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

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

1 » Following big signings by the Florida Gators baseball, volleyball and women’s basketball teams, softball head coach Tim Walton announced Thursday that two highly coveted high school players have signed national letters of intent to play for the Orange and Blue starting in 2010. Utility player Kasey Fagan (Dunnellon, FL) and shortstop Cheyenne Coyle (West Hills, CA) are both extremely talented women who will bring a lot to the program. For more on their accomplishments, check out this article on GatorZone.

2 » Defensive coordinator Charlie Strong is garnering heavy interest from the Memphis Tigers for their head coaching vacancy, according to reports. OGGOA believes Strong should not take the job if offered, simply because we feel he deserves and can receive the head job at another big-time program rather than a second-tier school (football-wise). Gainesville Sun columnist Pat Dooley shares similar thoughts while Miami Herald beat writer Joseph Goodman thinks Memphis would be a good fit. “I just have to work and continue to do this job right now,” Strong said when asked about the rumors. “My whole focus is making sure our defense goes out and plays well.”

3 » In recruiting news… Four-star small forward Stacey Poole, Jr., the son of former Gators standout Stacy Poole (who ranks as the team’s No. 4 all-time scorer), has signed a national letter of intent to play basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats and head coach John Calipari. Poole is one of the best forwards in the country and the first signee for Kentucky’s 2010 recruiting class.

Three more BITS about Spurrier, big plays and special teams after the jump…
Continue Reading » SIX BITS: Softball signees; Strong as head coach; Poole, Jr.; Spurrier; big plays; special teams

Tags: Charlie Strong, Cheyenne Coyle, John Calipari, Kasey Fagan, Kentucky Wildcats, Memphis Tigers, softball, South Carolina Gamecocks, Stacey Poole, Steve Addazio, Steve Spurrier, Tim Walton, Urban Meyer

Almost exactly one month ago, OGGOA reported on Florida Gators basketball’s prized 2011 commitment, 5-star combo guard Austin Rivers, who was considering other options while making his decision whether or not to join the Orange & Blue in two years. While Rivers said he remained orally committed to the Gators then and holds the same contention now, he has begun to give heavy consideration to the Duke Blue Devils, who have been courting him for some time.

“I still love Florida so much,” Rivers told the Orlando Sentinel. “I fell in love with that campus and that program the minute I saw it. But it doesn’t help recruiting for the Gators at all when people take the words out of my mouth and put it out there that I’m undecided.”

There is much more to this story – read it after the jump…
Continue Reading » Duke closing in on Rivers, but doing it right way

Tags: Austin Rivers, Billy Donovan, Doc Rivers, Duke Blue Devils, John Calipari, Kentucky Wildcats, Mike Krzyzewski

1 » In the unit’s worst performance of the season, the Florida Gators defense gave up 357 yards and 20 points to the Arkansas Razorbacks last Saturday. Distraught after the game and with a line ravaged with injuries, the defense is still keeping its head up and looking forward. “Our defense was crushed after that game,” head coach Urban Meyer said. “There’s only a couple of ways to analyze it: Are you winning games and are you statistically doing a good job? I think they’re doing great. I think there’s a defensive coordinator [Charlie Strong] that has very, very high expectations, a defensive staff, and more importantly, some players who felt like we could have played much better, and that’s kind of cool. I like that.” Gator Nation does too, Coach.

2 » While Florida senior quarterback Tim Tebow is the leader of his team, tough as nails when it counts and a media darling, he is not deserving of Heisman Trophy consideration right now, writes Israel Gutierrez of the Miami Herald. “This isn’t a knock on Tebow,” Gutierrez contends. “This is more a criticism of the system that defines a Heisman candidate. Tebow can be the best player in college football. Not many would argue he isn’t. But it doesn’t mean he is having the best season.”

3 » The No. 12 University of Florida soccer team (12-4-2, 6-1-2 SEC) took it to the No. 17 LSU Tigers (10-4-3, 6-2-1 SEC) on Thursday, shutting them out with a 4-0 victory at home in James G. Pressly Stadium. The Gators scored a pair of goals in each half and, with the win, have moved to second place in the SEC standings. With only two games left on the league schedule (at Arkansas Razorbacks on Oct. 26 and vs. No. 10 and SEC leader South Carolina Gamecocks on Oct. 30), Florida is within striking distance of first place being only two points back.

4 » With his team missing March Madness in back-to-back seasons, a lack of luster surrounding the program and attention being paid to newly crowned head coach John Calipari and his Kentucky Wildcats, Gators basketball head coach Billy Donovan is no longer the media darling he once was at the SEC Media Day.

Tags: Arkansas Razorbacks, Billy Donovan, Charlie Strong, Heisman Trophy, James G. Pressly Stadium, John Calipari, Kentucky Wildcats, LSU Tigers, March Madness, soccer, South Carolina Gamecocks, Tim Tebow, University of Florida, Urban Meyer