For weeks the Gators have been endorsing their increased physicality.
Tonight they’ll face their first real test.
After three games of feasting on inferior competition, Florida’s big men will be challenged when they square off against No. 4 Ohio State at 6 in the O’Connell Center.
“They’re big, they have a lot of size, and they’re really athletic,” senior Alex Tyus said. “It’s definitely going to be a challenge for us.”
Tyus and seniors Vernon Macklin and Chandler Parsons comprise a frontcourt that led No. 9 UF to a 36-22 rebounding edge in its season opener against UNC-Wilmington, but they will face significantly stronger competition from OSU.
The average Seahawks starter was 6-foot-5, 195 pounds, while the Buckeyes starters stand at an average of 6-foot-6, 233 pounds.
Ohio State put that advantage on display in its opening game, outrebounding North Carolina A&T by an astounding 55-17 margin on its way to a 102-61 victory.
“I think (Ohio State) has the potential to be one of the best rebounding teams in the country,” said coach Billy Donovan, whose average starter is 6-foot-3 and 206 pounds. “They obviously have a lot of length and size.”
A great deal of that rebounding figures to come from freshman Jared Sullinger, a highly-touted recruit who was the consensus No. 1 center in his class.
The 6-foot-9, 280-pound monster is a quality passer and has a strong face-up game to compliment his dominant post presence.
“He has really good moves and he keeps his composure,” Tyus said of Sullinger. “He doesn’t play like a freshman.”
One way the Gators hope to counter the Buckeyes’ bulk is by playing an up-tempo style and coming at them with a full-court press.
Florida believes that it can tire out the Ohio State starters if it can keep them out of their normal offensive sets and force them to run the floor.
“With their size, we’d rather take our chances up there than waiting for them to come up in the half court,” junior Erving Walker said. “It’s our style versus their style, and we want our style to win out.”
The Gators are also hoping that the press will be able to generate turnovers against an Ohio State team that usually operates without a traditional point guard.
With the loss of Evan Turner to the NBA, the Buckeyes have had to hand the role of primary ball-handler over to junior William Buford, who has played mostly off the ball in his OSU career.
“I think he’s really a two-guard,” sophomore Kenny Boynton said. “We definitely have to put pressure on him and try to turn him over.”
The only true point guard on the roster is freshman Aaron Craft, who recorded nine assists in 22 minutes during OSU’s opener.
UF will be looking to rattle Craft and the rest of Ohio State’s top-ranked recruiting class with relentless pressure and deafening crowd noise.
“For their freshman this will be their first time playing in a big game,” Boynton said. “I think we definitely could get to them with our crowd and our intensity.”
