Florida Gators vs. LSU: Preview, Info, Where to Watch and More
Photo: Kyle Lofton; Credit: Zach Goodall
College basketball's regular-season finale has finally arrived.
After a tumultuous 2022-23 season that brought peaks and troughs in Todd Golden's first year, the Gators (15-15; 8-9 SEC) will look to finish strong against the worst the SEC had to offer this season. Fellow first-year head coach Matt McMahon leads a struggling LSU squad (13-17; 2-15 SEC) into Gainesville for the penultimate matchup with Florida this year.
The Gators walked away victorious the first time. They'll look to relive that outcome to end the year on a high after snapping a three-game losing skid against Georgia in the Senior Night affair inside the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.
You can find everything you need to know about the matchup below.
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Florida Gators vs. LSU Tigers
Where: Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center, Gainesville, Fla.
When: Saturday, March 4 at 6 p.m. EST
Watch: SECN
Radio: Gator Sports Network from LEARFIELD / SiriusXM 133/191 / SXM App 962
Odds: Florida is an eight-point favorite over LSU, according to the Sports Illustrated Sportsbook. The over/under is set at 141.5 points.
Series history: The Gators are 51-66 all-time against LSU, including a 31-22 record at home. In the last meeting between the two programs, Florida endured a rough offensive start to outlast the Tigers in a scoring struggle, 67-56, earlier this season.
Important stories
- Gators guard Trey Bonham named to SEC Community Service Team
- Gators have patiently waited for Will Richard's scoring outburst
- Will Richard's explosive scoring outing propels Florida to win at Georgia
- Todd Golden on recruiting efforts: "I think it's going great"
- Vanderbilt completed season sweep of Florida Gators, 88-72
- Gators looking to avoid offensive predictability without Colin Castleton
- Aleks Szymczyk's work ethic can pay dividends for shorthanded UF frontcourt
- Florida falls short of upset victory over Kentucky, 82-74
- How can Florida basketball prepare for the future to close 2022-23?
- Gators early second-half struggles result in 84-65 loss at Arkansas
- Todd Golden discusses Colin Castleton's injury, impact on Gators
- Riley Kugel presented with opportunity to be Gators' No. 1 offensive weapon
- How does Florida move forward without Castleton?
- Colin Castleton suffers broken hand vs. Ole Miss
- Gators produce 15-point win over Ole Miss to snap three-game skid
- UF suffers backbreaking loss to Vanderbilt, 88-80
- Todd Golden sets tournament-level expectations for year-one campaign
- Gators basketball 2022-23 player profile: Center Colin Castleton
- Profile: Center Jason Jitoboh
- Profile: Center Aleks Szymczyk
- Profile: Forward CJ Felder
- Profile: Forward Alex Fudge
- Profile: Wing Riley Kugel
- Profile: Wing Kowacie Reeves Jr.
- Profile: Wing Will Richard
- Profile: Wing Niels Lane
- Profile: Guard Myreon Jones
- Profile: Guard Denzel Aberdeen
- Profile: Guard Trey Bonham
- Profile: Guard Kyle Lofton
- Gators' complete 2022-23 schedule
The rundown
The final regular season contest of the year presents an opportunity for Florida to finish above .500 on the season and right at that mark in the conference in Golden and Co.'s first campaign.
While the year has been derailed from their initial tournament aspirations, there are still ways to build the foundation heading into a crucial offseason.
A win over LSU helps do just that.
"I think it matters in the sense that it's a first-year program," Golden said when asked about the importance of finishing at 9-9 in the SEC. "To go .500 in this league — I think it's the second-best league in America — would be a great accomplishment, especially with the way Colin's injury took place.
"So if we're able to get back on the horse [last] Tuesday and be able to win [Saturday], that would be a great end to the regular season considering all the variables we've dealt. So that's a goal of ours, being able to go into the conference tournament .500. It would be a great accomplishment if we can go in there and win tomorrow."
To reign victorious, the Gators will lean on the scoring prowess of Riley Kugel and Will Richard, who lifted the unit over Georgia in Athens.
It was arguably the most sustained success offensively Florida's seen at any point this season. Fifth-year senior guard Myreon Jones aided the effort with a double-double.
The trio's high production level will need to carry over into Saturday, especially if the defense regresses to the mean despite flashing its early-season form on Tuesday.
Since losing Colin Castleton, the Gators have lapses on the defensive end to allow easy looks to opponents at all three levels. Namely, the once-elite two-point defense took a hard shot to result in the three-straight losses following the big man hitting the shelf.
The Gators started to rekindle that momentum against Georgia, forcing the Dawgs to shoot just 33% from the field. They'll look to do the same against LSU.
Stopping Tigers forward KJ Williams is the key to that endeavor.
"We guarded them differently than we guard most teams," Golden said in reflection of their defense against him in the first meeting. "We were switching one through five in that game, and I think that was something that helped us. I think we're going to have to be mindful of how we can take away his 3-point attempts.
He's a really good player from everywhere, can operate on the block, mid-post and three, but the three is where he really separates. You look at that Vanderbilt game when they won about a week-and-a-half ago, he had like 35 points in that game and he was really kind of getting whatever he wanted, especially from the perimeter. We'll have to be mindful of that, taking away their threes tomorrow. Executing different coverages will be important, but we'll run different guys and different looks at them."
Florida will look to send the likes of Colin Castleton, Kyle Lofton, Myreon Jones, Jason Jitoboh and CJ Felder out on a high note.
Being an eight-point favorite over the Tigers on the home hardwood, the Gators are highly regarded by oddsmakers to make that wish a reality with a resounding win to finish league play.
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