8-6 SEC) at LSU (9-18, 3-11 SEC)
- Where: Pete Maravich Assembly Center (13,215) * Baton Rouge, La.
- When: Thur., February 24, 2016 * 8:30 pm ET
Game Notes: Game Coverage & More!- Radio: LIVE on ESPN Gainesville (WRUF-AM850/FM95.3) and Jacksonville (WFXJ-AM930) with Adam Schick & Brittany Davis
- Internet Audio: LIVE thru FloridaGators.com (FREE)
- Television: SEC Network with Lyn Rollins & Garrett Walvoord whip-around coverage with game airing in its entirety on SECN+
- Internet Video: WatchESPN and SECNetwork.com
- Internet Scoring: (FREE) thru FloridaGators.com
Opening Tip- Sunday's game will be the second meeting this season between LSU and Florida, which won the 53-45 decision in Gainesville on January 17.
- Five of the last six games between the two teams have been decided by single digits.
- Florida is just 4-13 all-time playing LSU in Baton Rouge.
- 8 of UF's 13 wins in the 39-game series have been in Gainesville.
- Florida (8-6) enters Thursday's game in a five-way tie for fourth in the SEC standings with Auburn, Georgia, Kentucky and Missouri!
- Four of UF's last six games are on the road.
- UF leads the SEC (league games) in steals (league and overall games) and ranks No. 1 and No. 2 for scoring offense, overall and in SEC games only, respectively.
- 13 of UF's games have been decided by 10 points or less (10-3), including eight SEC games (6-2).
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