Florida @ Texas Christian preview

Florida is going with youth and it's paying off as the Gators are 2-0 since revamping their starting lineup to add a third freshman (forward Keyontae Johnson) into a mix that already included guards Noah Locke and Andrew Nembhard. Florida's new look will get put to another test on Saturday when the Gators head to TCU, which is coming off a 65-61 triumph over Texas, for the sixth annual SEC/Big 12 Challenge.

The story for the Gators in their come-from-behind 81-72 triumph over Texas A&M on Tuesday was the combination of old and young as senior KeVaughn Allen (season-high 31 points) and Locke (career-high 27) totaled 58 points, with 15 of their 23 shots from downtown to set a school mark for 3-pointers by teammates. Florida came in as the only Division I team in the nation without a player scoring 20 points in a game and they finished with two. The Horned Frogs have shown the ability to light it up with senior point guard Alex Robinson as the field general with 7.9 assists per game -- second in the country -- and he needs just 16 more to surpass current grad assistant Corey Santee (575) to become the school's all-time career leader. "When I'm playing the game, I don't ever think about it," said Robinson, whose career high was 17 a year ago. "Honestly, I just know that I'm hovering around there. I don't know the exact numbers. I don't know what game I'll get it. ... It's going to be huge for me."
TV: Noon ET, ESPN2

ABOUT FLORIDA (11-7): With Allen and Locke firing against Texas A&M, the Gators fought back from 13 points down at the break to earn their largest comeback victory from a halftime deficit since 1993 and they came one 3-point shot shy of a single-game school record (19). That kind of explosion was uncharacteristic for a Gators team known for its stingy defense (SEC-best 61.8 ppg allowed), but the unit needed bailing out after allowing Texas A&M shooters, who came in ranked 11th in the SEC in field goal percentage, to hit for 55 percent from the floor and 63.3 from beyond the arc in the first half. Allen has scored in double digits in 11 of the last 12 games and Locke turned the trick in the last nine, the longest such streak by a Gators freshman since Bradley Beal reached 10 in 2011-12.

ABOUT TCU (14-4): Robinson (13.3 ppg) is one of five Horned Frogs scoring in double figures this season, with junior guard Desmond Bane (14.9) and sophomore forward Kouat Noi (14.2) topping a team averaging 78.2 points per game. Noi comes off his first career double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds in the win over Texas, their sixth victory in a row at home. TCU will not make it easy for the Gators to get their 3-point game going as the Horned Frogs rank seventh in the nation in 3-point percentage defense (27.7), a huge jump from last year when opposing shooters hit 37.6 percent of their treys.

TIP-INS

1. The Gators are 4-1 in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, while the Horned Frogs are 3-2 after losses to Auburn and Vanderbilt the last two seasons.

2. Under head coach Mike White, the Gators are 3-0 and have outscored their opponents by 23.3 points in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.

3. TCU is hitting 47.7 percent of its shots this season.

PREDICTION: Florida 73, TCU 65