Location: Cintas Center – Cincinnati, OH [Capacity: 10,250]
Time: 4:00 p.m. (ET)

TV: ESPN2
Online Audio: Yahoo!
Live Updates: @OnlyGators

Odds: Xavier -1.5; O/U 126.5

HISTORY and STREAKS

» Xavier leads the all-time series against Florida 2-0. The Musketeers defeated the Gators 76-64 in Gainseville, FL, last season.
» Florida is only 14-17 all-time against A-10 opponents under Donovan and have lost three straight including two last season.
» The Gators defense has signifigantly improved over the last seven games, holding opponents to just 53.7 points per contest and allowing only one team to score 60. Simultaneously, Florida has failed to score 70 points once in the same seven games.
» Florida has out-rebounded 11 of 12 opponents this season – including in its three defeats – and is doing so by a +7.8 rebound per game advantage.
» The Gators are 80-22 under Donovan in the month of December.
» Florida bests Xavier in three of four major statistical categories nationally including rebounds per game 37.6-35.7 (97th-177th), assists per game 13.8-13.3 (138th-168th) and field goal percentage .467-.440 (57th-168th). However, the Musketeers score more points per game than the Gators 70.8-69.1 (160th-186th).

KEEP AN EYE ON…

» Sophomore guard Kenny Boynton and junior point guard Erving Walker…a backcourt duo that has combined to average 25.9 points per game and has accounted for 46 of their team’s 63 three-pointers this season.
» Redshirt senior center Vernon Macklin…who is shooting a team-high 58.6 percent this season with most of his buckets coming inside the paint.
» Senior F Chandler Parsons…who is averaging 9.7 points and 5.9 rebounds per game and is an integral part to the Gators’ success.
» Xavier G Tu Holloway…who leads his team with 20.8 points, 5.5 assists and 1.6 steals per game in an average of 39 minutes.
» Musketeers F Jamel McLean..who is his team’s biggest presence inside and averages 9.5 rebounds and almost a block per game while contributing 10.5 points.

Tags: Atlantic 10, Billy Donovan, Chandler Parsons, Chris Mack, Cintas Center, Erving Walker, Jamel McLean, Kenny Boynton, Tu Holloway, Vernon Macklin, Xavier Musketeers

Coming off of a tough conference loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks on Wednesday, the Florida Gators (17-8) hoped to keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive with a win in a rare late season out-of-conference game against the Xavier Musketeers (17-7). While the Gators did their best to fend off the Musketeers throughout the game, the overwhelming size and speed of their opponent coupled with their own inconsistency would make their efforts moot in the end Saturday night in Gainesville, FL, at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.

Read the complete and detailed OGGOA game story after the jump!
Continue Reading » Florida fights off, eventually falls to Xavier 76-64

Tags: Alex Tyus, Atlantic 10, Billy Donovan, Erving Walker, Jamel McLean, Jason Love, Jordan Crawford, Kenny Boynton, NCAA Tournament, O'Connell Center, Vernon Macklin, Xavier Musketeers

Event: Orange Bowl Basketball Classic
Location: BankAtlantic Center – Sunrise, FL [Capacity: 20,737]
Time: 6:30 p.m. (EST)

TV: Sun Sports
Online: GatorVision
Sirius: 211; XM: 199

Odds: Florida -6.5, O/U 129

KEEP AN EYE ON…
- Five-star freshman guard Kenny Boynton…has 22 assists with just one turnover in the last three games.
- Senior F Chandler Parsons…who comes off the bench as Florida’s sixth man and is averaging 12.0 points per game and 6.1 rebounds per game (team-high). Playing a career-high in minutes, Parsons is UF’s first double-figures scorer off the bench since point guard Anthony Roberson in 2002-03.
- Richmond PG Kevin Anderson…who was named Preseason All-Atlantic 10 first-team and leads his team with 16.8 points per game.

STREAKS:
- Florida is 7-1 when participating in the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic, with their last loss coming to the UAB Blazers in 1997. The Gators are on a 3-0 streak since returning to the game in 2006.
- The Gators are 1-1 all-time against the Spiders, winning the last meeting 66-52 on March, 19, 1992.
- Florida is 10-11 all-time against the Atlantic 10, 4-2 under Donovan.
- The Gators have shot over 50 percent from beyond the arc in three of their last four games, hitting 12 three-pointers in each of its last two outings.
- Florida leads the nation in three-point field goal defense at 21.5 percent. The team also leads the SEC in points per game allowed.
- Since 2005, the Gators are 24-4 in the month of December.
- In the last six games, Florida has recovered 53 total steals, reaching double-digits in steals three times in that stretch.

Read OGGOA’s Florida Gators vs. Richmond Spiders preview after the jump!
Continue Reading » OBBC: No. 13 Florida Gators vs. Richmond Spiders

Tags: Anthony Roberson, Atlantic 10, BankAtlantic Center, Billy Donovan, Chandler Parsons, Chris Mooney, Kenny Boynton, Kevin Anderson, Orange Bowl Basketball Classic, Ray Shipman, Richmond Spiders, SEC