South Carolina Gamecocks basketball SEC play opener Florida scouting getting to know opponent

It's a tough first test against a Gamecock team with a lot of questions after a loss to Stetson, and here's a look at how South Carolina matches up with the Gators.

The skinny: Florida, which was predicted to win the SEC by a lot of writers before the season started but they were wildly inconsistent through their non-conference season. They finished the pre-conference season with four losses to Florida State, Connecticut, Butler and Utah State. They did notch wins over Xavier, Providence and Miami as well.

The Gators (9-4, 1-0 SEC) got off to a good start in SEC play Saturday, coming back to beat Alabama in double overtime 104-98.

Florida is one of the slowest teams in the country, averaging just 66.8 possessions per game with the national average at 69.8 possessions. The Gators' 17.6 average seconds per possession is also 214th-fastest in the country. They're also a very young team with an average experience level of less than a year.

The Gators usually stick to a strict rotation with the starters playing over 75 percent of available minutes, which means the same five guys play the majority of the team's minutes.

While they haven't put it all together yet, Florida has the talent to be a top 25 team and contend for a SEC title.

KenPom prediction: The Gamecocks (8-5) are given a 34 percent chance to win by KenPom with the site predicting a 70-66 Gators win in Columbia.

What they do well: Florida, statistically, is one of the better teams in the country. They're top 40 in offensive (107.9) and defensive (90.5) efficiency. They don't turn the ball over very often with a turnover rate of just 17.3 (average nationally is 19.6) and they're No. 77 in the country in offensive rebound rate as well.

Also see: More on Burch, recruiting thoughts

They do a good job forcing bad shots, ranking in the top 50 in opponent field goal percentage. They're only allowing just 62.6 points per game.

Their offense seems to flow through the paint with 52.2 percent of their points coming from inside the two-point line. They're efficient inside with a low block percentage and it leads to free throw opportunities as well. The Gators aren't a great free throw shooting team but are converting at a 71.3 percent clip.

Offensively the Gators don't get their shots blocked a lot and don't turn the ball over, which usually leads to success.

What they don't do well: For as good as the Gators are at shooting inside and at the free throw line, they don't shoot the three-ball as well as most teams. Right now, they're shooting just 31.5 percent from three, which is 234th in the country.

Defensively, they're fouling a lot and giving opponents a lot of opportunities at the line with their opponents averaging almost 17 attempts at the line per game. Their 9.9 non-steal turnover percentage defensively means they're not good at forcing turnovers off of steals.

They, in general, don't force many turnovers, which means the Gamecocks will likely be able to execute offense and stay relatively turnover-free.

Also see: The good and the bad from non-conference play

Player to watch: Kerry Blackshear, F

Blackshear, the SEC's preseason player of the year, has somewhat lived up to the billing through the team's first 13 games. The Virginia Tech graduate transfer is leading the team with 14.2 points per game and is just 1.6 rebounds per game away from averaging a double-double.

He's averaging 1.8 assists per game, but his drawback is how often he fouls (3.2 per game). He does have the 62nd overall offensive rating nationally and is 13th in fouls drawn per 40 minutes, which could pose a problem for guys like Maik Kotsar and Justin Minaya.

Blackshear is shooting 54.4 percent from the field and also hitting 31.3 percent of his three pointers this year as well.

He plays primarily at the center position, which means it'll be up to Kotsar to try and contain him.