Georgia Bulldogs

No. 23 Florida goes for 7th straight vs. Georgia (Jan 14, 2017)

Published Jan. 13, 2017 8:44 p.m. ET

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AP

Florida is lacking in star power but has an abundance of solid players who are always ready to step up.

The formula is working well for the No. 23 Gators (13-3, 4-0 SEC), who seek their seventh consecutive victory on Saturday when they host Georgia (11-5, 3-1) in SEC play at Gainesville, Fla.

Only two Florida starters are scoring in double digits and the team-first system has fueled the club's success. The motto that any given player can step up on any given night actually rings true for the Gators.

A prime example is Tuesday's 80-67 road win at Alabama, when ninth-leading scorer Keith Stone was the hero for Florida.

The freshman forward scored 14 points and hit all three of his 3-point attempts while playing just 16 minutes. The splurge raised his season average to 4.6 points per game.

"It's all of us," Stone said. "We all can score, we all can play defense, and we all can go off on a given night."

It was a timely effort as leading scorer KeVaughn Allen was suffering through a subpar contest with six points on 2-of-7 shooting.

Allen, a sophomore guard, averages 14.2 points and made 18 3-pointers in a four-game span before struggling against the Crimson Tide.

Yet Gators coach Mike White was impressed with Allen.

"I'd like to credit KeVaughn. He got seven looks, I'm not sure any of them were open," White said. "He kept playing. He didn't have that body language, he didn't sulk. He kept defending at a high level. He took what the defense gave him.

"I know that he was probably pressing inside, feeling uncomfortable in that he's been in a good groove recently. It's a difficult thing to deal with."

Senior reserve guard Canyon Barry (11.9) and junior forward Devin Robinson (11.8) also average in double figures for Florida.

Georgia is fresh off an impressive 69-47 road victory at Mississippi and relies on the duo of junior forward Yante Maten and senior guard J.J. Frazier.

Maten averages 19.9 points and 8.6 rebounds and recorded his fifth double-double of the campaign with 15 points and 11 rebounds against the Rebels. Frazier has posted four 20-point outings while averaging 16.1 points but Bulldogs coach Mark Fox is waiting to see more.

That's because Frazier is shooting just 39.9 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from 3-point range. But he made three 3-pointers against Ole Miss while scoring 17 points and that effort has Fox optimistic that a turnaround lies ahead.

"He hasn't shot it well this year. I knew he would shoot it well (against Ole Miss)," Fox said. "He did some things, we did some work the last couple of days. I was really confident that if he got a good look at the basket that it was going back in."

Having Frazier shooting well will be an important component for Georgia as it averaged just 58 points while losing both of last season's meetings with Florida.

The Gators have won eight of the past 10 in the series but the expectation is that they will be pushed by the Bulldogs.

"It's going to be a dogfight with the 'Dawgs, of course," White said. "We've got to protect home court."

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