On Senior Day, the Florida Gators hoped an emotional spark from senior forward Dan Werner coupled with the need for a marquee win would earn them a berth in the 2010 NCAA Tournament. Instead, the Gators (20-10, 9-6 SEC) fell 64-60 to the No. 13/19 Vanderbilt Commodores (23-6, 12-3 SEC) at home at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center in Gainesville, FL.

Werner played well for most of the game, contributing eight points on 3-of-6 shooting with five rebounds and two steals, but an accidental tip-in of a Commodores layup late in the second half may very well have cost Florida the game.

Redshirt junior transfer center Vernon Macklin was a rock for the Gators, scoring 21 points on 9-of-17 shooting with a game-high nine rebounds. However, freshman guard Kenny Boynton shot a paltry 2-for-15 from the field (1-of-6 from downtown), sophomore point guard Erving Walker only added five points on 1-of-9 shooting (0-for-3 from beyond the arc) and junior F Chandler Parsons – the team’s spark plug and most reliable player – barely contributed, only shooting the ball four times for three points.

Read the rest of OGGOA’s Florida vs. Vanderbilt game story after the break!
Continue Reading » Tourney chances slip away as UF falls to Vandy

Tags: A.J. Ogilvy, Chandler Parsons, Dan Werner, Erving Walker, John Jenkins, Kenny Boynton, O'Connell Center, Ray Shipman, Senior Day, Vanderbilt Commodores, Vernon Macklin

Florida Gators head coach Billy Donovan makes a case for a larger NCAA Tournament, as told to Sports Illustrated’s Andy Staples:

I’ve always liked the idea of an expanded NCAA tournament. A lot of coaches feel that way. Why? Most importantly, it should expand for the players.

I think it’s difficult for a player to go through college and never get a chance to play in an NCAA tournament. [...] If it’s supposed to be about these kids, and you’re saying that the NCAA tournament is the biggest sporting event in our country, why would you not want to have more kids participate.

It also should expand because everyone is being evaluated on what happens in March. Coaches are judged on whether their team makes the tournament and what their team does in the tournament, even though tournament performance can sometimes be misleading. [...]

When you’re dealing with a single-elimination situation, anything can happen. The average fan really doesn’t follow the season. The mainstream fan just says “March is the only thing that matters. Everything else doesn’t make a difference.” [...]

Anything can happen in a one-and-done. I even made a comment when we won the national championship in 2006. I said if we’d started the tournament over, we might not be standing up there. But that’s also what makes it so great. It’s like the lottery. You’ve got to be in it to win it. The more pieces you have, the more talent you have, the more chemistry you have, your odds of winning go up. [...]

What the country loves about the tournament are upsets and Cinderella. Immediately, when the brackets are done, the first thing that’s said is, “Who’s on upset alert?” They want to see upsets. [...]

Donovan’s argument for an expanded NCAA Tournament field is much more involved than the snippets we posted here on OGGOA. Read the entire thing over at SI.com.

Tags: Billy Donovan, NCAA Tournament

Covering the Florida Gators as close as I do every day, I sometimes find the need to vent regarding some of the coverage, news, opinions and general sentiments surrounding the program. In those instances, OGGOA presents CHOMPING On:

Redemption.

When it comes to sports, that word is one of the most highly sought after experiences while simultaneously being one of the most rarely achieved.

Men like Scott Norwood (Buffalo Bills, Super Bowl XXV), Bill Buckner (Boston Red Sox, 1986 World Series) and Chris Webber (Michigan Wolverines (1993 NCAA Championship) only dream about having the opportunity to right their wrongs, while few others like Alex Rodriguez (New York Yankees, 2009 MLB postseason) have been able to overcome obstacles and achieve some form of salvation.

Florida Gators senior forward Dan Werner, in the last home game of his career on Tuesday, has a chance to do just that. No, Werner is not going to score a career-high in points (20), and he is not likely to have the ball in his hands for a game-winning shot (again), but he can indeed turn his legacy around with one effort-filled performance.

Read the rest of CHOMPING On: Dan Werner’s swan song…after the jump!
Continue Reading » CHOMPING On: Dan Werner’s swan song

Tags: Billy Donovan, Dan Werner, National Championship, NCAA Tournament, NIT, SEC, Senior Day, Stephen C. O’Connell Center, Vanderbilt Commodores

Location: Stephen C. O’Connell Center – Gainesville, FL [Capacity: 12,000]
Time: 7:00 p.m. (EST)

TV: ESPN/ESPNHD
Online Video: ESPN360.com
Live Updates: OGGOA on Twitter

Odds: Florida -3, O/U (OFF)

KEEP AN EYE ON…
» The dynamic backcourt of…sophomore point guard Erving Walker and freshman guard Kenny Boynton who are averaging a combined 29.4 points per game in conference play this season.
» Speaking of Walker and Boynton…they have hit 64 treys in SEC action. After struggling from downtown, Boynton went 6-for-9 from beyond the arc Saturday.
» Junior forward Chandler Parsons…who has scored in double figures in seven straight games and has two double-doubles in those contests. He has helped dish the ball and run the point while averaging 17.7 points and 8.4 rebounds and shooting 56.3 percent.
» Double-digit scoring by Vernon Macklin…the Gators are 13-3 when the redshirt junior transfer center finishes in double figures.
» Junior F Alex Tyus…who is looking to rebound from his worst outing of the season. Tyus went 0-for-4 from the field for no points against Georgia. He is averaging 11.9 points and 6.9 rebounds this season.
» Senior F Dan Werner…who is playing his final game in the O’Dome after four years in the Orange and Blue. Werner, stuck in the middle of the worst season of his career, is averaging 4.7 points, 3.9 rebounds and two assists per game.
» Commodores’ senior G Jermaine Beal and sophomore F Jeffery Taylor…who are averaging 14.6 and 14.3 points per game, respectively, this season. Taylor also contributes 5.3 boards per game.

STREAKS:
» Vanderbilt leads the all-time series against Florida 62-56, though the Gators have won 15 of the last 19 meetings. Billy Donovan is 18-10 against the Commodores and 11-2 when facing them at home (eight straight).
» Florida has won nine of its last 12 conference games; the Gators hope to reach 10 league wins for the ninth time in the last 12 years and first time since 2007.
» UF is 6-4 in games decided by five points or less compared to 4-6 in such games last season; they are also 5-2 in the last seven contests that were that close.
» The Gators are 13-3 at home this year and can finish league play 7-1 at the O’Connell Center with a victory.
» Florida only got to the line 10 times Saturday after shooting at least 24 free throws in three-straight games. The Gators are 6-1 when getting to the line that many times.
» Parsons needs just 18 points to reach 1,000 for his career.
» Florida is surrendering 76.0 points per game in its nine losses, while holding opponents to 59.7 points per game in its 20 wins.
» Ranked second in the SEC, Vanderbilt is averaging 78.8 points per game and hitting 47.9 percent from the floor. The Commodores have won five of their last six games.

Tags: Alex Tyus, Billy Donovan, Chandler Parsons, Dan Werner, Erving Walker, Jeffery Taylor, Jermaine Beal, Kenny Boynton, Kevin Stallings, O'Connell Center, SEC, Vanderbilt Commodores, Vernon Macklin

1 » After a huge upset win over the No. 17 Tennessee Volunteers last Tuesday, the Florida Gators looked to be squarely in the 2010 NCAA Tournament. A few days later, the Gators found themselves back on the bubble falling to the Georgia Bulldogs on the road. ESPN’s Mark Schlabach looks at what happened and what the team needs to do from this point forward.

2 » Four former Florida golfers were at the top of the leaderboard going into the final round of the PGA‘s Waste Management Phoenix Open on Sunday. Mark Calcavecchia, Matt Every, Camilo Villegas and Chris Couch were all in the hunt for the tournament title, but each wound up falling short in the end. Couch finished T4 (-13), Villegas was T8 (-11) with Every and Calcavecchia shot a final-day 74 to fall to T43 (-7).

Four more BITS on Brantley, Brown, tennis and baseball…after the break!
Continue Reading » SIX BITS: NCAA bubble, PGA, Brantley, Brown

Tags: Allie Will, baseball, Camilo Villegas, Central Florida Knights, Chris Couch, Duke Blue Devils, Freshman of the Week, Georgia Bulldogs, golf, Hudson Randal, John Brantley, Lauren Embree, Linder Stadium, Mack Brown, Mark Calcavecchia, Marrit Boonstra, Matt Every, Mike Pouncey, NCAA Tournament, PGA, Ring Tennis Complex, SEC, Tennessee Volunteers, tennis, Trey Burton

1 » With former Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow changing his throwing motion, heading off to autograph signings, speaking at engagements and being filmed at all times for a documentary about his trip to the NFL, the question was bound to come up some time: Is he spreading himself too thin? “The circus that followed Tebow around at the Senior Bowl traveled with him to Tennessee as he prepares for pre-draft workouts,” DraftInsider.net is reporting. “It seems Tebow’s workouts have been interrupted daily for marketing meetings and appearances. One source told us Tebow has had to schedule his workouts around the plans of his marketing people.”

Five more BITS on Brandon Spikes, Major Wright, John Brantley, Kenny Boynton and Billy Donovan…after the break!
Continue Reading » SIX BITS: Tebow, Spikes, Wright, Boynton, Billy D

Tags: Billy Donovan, Brandon Spikes, Carl Moore, combine, Deonte Thompson, Draft, eye gouging, Frankie Hammond, John Brantley, Kenny Boynton, Major Wright, NFL, Omarius Hines, Tim Tebow

1 » In case you missed the game or just wish to see it again, check out Florida Gators junior forward Chandler Parsons with a ridiculous one-handed alley-oop dunk against the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday. Parsons’ play was so impressive that it was named by ESPN as one of the top plays of the month!

2 » Here is a video OGGOA forgot to post from Friday featuring New York Knicks forward/center David Lee driving for a game-winner against the Washington Wizards.

Tags: Chandler Parsons, David Lee, Georgia Bulldogs, New York Knicks

Down 15 at halftime, a win looked nearly impossible for the Florida Gators on the road against the Georgia Bulldogs at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens, GA. After a few major runs, Florida found themselves down only two with the ball in their hands and 13.3 seconds remaining on the clock. A botched final play devastated Gator Nation as the Gators (20-9, 9-5 SEC) fell 78-76 to the hometown Bulldogs (13-14, 5-9 SEC).

Florida started hot from beyond the arc, going 5-for-7 to start the game. However, they were unable to hit anything from inside the three-point line, with the team’s first field goal in nine attempts coming on a layup by junior forward Chandler Parsons at the 12:19 mark in the first half. Georgia exploded on a 14-0 run to go up 29-17 before the Gators responded with an 8-0 run of their own to bring the deficit down to four. It took a half-ending 14-2 run by the Bulldogs to put them up a game-high 45-30 going into the locker rooms.

Read the rest of OGGOA’s Florida at Georgia game story after the break!
Continue Reading » Florida fights back, falls to Georgia 78-76 on road

Tags: Alex Tyus, Billy Donovan, Chandler Parsons, Dan Werner, Erving Walker, Gator Nation, Georgia Bulldogs, Kenny Boynton, NCAA Tournament, Stegeman Coliseum, Trey Tompkins, Vernon Macklin