SEC Tournament Gameday: (1) Florida vs. (9) LSU

Posted by Adam Silverstein | Posted in Basketball | March 14, 2013
Comments » 3

Location: Bridgestone Arena – Nashville, TN [Capacity: 18,160]
Time: 1:00 p.m. EST

TV: ESPNU/ESPNUHD (Brad Nessler, Jimmy Dykes, Shannon Spake)
SiriusXM: 126/199 | Radio: Gator Radio Network [Affiliates]
Online Video: ESPN3 / WatchESPN.com | Mobile Video: WatchESPN app
Live Updates: @OnlyGators on Twitter and SportsYapper app

(1) FLORIDA GATORS (9) LSU TIGERS
Head Coach: Billy Donovan Head Coach: Johnny Jones
Record: 24-6 (14-4 SEC) Record: 19-11 (9-9 SEC)
Conference: Southeastern Conference: Southeastern
Roster | Schedule Roster | Schedule

Odds: Florida -16 | O/U 128.5

HISTORY / STREAKS / STATS

» Florida is looking to win its fourth SEC Tournament, first since completing a three-peat in the event from 2005-07. The Gators are 36-44 all-time in the SEC Tournament (21-13 under Donovan) in 47 total appearances.
» UF enters the SEC Tournament as the No. 1 overall seed for the fourth time in school history. The team has never failed to reach the finals when listed as the top seed.
» The Gators are 5-4 all-time in SEC Tournament games held played in Nashville, TN.
» LSU holds a 60-41 advantage over Florida in the all-time series, but the Gators have won four consecutive games over the Tigers and hold a 12-8 record under Donovan.
» Florida is 49-6 since the beginning of the 2011-12 season when holding opponents under 71 points in a game (23-5 in 2012-13).
» Four Gators starters average in double figures while the Tigers boast five players that score in double digits on average.
» UF is 4-1 against top-25 opponents this season after going 3-5 against ranked adversaries last season with all five losses coming to top-three teams.
» Florida is 0-5 this season in single-digit decisions.
» The Gators are first nationally in scoring margin (+18.8), third in scoring defense (53.2), fourth in field goal defense (.373), ninth in field goal percentage (.485), 12th in three-point defense (.291), 18th in assist-turnover ratio (1.36) and 24th in turnover margin (3.1). Florida is also seventh nationally in fouling, committing 14.2 per game.
» The Tigers are 14th nationally in steals per game (9.2). Anthony Hickey is first nationally in steals per game (3.07).

Read the rest of the Florida-LSU gameday preview…after the break!
Continue Reading » SEC Tournament Gameday: (1) Florida vs. (9) LSU

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Florida basketball set for Saturday tilt at LSU

Posted by Adam Silverstein | Posted in Basketball | January 12, 2013
Comments » 0

No. 9/11 FLORIDA GATORS LSU TIGERS
Head Coach: Billy Donovan Head Coach: Johnny Jones
Record: 11-2 (1-0 SEC) Record: 9-3 (0-1 SEC)
Conference: Southeastern Conference: Southeastern

Location: Pete Maravich Assembly Center – Baton Rouge, LA [Capacity: 13,215]
Time: 4:00 p.m. EST

TV: ESPNU (Tom Hart, Matt Doherty)
SiriusXM: 200 | Radio: Gator Radio Network [Affiliates]
Online Video: WatchESPN.com | Mobile Video: WatchESPN app
Live Updates: @OnlyGators on Twitter and SportsYapper app

Odds: Florida -11 | O/U 135.5

MECHANICS FINE, SHOT SELECTION THE KEY

Senior guard Kenny Boynton broke out of a massive slump with a career-best performance one week ago. Asked Thursday if Boynton’s mechanics had anything to do with the slump he had been on, Donovan dismissed the notion and explained that few players’ mechanics are flawless but that each gets good at the way they shoot.

“Through the amount of time he has spent on his shooting, he has worked himself into a terrific shooter,” he said. “These guys end up perfecting their shot through their mechanics through repetition. I don’t think Kenny’s mechanics necessarily are absolutely ideal and perfect, but I can’t sit there and say that there’s many players out there who you can say their mechanics are ideal and perfect.”

Instead, Donovan pointed to shot selection as the key to staying out of slumps and being a contributor even when the ball is not falling in the basket for a player on a particular night. Boynton scored just seven points on 2-of-8 shooting in Florida’s 33-point win over Georgia.

“I think he’s done better. From a maturity standpoint, I thought his shots that he took [Wednesday] were pretty good shots,” Donovan said. “He didn’t score a lot of points, which is OK. He’s got to be able, as a senior, to function and understand [when he doesn’t score]. If he’s going to talk about wanting to do something special in his senior year and really wanting this to be a great season, there’s going to be some games where he doesn’t shoot the ball particularly well or he has maybe a poor shooting night. I think there’s a difference between those two things. Having a poor shooting night is something that is going to happen, but if you’re having a poor shooting night because of shot selection then that’s something that you can correct.”

CLIMBING THE CHARTS

Boynton is in his fourth year as a starter for the Gators. He is quickly making his way up many of Florida’s all-time lists and is already first in school history in three-point field goals made (291) and attempted (842). He currently leads the SEC in career points (1,762) and three-pointers among active players.

Career scoring
1. Ronnie Williams – 2,090 points
3. Udonis Haslem – 1,781 points
4. Erving Walker – 1,777 points
5. Kenny Boynton – 1,762 points

Minutes
1. Erving Walker – 4,358
4. Andrew Moten – 3,930
5. Kenny Boynton – 3,911

Starts
1. Andrew DeClerq – 128
3. Andrew Moten – 124
4. Kenny Boynton – 118

Field goal attempts
1. Stacey Poole – 1,578
2. Andrew Moten – 1,572
3. Kenny Boynton – 1,436

Field goals made
1. Ronnie Williams – 772
8. Matt Bonner – 580
9. Kenny Boynton – 573

Boynton is also approaching the top 10 in games played (nine away), free throws made (25 away) and assists (41 away).

NOTES AND QUOTES

» Florida is only 40-60 all-time against LSU including 11-8 under Donovan. The Gators hold a 12-33 all-time record when playing the Tigers in Baton Rouge (4-4 under Donovan).

» Donovan on junior center Patric Young, who should be posting better rebounding numbers: “Patric, because of his size, people are going to always keep a body on him. The extra effort and the second effort, when he gets hit going to the offensive glass, he’s got to be able to make that effort spinning off a guy and trying to get at least to the same level as the guy that’s blocking him out. … We definitely need Patric to chase some more balls on the glass. When he does do that, he’s a terrific rebounder. It’s also hard for him to rebound a lot of times when he’s in the lane like he is and so many people have bodies on him. It’s a difficult and challenging proposition or him to chase those kinds of balls, but we need him to do that.”

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