Duke earned two tough come from behind victories against Portland State and Texas and now have a chance to come away the champions of the Motion Bracket in the PK-80 Invitational Tournament against Florida. The 7th ranked Gators come in riding a 5-0 start and having just knocked off the 17th ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs.
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The Gators are coached by Mike White who is in his 3rd season and has orchestrated a huge turnaround for the Gator program. In two seasons White has led UF to the NCAA Tournament, earning SEC Coach of the Year, USBWA and NABC District Coach of the Year. He was also a semifinalist for Naismith Coach of the Year.
Florida boasts 4 players averaging in double figures and are paced by Jalen Hudson who is averaging 21.4 per game and shooting 50% from 3-point range. Hudson played 2 seasons at Virginia Tech before transferring to the Gators. Chris Chiozza is the on-the-floor leader for the Gators, he averages 13.2 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists per game. Chiozza was 2 rebounds shy of a triple double in their last outing against a ranked Gonzaga team that went to double overtime. Florida also gets double figure efforts from Egor Koulechov and KeVaughn Allen who average 18 and 12.8 respectively.
Florida is 5th in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage. They don't shoot as many attempts as Duke but are much more efficient than the Blue Devils. Duke being the less efficient team will need to key in on their advantage on the boards, Duke is second in the nation in offensive rebounding and 7th in rebounding overall. Duke's defense will need to show up if Duke is to win this game, Florida leads the nation in scoring and is probably the most offensively talented team that Duke has faced so far this year. If Duke repeats the defensive breakdowns it has in the first two rounds of the Phil Knight invitational Florida will emerge the winner of this game.
Shot selection, efficiency on offense and defense will be key for the Devils if they are to defeat the Gators. Transition defense, which was nil against Texas will be important as well. Duke cannot show how young they are against a very old Florida team who start 1 seniors, a grad transfer, 2 juniors and a sophomore.
