A lot of teams would prefer not to have a huge test in their second game of the season.
But that's just fine with No. 3 Ohio State and No. 7 Florida.
''I love playing a game like this,'' Buckeyes preseason All-American Jared Sullinger said about the Tuesday night showdown. ''They have a team that comes in and they like to transition and they like to shoot 3s, they like to score. And they're also physical down low. This really determines what type of a team we are. Are we strong enough to handle the transition 3s back to back and then come down and score? Or are we just going to crumble?''
They met in the second game for each last year, too. In that one, Ohio State's veteran presence on the perimeter showed it was a perfect match with Sullinger, a callow freshman who had 26 points and 10 rebounds, and the Buckeyes coasted in Gainesville, Fla., 93-75.
''Even though they beat us handily at our place last year, I still felt coming out of that game a lot of things, for us, got exposed that we had to address and get better at. It ultimately ended up being a good game for us,'' Gators coach Billy Donovan said.
Donovan and Matta might not seem like kindred spirits. But they're best friends, trading calls and getting together whenever possible - except for when they're opposing each other.
''He's one of the good guys,'' Matta said of the coach that beat his Buckeyes in the 2006 NCAA title game. ''We bounce things off of each other through the course of the season. We always laugh because we like to get together and talk basketball, but when we're playing each other we don't want to divulge any secrets.''
There aren't a whole lot of secrets to reveal. Both teams are defending conference champions. Both are also replacing three starters and have a talented group of freshmen.
Florida (1-0) returns guards Kenny Boynton and Erving Walker. Freshman Bradley Beal had 14 points in the opening-game win over Jackson State (who the Buckeyes host on Friday, also in the Global Sports Shootout). Erik Murphy, a 6-foot-10 forward, fills one spot on the frontline, with sophomore Patric Young - a 6-9 bull at 247 pounds - likely matching up with Sullinger underneath.
''We did not play defense well at all last year,'' Young said. ''I feel as if the defensive presence for this team is a lot better this year. We elevated our team to a really high level at the end of the year, defensively, and now I feel we're even better than that team.''
Ohio State (1-0), which beat Wright State on Friday night, 73-42, welcomes back the 6-9 Sullinger, who averaged 17 points and 9.4 rebounds a game last season while winning several national freshman of the year awards. Even though he technically was the sixth man last year, Aaron Craft is again a pesty presence on both offense and defense. William Buford is the lone senior on the Buckeyes' roster, with a chance to become the leading scorer in school history if he has a big year.
Last year's game against Florida was almost a coming-out party for Craft. In just his second collegiate game, he had seven points, five assists, three steals and just three turnovers in 29 minutes against the Gators' cloying pressure.
''He was solid. And we kind of helped him out, too, because we ran and jumped at him last year and he just made the next play,'' Boynton said. ''He'd pass it up to Buford and they'd sprint and it would just be a two-on-one with just Sullinger and Buford and they would score.''
In the past, even with his best teams, Matta seldom went more than seven or eight deep. But this year he has several options to go big or quick. Lenzelle Smith Jr. is a stopper of a defender and Deshaun Thomas helps out on the boards and pumps up shots from all angles. But talented freshmen Shannon Scott (son of ex-North Carolina and NBA star Charlie Scott), Sam Thompson and Amir Williams also figure to get minutes.
''You could poll our team and they know that we have a lot of work to do,'' Matta said. ''This is a very good barometer for us to kind of figure out where we are on Nov. 15.''
Craft said he was anxious to see just how good both teams are.
''I don't think you can go throughout the country and name five or six great teams,'' he said. ''There are a lot of teams that have a lot of potential and a lot of upside. But at this point of the season there aren't very many phenomenal teams that just stick out, you know? This is a good test for us.''
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