Sophomore center Patric Young’s insanely athletic block in the second half undoubtedly provided a great deal of push for the Gators. It was a play that turned a back-and-forth battle into a big-time victory, and Donovan felt the impact of Young’s block immediately. “It was a great play and it fueled our team and it gave us momentum, it gave us energy. And Pat athletically has the ability to make plays like that,” he said.

Donovan also praised Young’s entire performance on Thursday and how he really took lessons he learned in practice this week to heart. “I was really impressed with him because we watched a lot of film on how he was going to be guarded. I told him he can’t get frustrated because it was going to be hard to get the ball,” he said. “I said, ‘You got to keep posting up the whole entire game. You may only get it three times, four times, five times. But when you get it – you may have to work 50 times just to get it [once].’ And he did. He kept great composure. He was 7-for-7 from the field and you want to get it to him more and you try to get it to him more.”

On freshman guard Bradley Beal and his improved shooting: “When he’s open, he shoots it. He got some more shots up tonight. I thought our guys found him. He had a couple good drives to the basket. He rebounded the ball. He had some good looks from the three-point line. He’s got freedom to do that. Like anything else, he’s just the kind of kid that never wants to come across as being selfish. And he’s not selfish. He’s probably feeling more and more comfortable. It’s not so much that we’re asking him to do more or he feels like he needs to do more, he’s just understanding where shots need to come from.”

On senior point guard Erving Walker’s shooting struggles: “He took one that he knew was bad. He came down on the break and he kind of let it really go. We were on a run, and I think we were up 13, and I could tell he looked down to see if I was upset. And I was. He had some decent looks but the one thing that he did do is he constantly puts pressure on team’s defenses because he’s coming down the lane for a layup and you do have to account for him. The biggest thing for him is him making the next decision which sometimes has been hard because of his size, but he did a better job tonight. [...] But 1-for-7 beats 3-for-15. He’s got to understand, and I think he did make one three and he took a couple tough shots, but overall he really played a pretty good floor game in my opinion.”

NOTES AND QUOTES

» On shooting well from the line in the second half after starting 0-for-7: “Our guys have such a high opinion of how well they think they should shoot the ball. When it doesn’t go in, they lose a little bit of focus or they get down, they get disappointed. In the first half, our focus was not where it needed to be from the free throw line. In the second half we did a much better job. We rebounded pretty well in the second half and – thank God – made some free throws.”

» On when Florida will go from great spurts to playing a complete game: “It’s hard to play a complete game that you want to play because you’re playing other good teams. You’re up by 25 against A&M, you know they’re going to come out and compete and fight and battle. You know Florida State is going to compete and battle and fight for 40 minutes. [Playing against] good players, you’re going to have some moments you don’t look great and you need to get better.”

» On the health of redshirt junior G Mike Rosario (back): “I’m concerned from the standpoint that he’s going home and he’s not going to have any rehab for Christmas. Right now I would say he’s probably doubtful for Rutgers – that would be my guess. Just because he’s not going to be around the medical staff and be able to do treatment and rehab and the things he needs to do. We’re going to come back and practice on the 26th. We’ll see how he is, but I would be shocked if he plays right now with the way it is against Rutgers.”

UF hit consecutive threes early in the second half to retake a 10-point lead and – following a quick 8-0 run by FSU – exploded on a 15-2 run of their own to jump ahead 53-38. The Gators never looked back.

A trey by junior forward Erik Murphy increased Florida’s advantage to a 19 points, and two free throws by senior point guard Erving Walker gave the Gators a game-high 21-point lead with less than three minutes left in the contest.

Florida, which had been much improved from the free throw line over the last two games, started 0-for-7 from the charity stripe but finished by hitting 16 of their final 17 attempts, shooting 66 percent on the evening. The Gators also hit 10 threes and outrebounded their opponent 32-31, marking the 10th time in 12 games this season that Florida has achieved either feat.

Beal led the Gators with a game-high 21 points on 7-of-15 shooting and hit 3-of-4 attempts from beyond the arc to go along with six rebounds. Boynton (14 points), Murphy (12 points, six boards) and Walker (11 points, 8-of-10 from the line) also scored in double digits as sophomore F Will Yeguete led Florida with eight rebounds.

UF registered 12 steals during the contest with Beal and Yeguete each grabbing three; Boynton and Walker each took the ball away from FSU twice.

During the contest, Walker became the 12th player in school history to surpass 1,500 career points. The Gators awarded head coach Billy Donovan a ball for his 400th win prior to the game and honored the Voice of the Gators Mick Hubert at the first media timeout for calling his 1,000th career Florida football or basketball game.

UF will have a week off for the holidays before travelling to face Rutgers on Thursday, Dec. 29 at 7 p.m. The game will air live on ESPN2 and will be the second-to-last one the Gators will play before the new year.

Florida and Florida State last squared off a year ago with the Gators earning a four-point victory over the Seminoles even though they were outscored 30-25 in the second half. Kenny Boynton led the way for UF with 14 points, but Erik Murphy’s putback of a missed shot with 16 seconds left in the contest helped seal the victory for Florida. FSU only shot 33.3 percent on the evening with Chris Singleton making just 2-of-12 shots. Though the Seminoles cut the Gators’ lead to one point with less than three minutes to play, they never managed to negate Florida’s lead and fell at home to the No. 16-ranked Gators.

PLAYERS TO KEEP AN EYE ON

FLORIDA
» Senior point guard Erving Walker (#11)…who is the longest tenured player on the team having appeared in 118 consecutive games with 57-straight starts. A shoot-first player much of his career, Walker has been tasked with distributing the ball and managing the game this year. He is the SEC’s active leader in minutes (3,527) and treys (240) but also ranks second in points (1,490), assists (432) and steals (136) as well as third in free throws (374). Walker is No. 12 on the school’s all-time scoring list, No. 4 in assists, No. 8 in free throws, No. 5 in threes made, No. 4 in treys attempted (628) and No. 7 in minutes. He is the only player on the team making more than three quarters of his free throws (82.1 percent).
» Junior guard Kenny Boynton (#1)…who is a dynamic scorer and just the second starter returning from a year ago. Boynton is working on his consistency this season and is already shooting better than he has throughout his career (49.6 percent from the field and 46.6 percent from downtown). He is the best defender on the Gators and is often put on the opponent’s best backcourt playmaker. Boynton currently ranks fifth in the SEC among active players in points (1,207) and third in three-pointers (193). He has hit a trey in 26-straight games and is the SEC’s second-leading scorer averaging 18.7 points per game. Boynton is No. 7 on UF’s list for threes made.
» Freshman G Bradley Beal (#23)…who is starting at the three for Florida fresh out of high school. Beal was the 2011 Gatorade National Player of the Year, one of the top five players in the country, and is arguably the most talented player to sign with the Gators since Donovan took over. He is averaging 15.0 points and 6.3 rebounds while shooting 45.8 percent from the field and 69.4 percent from the line (second best on the team) while playing a team-high 33.0 minutes per gam.e
» Sophomore center Patric Young (#4)…who joined the starting lineup this year after being the primary frontcourt reserve as a freshman. Young saw action in all 37 games as a freshman, averaging 3.4 points and 3.8 rebounds in limited action. He has four double-doubles on the season and scored a career-high 25 points against Arizona. Young is posting averages of 11.0 points, 7.5 boards and 1.4 blocks per game.
» Sophomore forward Will Yeguete (#15)…who is Florida’s do-everything player, averaging 5.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 steals in 20.8 minutes per game. The Gators’ primary frontcourt reserve, Yeguete has started a few games due to injury.
» Redshirt junior G Mike Rosario (#3)…who is finally playing for Florida after transferring out of Rutgers and sitting out the 2010-11 season. Rosario scored more than 1,000 points in two seasons with his former team and averaged 16.7 points per game during his sophomore year. He is the Gators’ de facto sixth man and is seeing 17.1 minutes of court time each game, averaging 9.4 points while shooting 46.6 percent from the floor and 41.7 percent from beyond the arc.

FLORIDA STATE
» F Bernard James (#5)…who is the Noles’ consummate big man, averaging 10.5 points and 9.2 boards each contest while also adding 2.6 blocks. James, who has netted five double-doubles this year (including two sets of consecutive ones), hits 59.8 percent of his field goals but only shoots 45.0 percent from the line.
» G Michael Snaer (#21)…who leads Florida State in points per game (13.2) and minutes (30.5), also nabbing 4.5 rebounds while shooting team-highs from the line (90.9 percent) and downtown (36.8 percent). All of those numbers are career-highs for Snaer, who hit a clutch three-pointer in the last minute of the game against Florida last year.

For the first time years the basketball game between Florida and Florida State is not being played on Thanksgiving weekend. This is something the Seminoles have recently changed their minds about, and Donovan gave some insight into why head coach Leonard Hamilton might feel like moving the game to another weekend is a better option.

“Leonard’s view is he wants that game to kind of stand on its own two legs by itself,” he said Tuesday. “I get that, and I understand it and certainly respect it, but I’ve also been in this state long enough [to know] that you get a lot of people traveling in for that game football and basketball wise. I always thought it was a great weekend.”

Donovan said that, despite this year’s game being scheduled in December, the Gators plan to play the game on Thanksgiving weekend when they host FSU in 2013 and 2015. However, he has no problem if Florida State does not do the same in 2012 and 2014.

“I’m just looking at the best environment for both teams,” he said. “There’s a great environment in Tallahassee when it’s the Friday before the football game; there’s a great environment here. I just think it’s a great time to play. Right now during these times you got students missing and things like that.”

Donovan added that his preference for that date is his own opinion and pointed to Lon Kruger and Pat Kennedy choosing to play the annual contest in Orlando, FL when they coached UF and FSU, respectively.

NOTES AND QUOTES

» On how Florida opened the game strong: “They showed a level of maturity. [...] I thought our focus, our energy and how they tried to play the game was really good.”

» On the Gators’ free throw shooting: “The last two games we’ve shot well from the free throw line. Those guys have focused on it; I think they realized they got to get better at it. [...] I certainly don’t think we’re a 59 percent free throw shooting team. We’re probably somewhere in the middle. They’ve focused on it and they’re getting better at it. That’s been encouraging.”

» On why Florida ran sprints before the second half: “These guys are all warmed up and they’re lathered up before the game starts, but the opposite happens in the second half. We’ve got to find a way to get them [going]. Some if it is their responsibility, too, to get themselves ready to go. I was disappointed the way we came back out the second half against [Texas] A&M, and I told the strength coach we need to get these guys moving around better.”

» On the leap that junior G Kenny Boynton has taken this year: “Because of the way we play, there’s a lot of freedom that I give our guys. Obviously I was a guard and there’s nothing worse than looking over your shoulder wanting to know if you’re coming in or out of a game because of a shot. So much of what we’re doing is predicated on concepts and spacing and positioning on the floor and different things are happening that these guys got to make reads. For Kenny, like anything else, when you first come to college you’re going to rely on what you’ve always relied on until you get enough experience under your belt to start to understand those things. For Kenny, he was pretty much just a three-point shooter as a freshman. Now he’s starting to pull up, he’s starting to get drives to the basket, he’s starting to make threes, he’s starting to understand shot selection and understand – more importantly – the length of time of a game.”

» On Florida State’s defense: “They’re disciplined. that’s the biggest thing they know what they’re doing. They got great length, great size. They have shot blocking at the basket, so a lot of times your numbers are going to be predicated on how well you do at the basket.”

» On why practice wasn’t “cancelled” on Tuesday: “I wouldn’t say practice is cancelled. The contact and the banging was probably a little bit cancelled right now. We obviously had a week of practice going into A&M; we had three really hard days going into that game. We had a real hard practice going into this game last night and played last night somewhat shorthanded with Mike and Cody being out. Right now more for us is more of a mental day of things we need to do mentally to get prepared to play on Thursday.”

Attempting to overcome his poor play in the first half, Brantley remained composed with 1:49 left until halftime and delivered a 21-yard strike to redshirt freshman wide receiver Quinton Dunbar. He was sandwiched on the play, and a helmet-to-helmet hit knocked him out for the remainder of the game.

Brissett took over for Brantley but failed to do anything with the Gators offense until Florida redshirt senior defensive tackle Jaye Howard recovered a fumble caused by redshirt freshman linebacker Michael Taylor with 4:32 remaining in the game.

Following a pass interference call on 1st and 10 from Florida State’s 21-yard-line, Brissett hit Dunbar in the back of the end zone for a touchdown. The late score allowed the Gators to avoid their first shutout since 1988.

Joining Brantley on the trainer’s table were redshirt senior RB Chris Rainey, sophomore DT Dominique Easley, sophomore LB Darrin Kitchens and redshirt sophomore guard Jon Halapio, all of whom were injured in action and did not return to the field.

Kitchens was injured on the opening kickoff of the second half and was carted to the locker rooms after laying motionless on the field for a number of minutes. He gave a thumbs up to the crowd on his way to the back.

Brantley finished his final game in The Swamp 9/15 for 104 yards and three interceptions. Rainey carried the ball 15 times for 42 yards, and senior RB Jeff Demps touched it just four times for -8 yards.

Dunbar finished with three receptions for 40 yards and a touchdown, and freshman tight end A.C. Leonoard led all Gators with 65 yards on the evening.

Florida’s stout defense held Florida State QB E.J. Manuel to six completions on 13 attempts for 65 yards and Freeman to 44 yards on 15 carries.

The Seminoles committed nine penalties for 85 yards and held the ball three minutes longer than the Gators did on Saturday.

Florida finished the regular season with a .500 record for the first time since 1979 (0-10-1). The Gators await a bowl invite but are expected to face Ohio State in the Gator Bowl on Jan. 2, 2012 in Jacksonville, FL.

» Probable/Questionable: Redshirt senior running back Chris Rainey (ankle), redshirt senior guard/center Dan Wenger (ankle), redshirt sophomore tight end Jordan Reed (ankle), redshirt junior Sam linebacker Lerentee McCray (shoulder), senior defensive end William Green (undisclosed)
» Inactive: Redshirt junior cornerback Jeremy Brown (knee), freshman CB Marcus Roberson (neck)

LAST TIME OUT

Florida State ended its six-year losing streak to Florida by drubbing the Gators 31-7 at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, FL. UF held an early 7-3 lead on FSU but was outscored 28-0 the rest of the way, allowing the No. 22 Seminoles to cap their regular season on a high note. Florida State wound up earning a spot in the ACC Championship game with the victory because Maryland defeated North Carolina the same day. Florida’s sole touchdown came on a 20-yard pass from John Brantley to Robert Clark early in the first quarter. Christian Ponder torched the Gators for 221 yards and three touchdowns through the air, though UF did hold FSU to just 2.7 yards per carry on the ground.

PLAYERS TO KEEP AN EYE ON

FLORIDA
» Redshirt senior quarterback John Brantley (#12)…who has completed 58.9 percent of his passes (123-of-209) this season for 1,808 yards and 10 touchdowns but also threw three interceptions including one returned for a score. Brantley had missed 10 quarters of action after injuring his ankle against Alabama but returned with limited health and mobility against Georgia. He had a career-best game last week, throwing for 329 yards and four touchdowns against Furman. Brantley has thrown 114 passes without tossing an interception, the seventh-longest streak in school history (he also has the second-longest streak in UF history at 157 attempts without a pick).
» Redshirt senior running back Chris Rainey (#1)…who has 1,093 yards of total offense this season with five touchdowns (including a punt block return). Rainey is averaging 5.3 yards per carry and 14.4 yards per reception and leads Florida in rushing this season. He became the first player in school history to have a rushing, receiving and return touchdown in the same game, achieved the school and SEC record for career punt blocks (five), and is the active leader in that category nationally. He also rushed for 100 yards or more in three-straight games, the first UF player to do so since Fred Taylor last accomplished that feat 14 years ago.
» Senior RB Jeff Demps (#2)…who is second on the Gators in carries (87) and rushing yards (547) this season but leads Florida in touchdowns scored (six). Injuries and poor run blocking have limited Demps’s effectiveness in 2011, but he continues to do whatever he can to help the team each week.
» Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Andre Debose (#4)…who jumped to first on the Gators’ receiving list with a career-high 151 yards and two touchdowns last week against Furman. Debose had mirror image 65-yard touchdowns against Alabama and LSU earlier in the season. Fans have been waiting for Debose to emerge for some time, but his 423 receiving yards now lead the team. Additionally, his 28.2 yards per catch is the highest average in the SEC and second nationally.
» Redshirt sophomore tight end Jordan Reed (#11)…who has vaulted up UF’s production chats with at least three receptions in four-straight weeks. Reed has also gone for 56 or more yards in three of the last four weeks and scored touchdowns against Georgia and Furman.
» Sophomore safety Matt Elam (#22)…who is the most valuable member of Florida’s secondary. He is second on the team in tackles (64) and at one point created turnovers in three-straight games (fumble-INT-INT). His 12 tackles against LSU a month ago marked a career high, and his 8.5 tackles for loss this season are a team-high.
» Defensive tackles sophomore Dominique Easley (#2) and redshirt senior Jaye Howard (#6)…who have solidified the interior of the Gators’ strongest unit. Howard is the team’s most experienced player on defense (28 starts), while Easley may be its most dynamic off the snap, with a first-step raved about by teammates and coaches alike. Howard and Easley have combined for 13.5 tackles for loss and four sacks.
» Linebackers junior Jon Bostic (#52) and redshirt sophomore will linebacker Jelani Jenkins (#3)…who are 1-3 on the team in tackles. Bostic (81) and Jenkins (60) have each excelled in different areas for Florida. The former has six tackles for a loss and three sacks while the latter has one sack, six pass breakups and a pick-six on the year.
» Redshirt junior kicker Caleb Sturigs (#19)…who has returned for Florida after missing eight games one year ago with an injured back. He is 21-for-25 in field goal attempts on the season (long: 55) and is perfect with 27 extra points, leading the Gators with 90 points scored this season. Sturgis is second in the nation with 21 field goals made but tied for 14th in kicking points.

FLORIDA STATE
» QB E.J. Manuel (#3)…who has passed for 2,352 passing yards with 16 touchdowns and eight interceptions this season. He has not thrown a pick since Oct. 29 and is completing 66.3 percent of his passes. Manuel can also make an impact on the ground and has rushed for 20 or more yards five times this season.
» RB Devonta Freeman (#8)…who is FSU’s leading rusher with 487 yards and six touchdowns on the year. He rushed for 100+ yards in consecutive games this year and at one point scored five touchdowns in four contests.
» WR Rashad Greene (#80)…who has more receptions (33) and yards (497) than any Florida player despite missing four games this season. He is complimented by WR Rodney Smith (#84), who has 511 receiving yards and four touchdowns of his own.
» LB Nigel Bradham (#13)…who leads the Seminoles defensively with 75 tackles (nine for loss), two sacks, an interception, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
» CB Greg Reid (#5)…who is also Florida State’s dynamic returner and can change a game on a dime.

Asked if he approves of the positioning of the UF-FSU game just before the SEC Championship, Muschamp said he did not have a problem with it and it has not proved to be an issue in the past.

“I’m kind of a traditionalist. I like the fact that you eat turkey on Thursday and you play Florida State on Saturday,” he said. “I do know people bring up the fact that you’re playing in the SEC Championship game the next week. I don’t think you lack any focus playing Florida State, and I think they’d say the same thing if they were playing the ACC Championship. From a focus standpoint, it should be fine. At Florida we’ve had a pretty good track record as far as playing the Florida State game and playing in SEC Championships and winning championships. That’s not something that’s been an issue.”

He also addressed the fact that beating the Seminoles could be a positive note for the Gators to end the season on. “It’s a huge game. There’s no question about that. As far as our preparation is concerned, we try to maintain a certain continuity each week in how we prepare and approach the game,” Muschamp said. “Our guys understand the magnitude of the game. It’s a big game. It’s our in-state rival here and a very important game for our program.”

Senior running back Jeff Demps (and his NFL aspirations): “Anyone who runs that fast – you can’t coach speed. When you can run that fast, that immediately puts you in the discussion in everyone’s draft room. There is not a draft room that he won’t be discussed in. He’ll probably get taken higher than his stats would be because of those physical attributes, because there are teams where speed comes into play. When you have that type of speed, that speed is rare.”

Redshirt senior quarterback John Brantley (and his improvement): “He’s probably been – I wouldn’t say the most pleasant surprise – but probably the thing I’m probably pleased about the most. From my initial conversations with him in January to now, it’s a totally different persona than the one I sat down with. He was always a wonderful young man, a good kid. Watching him evolve from where he was to where he is now both on and off the field, I couldn’t be more satisfied for him. I would really like nothing more than him to finish this out by going and beating Florida State. I think that would just be a great thing for him.”

NOTES AND QUOTES

» On running the ball against Florida State: “You better run the ball because if you think that you’re just going to line up against that front four – which is really a front eight because they have good talent in the second group, too – if they can turn the game into a one-dimensional game, then you have a problem. [...] They’re fast. [...] They have very god speed. They are very well-coached. They’re very vanilla. They’re not trying to trick you. They’re saying, ‘We can just bring out four guys and bring out another four guys and we’ll be able to get after you and get pressure on your quarterback.’ For the most part, they do that. They’re pretty solid on defense right now.”

» On his mindset before a game: “I’ve never gone into a game ever expecting to lose a game ever. Even games that everyone said we were underdogs. I’ve never in my life gone into a game and said, ‘Welp, let’s mark this one up as a loss.’ So yes, I’m confident for our guys.”

» On what he will think after evaluating the film this season from a coaching and execution perspective: “I’m sure I’ll be miserable. The odds of that are 100 percent.”

» On why the offense should improve in year two: “Now you’re pushing execution. You’re expanding on things that you could do that you couldn’t do because mentally the guys aren’t capable of doing it the first rattle out of the box. Usually – not always because it hasn’t been the case everywhere I’ve been – but usually you make your biggest jump between your first year and your second year because now your guys are a year into the system.”