Florida basketball: The key to the Kentucky game is down in the paint
By Will Thomas
Florida basketball hits the road tomorrow after a big win against Tennessee to take on the surging Kentucky Wildcats.
The Wildcats, despite their struggles early on in the season, pose a difficult matchup for the Gators. They have great guard play and score the ball efficiently, putting up 75.3 points per game, four more than the Gators.
But the biggest thing to watch for tomorrow night is who controls the paint.
Kentucky’s best player, as everybody knows by now, is big man Oscar Tshiebwe. The 6′-9” center out of the Congo has become one of the most dominant players in the nation.
He’s averaging 16.5 points per game and 13.6 rebounds per game, which is the best in the country. He’s also tied for fourth in the nation with 13 double-doubles in just 20 games played.
He’s also making 58.1% of his shots, making him as consistent as he is talented.
If the Gators want to pull the upset in Rupp, Colin Castleton is going to have to not just match the performance of Tshiebwe, but outplay him entirely.
Castleton does has a two-inch height advantage over Oscar, but Tshiebwe’s 20 pounds over Colin helps to offset the height.
On the season, Castleton is averaging 15.1 points per game, 7.7 rebounds per game, and making 49.6% of his shots.
He only has four double-doubles in 22 games compared to Oscar’s 13 in 20.
What Castleton does have the advantage of Tshiebwe in is on the defensive side of the court. Oscar is averaging just 1.1 blocks per game, while Colin is at 2.9.
Castleton, even if he isn’t able to score as much as usual, is able to get a hand on Oscar’s shots and disrupt his offense, it can change the whole game.
Frustrating Tshiebwe can lead to him taking bad shots, committing sloppy fouls, and putting Kentucky behind in a game that they think they should win.
To put it simply, if Tshiebwe out plays Castleton for 40 minutes, the Gators will lose. And it won’t be pretty.
If the Castleton we saw in the second half of the Tennessee game shows up, however, the fans in Rupp may get right back to booing their team out of their own building.
Keep up with Florida basketball at Hail Florida Hail.