Virginia (5-2, ACC) at Florida (8-0, SEC)

7:15pm, ESPN2

After going 2-0 last week in a pair of home games, the competition level is about to ratchet up in a big way for the Hoos. Now 5-2 on the season, UVa travels to Gainesville for an ACC/SEC Challenge game tonight against #13 Florida (7:15pm, ESPN2).

The Gators enter the game undefeated, riding the nation’s longest winning streak. Led by one of the nation’s top offenses, the Gators have played a pretty challenging schedule, with just one sub-300 Kenpom opponent in their first eight games. Florida has three wins over top-100 teams, beating Florida State, Wake Forest and Wichita State all by double digits.

UVa and Florida are getting together for the second-consecutive year, with the Hoos looking to get the better of the Gators once again. Last year, UVa and Florida squared off in Charlotte in the first week of the season. UVa trailed 12-4 early, but rallied and led by as many as 11 on their way to a 73-70 win at the Spectrum Center. Florida played the game without the services of star guard Zyon Pullin. Both the Hoos and Gators ended up making the NCAA Tournament, and neither won a game; Florida dropped a heartbreaker to Colorado, 102-100, in the first round.

Florida enters the game ranked #8 in Kenpom, UVa’s second top-10 opponent this year (Tennessee is #2). We mentioned Florida’s offense, and Todd Golden has the Gators humming along on that end of the floor early in the season. Averaging 86.5 points per game, the Gators are #9 nationally in offensive efficiency. Florida dominates the offensive glass, ranking 6th nationally in offensive rebound rate, and are shooting 57.9 percent on two-point field goals. Florida doesn’t turn the ball over much, and have a 54.1 percent effective field goal rate. It’s not necessarily a glaring weakness, but Florida is shooting just 32.9 percent from three, which is just average, nationally.

Defensively, Florida has been almost as good as they are on offense, ranking 22nd nationally in efficiency. They’re holding opponents to a 42.9 percent effective field goal rate, and just 41.6 percent on two-point attempts, 12th best in the nation. Florida is also 34th in block rate, and 84th in steal rate. The Gators don’t have any glaring weaknesses on that end of the floor, and opponents averaging 18.1 seconds per possession, among the slowest rates nationally, so Florida is used to defending for most of the shot clock.

Walter Clayton, Guard

Florida’s top scorer, the former Iona guard and top football recruit is averaging 17.4 points and 3.6 assists per contest. Clayton is coming off of a 19-point effort against Wichita State on Friday, and went over 20 points in wins over Wake (21), Florida State (25) and USF (29). Clayton scored 12 points and had five assists in 34 minutes against the Hoos last year.

Alijah Martin, Guard

Florida’s second-leading scorer is an experienced guard who has won a ton of games in his collegiate career. Helping lead FAU to the Final Four two years ago, Alijah Martin is closing out his collegiate career in Gainesville. Martin is averaging 15.1 points per game and 5.9 rebounds per contest, both career highs, after a successful four-year run with Dusty May and the Owls.

Alex Condon, Forward

A 6-foot-11 sophomore from Washington, Condon will be matched up with fellow Pacific Northwest product Blake Buchanan tonight. Condon has come into his own in his second season with Florida, leading the Gators’ forwards in scoring at 12.3 points per game. Condon is shooting 41.7 percent from three this year, and adding 6.9 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. Condon failed to score in 11 minutes of action against UVa last year, while Buchanan went off for a team-high 18 points in the win.

UVa snuck out of Charlotte with a win over the Gators last year, but sweeping this suddenly annual series is going to take a much larger lift. Florida is every bit as good as any team UVa has played, and after watching the Cavaliers get dusted by Tennessee and St. John’s in the Bahamas, this game has the potential to be more of the same. This is UVa’s first true road test though, so it will be interesting to see how the team plays in a tougher environment than what they’ve seen thus far.

Perhaps UVa can play like they did for stretches against Villanova and pull off a major upset here, but we’ll have to see it to believe it. Florida is an experienced, well-coached team that looks primed to make a run at the SEC title, and they’re playing at home. We have to take them to win, and probably by a comfortable margin.