Can Florida get its first conference win of the season against LSU?

After a 6-0 start to the season, Florida basketball has fallen to a 9-5 record overall, including two consecutive losses to ranked teams from the Southeastern Conference. The Gators will host the LSU Tigers on Wednesday in hopes of upsetting the No. 12 team in the country and stopping the skid.

The Tigers are expected to be without guard Xavier Pinson, who leads the team in assists and is LSU’s third-highest average scorer. Sophomore Mwani Wilkinson is listed in the pregame notes as the projected replacement starter, but LSU Tigers Wire editor Patrick Conn warned that Eric Gaines could get some playing time as well.

Florida is coming off back-to-back double-digit losses to No. 24 Alabama and No. 4 Auburn. The Gators had chances to get back into each of those games, but Mike White‘s squad couldn’t finish off either comeback in the second half.

Shooting continues to be hit or miss for the Gators. Florida is only shooting 31.1% from beyond the arc against SEC opponents with a field goal percentage of .418 over that time. Colin Castleton has been the stand-out among the team across the last two games, shooting over 55% and averaging over 20 points per game.

Florida hasn’t fared well so far in conference play and LSU only has one loss so far this season, but injuries could make this game more competitive than expected. Three straight Quadrant 1 losses could wind up hurting Florida when it comes time for tournament placement, but a win on Wednesday would finally get the Gators back some of the respect that was lost over the last month.

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Tip-off is at 7 p.m EST at the O’Connell Center.

Projected Starting Lineups:

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