Johnson leads South Carolina against No. 14 Florida after 26-point showing

South Carolina Gamecocks (11-14, 2-10 SEC) at Florida Gators (19-6, 10-2 SEC)

Gainesville, Florida; Tuesday, 7 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: South Carolina plays No. 14 Florida after Meechie Johnson Jr. scored 26 points in South Carolina's 89-75 loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide.

The Gators are 11-1 in home games. Florida leads college basketball with 42.8 rebounds per game led by Rueben Chinyelu averaging 11.9.

The Gamecocks are 2-10 against SEC opponents. South Carolina averages 9.4 turnovers per game and is 5-10 when turning the ball over less than opponents.

Florida scores 86.5 points, 10.6 more per game than the 75.9 South Carolina allows. South Carolina has shot at a 44.1% rate from the field this season, 3.6 percentage points greater than the 40.5% shooting opponents of Florida have averaged.

The matchup Tuesday is the first meeting this season for the two teams in conference play.

Johnson averages 1.8 made 3-pointers per game for the Gamecocks, scoring 16.7 points while shooting 33.1% from beyond the arc. Kobe Knox is shooting 52.3% and averaging 12.9 points over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Gators: 9-1, averaging 89.0 points, 41.3 rebounds, 17.3 assists, 8.2 steals and 4.8 blocks per game while shooting 48.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 71.8 points per game.

Gamecocks: 1-9, averaging 70.9 points, 27.4 rebounds, 11.2 assists, 6.0 steals and 2.7 blocks per game while shooting 40.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 86.0 points.

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