The Florida Gators traveled to Lexington, KY, with an outside shot at an upset victory over the No. 3 Kentucky Wildcats and possibly a guaranteed spot in the 2010 NCAA Tournament. Though Florida (20-11, 9-7 SEC) was unable to pull out the win, the team showed resilience and a solid all-around effort while falling 74-66 to Kentucky (29-2, 14-2 SEC) at Rupp Arena.

Three Gators – junior forward Alex Tyus (12 points) and freshmen F Erik Murphy (11) and guard Kenny Boynton (11) – scored in double figures, but Florida’s defense was unable to contain the Wildcats. Five Kentucky players posted double-digit points as guards Eric Bledsoe and Darius Miller led the way with 14 points, F Patrick Patterson added 13, G John Wall contributed 11 and G Darnell Dodson posted 10.

Read the rest of OGGOA’s Florida at No. 3 Kentucky game story after the jump!
Continue Reading » Florida puts up a fight, falls to No. 3 Kentucky

Tags: Alex Tyus, Billy Donovan, Chandler Parsons, Darius Miller, Darnell Dodson, DeMarcus Cousins, Eric Bledsoe, Erik Murphy, Erving Walker, John Wall, Kenny Boynton, Kentucky Wildcats, NCAA Tournament, Patrick Patterson, Ray Shipman, Rupp Arena, Senior Day, Vernon Macklin

Location: Rupp Arena – Lexington, KY [Capacity: 23,500]
Time: 12:00 p.m. (EST)

TV: CBS/CBSHD
Online Video: CBSSports.com
Live Updates: OGGOA on Twitter

Odds: TBD

KEEP AN EYE ON…
» Junior forward Chandler Parsons…who has scored in double figures in seven of his last eight games and has two double-doubles in those contests. He has also helped run the point while averaging 15.9 points and 7.6 rebounds and shooting 55.4 percent.
» Double-digit scoring by Vernon Macklin…the Gators are 13-4 when the redshirt junior transfer center finishes in double figures. Macklin has scored in double figures in five of the last six games, averaging 14.2 points and 7.7 boards in that span.
» The backcourt combo of sophomore point guard Erving Walker and freshman guard Kenny Boynton…who are averaging a combined 28.2 points per game in conference play this season. The duo has hit 65 treys in SEC action.
» Kentucky’s John Wall…who leads the SEC in assts and is tops on his team in points with an average of 17.0 per game.
» The Wildcats’ DeMarcus Cousins…who compliments Wall perfectly with averages of 15.9 points per game and 10.1 rebounds per game.

STREAKS:
» Kentucky leads the all-time series against Florida 87-32, though the Gators have won eight of the last 11 meetings. Billy Donovan is 12-17 against the Wildcats and only 3-10 when facing them at Rupp Arena.
» Florida has won nine of its last 13 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 5-3 on the road and can reach six road wins for the first time since 2005-06.
» Parsons needs just 15 points to reach 1,000 for his career.
» The Gators are 13-3 in 2009-10 when out-rebounding their opponents.
» Kentucky has clinched the SEC regular season crown with a 13-2 conference record. They are undefeated at home, 17-0.
» The Wildcats are first in the SEC in scoring offense (79.9 points per game) and fourth in the nation in rebounds (41.9 board per game).

Tags: Billy Donovan, Chandler Parsons, DeMarcus Cousins, Erving Walker, John Calipari, John Wall, Kenny Boynton, Kentucky Wildcats, SEC, Vernon Macklin

Closing out the game on a 17-5 run after being tied at 72 late in the second half, the No. 2 Kentucky Wildcats (17-0) stormed the Stephen C. O’Connell Center, taking down the Florida Gators (11-5) 89-77 in Gainesville, FL.

Kentucky freshman guard Eric Bledsoe scored a game-high 25 points on 10-13 shooting while going 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. He added seven rebounds and five assists as fellow freshman G John Wall accounted for 19 points and six dishes. Junior forward Patrick Patterson dominated the paint with 15 points and seven rebounds, sharing the block with freshman F DeMarcus Cousins (13 points, five boards) and freshman F Daniel Orton, who controlled the post with nine rebounds and four blocks.

Florida was ice cold from downtown in the first half, though junior F Alex Tyus did make two treys (the first and second of his career) before halftime; he finished with 17 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Sophomore G Erving Walker was 4-for-9 from three with four assists, scoring the majority of his 20 points in the second half. Freshman G Kenny Boynton finished with 12 points on 5-of-17 shooting while senior F Dan Werner was an abysmal 0-4 from beyond the arc with six rebounds.

A seven-point halftime deficit turned into a seemingly insurmountable 15-point hole for the Gators, but a red-hot Walker combined with a ferocious Tyus knotted the game at 72 with five minutes left in the game. After a alley-oop completed by Wall, Florida unraveled and allowed the Wildcats to pick them apart in front of the Rowdy Reptiles.

Now 0-2 in Southeastern Conference play, the Gators hope to right some wrongs on Saturday when they host the LSU Tigers at 8 p.m. The game will air live on FSN.

Tags: Alex Tyus, Dan Werner, Daniel Orton, DeMarcus Cousins, Eric Bledsoe, Erving Walker, John Wall, Kenny Boynton, Kentucky Wildcats, O'Connell Center, Patrick Patterson, Rowdy Reptiles, SEC

Location: Stephen C. O’Connell Center – Gainesville, FL [Capacity: 12,000]
Time: 9:00 p.m. (EST)

TV: ESPN
Online: ESPN360.com
Sirius 217 – XM: 199

Odds: Kentucky -3.5, O/U 142

KEEP AN EYE ON…
- Players scoring in double-figures…five Gators starters and one bench player are all averaging double-digit points. Freshman guard Kenny Boynton averages 14.6 ppg while junior forwards Alex Tyus and Chandler Parsons, redshrit junior center Vernon Macklin and sophomore point guard Erving Walker all average 11.7-10.0 ppg.
- Kentucky’s double-digit scorers…three average more than 15 points per game, while the team is scoring 82.4 points per game and shooting 49.8 percent from the floor.
- Tyus…who is averaging 15.0 points and 7.5 rebounds over the last six games. He has been in double figures for six straight contests and scored above his average in four.
- Boynton/Walker connection…the duo combined for 50 points against Vanderbilt on Saturday and have dished out 127 assists to just 58 turnovers on the season.
- The Wildcats’ John Wall…ranks in the top five in the NCAA with 6.9 assists per game and leads the team in points (17.2) and steals (2.2) per game.
- Kentucky’s Patrick Patterson…is averaging 16.7 points and 8.1 rebounds per game.

STREAKS:
- Florida trails the all-time series against Kentucky by a large margin – 86-32. However, the Gators won the last meeting, eight of the last 10 and five straight in Gainesville.
- The Wildcats are the highest-ranked opponent to come to the O’Connell Center since they were also ranked No. 2 in March of 2003.
- Under Donovan, Florida is 3-3 against top-five teams at home (2-2 vs. Kentucky).
- The Gators and Wildcats will face-off on national television for the 24th straight time since 1999 – the longest streak in the SEC.

Read OGGOA’s Gators vs. No. 2 Wildcats preview after the jump!
Continue Reading » Florida Gators vs. No. 2 Kentucky Wildcats

Tags: Alex Tyus, Billy Donovan, Chandler Parsons, DeMarcus Cousins, Eric Bledsoe, Erik Murphy, Erving Walker, John Calipari, John Wall, Kenny Boynton, Kentucky Wildcats, O'Connell Center, Patrick Patterson, SEC, Vernon Macklin