Utah St. @ Florida preview

Florida coach Mike White was so disgusted by his team's offense in the early part of the season that he overhauled it to allow for more structure and less freelancing. The Gators have responded with a much more consistent offensive attack over the last month that may have been best exemplified with their most recent performance, although their improvements figure to get tested Saturday when they face Utah State in the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic in Sunrise, Fla.

White told the local media last week that "we cut our losses and revamped on offense," and although it didn't bear much fruit with a poor shooting performance in a loss at No. 16 Butler on Dec. 7, Florida looked like a completely different team in Tuesday's 83-51 rout of Providence. "We played with more confidence … and made shots. That can be contagious and can also contribute to the overall energy level," White said after the Gators shot 51 percent from the field and 44 percent beyond the arc against the Friars. Florida will likely need that kind of efficiency against the Aggies, who rank 45th in Division I in scoring defense (61.9 points), sixth in defensive rebounds (30.7) and 10th in total rebounding (42.9). Utah State, which already has a win over another SEC program in LSU, picked up its fourth victory in five games Wednesday in a 76-74 overtime triumph against South Florida.

TV: 2:30 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1

ABOUT UTAH STATE (11-2): Senior guard Sam Merrill (17.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists), who is the seventh all-time leading scorer in school history (1,777 points), leads a group of four double-digit scorers for the Aggies and has reached double figures in 12 of 13 games this season while shooting 44.1 percent from 3-point range. Justin Bean (14.0 points, 11.6 rebounds) has grabbed a Division I-high 151 rebounds and is tied for third nationally with eight double-doubles. Fellow sophomore Neemias Queta (11.7, 6.0) missed Utah State's first 10 games due to injury but has quickly become an important part of the offense, averaging 14.5 points and 8.5 boards over the last two games after playing only 10 minutes in his season debut.

ABOUT FLORIDA (7-3): With Preseason SEC Player of the Year selection Kerry Blackshear Jr. (12.7 points, 7.9 rebounds) mired in foul trouble Tuesday, sophomore forward Keyontae Johnson (13.2, 6.4) produced one of his best games with the Gators, finishing with 19 points, 10 boards and four steals. Florida also got a combined 23 points off the bench from freshmen guards Ques Glover (5.2 points) and Tre Mann (6.4) - the latter of which tallied a career-high 13 points and showed some of the form that made him a McDonald's All-American. Noah Locke (8.9), who has buried multiple triples in seven consecutive contests, hit three 3-pointers despite playing only 14 minutes against Providence; of the sophomore guard's 83 field-goal attempts, 58 have come from long-range.

TIP-INS

1. Florida is 17-3 all-time at the Orange Bowl Classic, including 3-1 under White.

2. Bean has pulled down at least nine rebounds in every game this season after reaching that mark only once as a freshman.

3. Locke is 18-of-42 beyond the arc over his last seven outings after beginning the season 3-for-16.

PREDICTION: Florida 77, Utah State 72