Shooting guard: Grayson Allen vs. KeVaughn Allen
The battle at the two spot should be a physical one. Grayson Allen has so far arguably the best single-game performance in the early season with his career-high 37 against Michigan State in the Champions Classic.
There were a number of reasons why he struggled last season, with part of it being that he played the point rather than off the ball. With Duval around, he gets to go back to his natural spot on the court, and the results have been very positive. He’s averaged 16.8 ppg, while still taking the lessons learned from being the main distributor a year ago, dishing out 4.2 apg.
His top defender for this game will be 6’3 junior KeVaughn Allen, who’s just been the model of consistency for Florida the past couple of seasons. Including this season, he’s been averaging double-digit scoring, all while being a quality defender responsibility for taking out the best player on the opposing team.
The Allen of Florida was top ten in the SEC in steals and is shooting 90% from the field so far after going 11/11 on the free throw line in the previous game.
Both Allens like to get their opponent in foul trouble, so the foul situation will be something to look for. If KeVaughn can slow down Grayson, the Gators will have an edge in the box score, but that’ll be a difficult task.
Edge: Allen, Grayson