Recently profiled by Sports Illustrated, the Cavaliers’ Pack-Lane defense was pioneered by the father of current Virginia coach Tony Bennett and has been the primary method of UVA’s success this season. As SI notes, Virginia “plays at the 339th slowest pace in D-I because the Pack-Line is next-to-impossible to score on early in the shot clock. By limiting the number of possessions, Pack-Lining can fuel Cinderella runs but also produce aesthetic atrocities.” In 31 games this season, the Cavaliers have held 25 teams to fewer to 62 points (12 of those scored fewer than 50 and three posted fewer than 40).

» Donovan on the defense: “They do a terrific job defensively. They’re well-positioned. They do a great job holding teams down. They’ve done that all year long. Certainly they’ve played in a terrific conference, the ACC. They’ve faced some of the better teams in the country all year long. It will be a little bit different for us so to speak. We have played teams that maybe don’t necessarily do the exact same thing but there are teams that have similar philosophies, similar mindsets in terms of how they want to play defensively. There’s no question that’s obviously a real strength of their team is how well they do defend, the way they help each other, the pressure they apply on the ball, the way they try to eliminate and take away things at the basket. [...] I think they’ve done it with their defense. They’re holding teams down. Any time you hold teams down like they do, you’re always going to be in the game and give yourself a chance to win. If you look at a lot of their games and a lot of their scores, they’re always very tight and very close.”

» Freshman guard Bradley Beal on how to attack a tough defense: “We’re going to try to push the tempo and get them out of their comfort zone, get them to play fast and play at our pace.”

» Junior forward Erik Murphy on some offensive philosophy: “We’re always trying to run. It’s what Coach Donovan preaches – trying to run and push the tempo offensively. I think we’ll try and do that.”

PLAYER NOTES

» Donovan on Boynton’s recent struggles: “I got great confidence in Kenny that when he’s open he should shoot the ball and take those shots. Like anything else, when the ball’s not going in the basket, you cannot be consumed with it. You’ve got to do other things.”

» Donovan on how Murphy impacts the team: “He stretches the defense. His shots a lot of times are coming from decisions. Erik is not a shot-creator for himself. He has gotten better at catching it, maybe shot-faking, putting the ball on the floor for a couple of dribbles and driving it to the basket. He’s done a little more of that as the season has gone on. He is a recipient of our backcourt players coming off of screens, him popping back. Or Patric’s rolling to the basket and he’s kind of rolling in behind him. He’s really a guy that relies on the floor being moved and spaced and our guards making decisions to find him when he’s open.“

» Donovan on if he is seeing improvements from Young: “I actually thought Patric did a pretty good job. He gave us a low-post presence. In the Alabama game he got great low post position, but he did not finish plays like he is normally capable of and he did not shoot the ball particularly well. In the Kentucky game he had some really good plays in the first half in and around the basket. He went to the basket really strong in the second half offensive rebounding-wise. Patric has been, I’d say the last two weeks, he’s been much better in terms of being more consistent and maybe moving on and trying to block out some of the things that have distracted him health-wise. I think he’s grown and matured. I’m hoping he can see that when he’s prepared really well in practice and he’s been really focused and worked to get better, there has definitely been a significant improvement once the game has come.”

» Donovan on if Young’s inconsistencies are normal for a player at his position and of his age: “The answer would be yes, somewhat. It’s always interesting to me, and I don’t know if I’ll ever find out this answer. There are certain guys that go from a role position the year before and jump into a starting role and can absorb it and handle it and there’s absolutely no transition. A perfect example for that would be Matt Bonner. Matt Bonner his freshman year didn’t really play a whole lot. Brent Wright goes down with an injury, he steps in and from that point forward he averages 15 points a game and was phenomenal. There was very little adjustment. Joakim Noah, there was very little adjustment. But then there have been other players where they kind of come out of a role from a year ago where it’s taken them some time to understand the consistency it takes and the everyday effort and focus it takes to be a key roleplayer and a starter and to be able to perform on a regular basis. As a frontcourt player, it’s not that surprising. I’ve seen Patric really make some great strides and grow from a year ago in terms of his consistency. But I do think, for him, that is part of the maturation process that he is going through. [...] I’m always looking for if a guy has gotten better. I think Patric is a better player today than he was a year ago. If Patric was in that role last year and Vernon wasn’t here, there is no way he would have been able to handle what he’s handled this year.”

» Beal on playing in his first NCAA Tournament: “It’s real exciting. The SEC Tournament was just a glimpse of what the NCAA tournament is going to be like. [...] I’m actually living a dream now, so I’m just really looking forward to it and I can’t wait until Friday.”

» Walker on why the NCAA Tournament is different: “The intensity of the game. Both teams are so focused and certain teams and players seem to play out of their mind in the NCAA Tournament.”

» Walker on how far the team can go: “We want to go as far as we can – Final Four or Championship – but it all starts with preparation and practice and just taking it one game at a time, focusing on Virginia first.”

» Murphy on if his confidence is up after the Kentucky game: “My confidence is always there. That’s not an issue. Shots fell against Kentucky and they may fall or they may not [in other games]. You just got to do everything else you can to help the team win.”

The Gators maintained their intensity coming out of the locker rooms, taking a 54-49 lead as Beal and Murphy combined to score Florida’s first 12 points of the second half. The Wildcats matched their opponents shot for shot, and Kentucky used a 16-2 scoring stretch to take a 64-55 lead with seven minutes to play.

UF allowed UK to get back in the game by going scoreless for 6:32. In that span, the Gators coughed up four turnovers, committed six fouls and grabbed just two rebounds. However, Florida found a way to get back in the game as Murphy scored seven-straight points to reduce his team’s deficit to two with 2:42 remaining.

Both teams traded blows the rest of the way with the Wildcats maintaining a two-point advantage with 14.5 seconds left on the clock. Down four after two free throws, Gators junior G Kenny Boynton missed a contested three-pointer, allowing Kentucky to hang on for the hard-fought victory.

UK outrebounded UF 36-22 (15-6 offensive) and used those boards to take an equal number of attempts from the field as their opponent (60). The difference in the game for the Wildcats came from the free throw line. Kentucky made 15-of-20 tries while Florida was just 2-for-2 from the charity stripe.

While Beal and Murphy flourished, the Gators’ veteran backcourt faltered. Boynton and senior point guard Erving Walker combined to go 4-of-19 from the field (2-of-9 from three) with nine assists. Sophomore center Patric Young was Florida’s only other consistent scorer, posting 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting with five boards (three offensive).

The Gators, already assured of a berth in the 2012 NCAA Tournament, will now wait until Sunday to find out where they will be seeded in the event. Projections have Florida falling in as a No. 5 seed and playing their first game in Nashville, TN.

Photo Credit: Gerald Herbert/Associated Press

Beal and junior forward Erik Murphy combined to score 19 of Florida’s 26 first-half points while the team as a whole shot just 32 percent (8-of-25) from the field and 35.7 percent (5-of-14) from downtown.

Alabama opened up the second half with a fast break dunk to tie the game at 26. Florida answered quickly, retaking their lead and extending it to a game-high 12 points with an impressive 17-5 scoring stretch.

The Crimson Tide refused to go down without a fight though, responding by taking off on a 16-4 run to tie the game at 49 as the Gators went scoreless for 3:47.

Florida and Alabama battled back-and-forth for the duration of the contest. The Gators jumped ahead seven points after junior G Kenny Boynton nailed a three with less than two minutes to play, but the Crimson Tide scored five-straight and used a trey by G Trevor Lacey to cut UF’s lead to two with 1:07 to go.

A turnover by Walker, who drove the lane and appeared to slip on a wet spot and travel, gave UA the ball back with 41.4 seconds left. Alabama F JaMychal Green missed the ensuing shot but got fouled and hit the first of two free throws before missing the second and giving the ball back to Florida. Boynton was fouled on the other end; he made both free throws to put the Gators ahead three points, a margin UF would retain over the final 9.8 seconds as Lacey missed what would have been a game-tying three at the buzzer.

Beal led the way for Florida with team-highs in points (16), rebounds (seven) and assists (five). He went 3-for-4 from downtown to start the game but did not hit a single bucket in the second half even though he was an efficient 7-for-8 from the free throw line. Murphy was the team’s most efficient player, scoring 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting despite hitting just one trey. He also had three boards and a game-high three blocks.

Boynton added 14 points, four rebounds, two dimes and two steals. Sophomore center Patric Young, coming back down to earth after a breakout game against Kentucky, scored six points and grabbed five boards but fouled out in the waning minutes.

Green was the player of the game even in a losing effort for Alabama, posting a double-double with game-highs in points (22) and rebounds (10). The Crimson Tide as a team hit 53.3 percent of their shots from the floor.

The Gators’ victory celebration will be short-lived as Florida must turn around and try to avoid a three-game season sweep at the hands of No. 1 Kentucky, which they will take on in semifinal action on Saturday at 1 p.m. The game will air live nationally on ABC.

Photo Credit: Gerald Herbert/Associated Press

One reason UF is having difficulties in this area, Donovan believes, is the lack of frontcourt depth and the inability to properly prepare in practice.

“The hard part is, sometimes when you’re in practice, we can’t simulate Festus Ezeli. We can’t simulate [Anthony] Davis, [Terrence] Jones and [Michael] Gilchrist,” he said. “We’re kind of going against ourselves and sometimes in practice we’re not necessarily getting a realistic look. At the same point, we can still be disciplined enough we’re blocking out and doing our job in that fashion.”

Donovan said the Gators had “some time to try and get better as a team” this week but admitted that “it’s always difficult [to prepare for an opponent] when you do have a bye and you’re not going to really know who you’re playing until a day before you’re actually playing the game.”

Nevertheless, he thinks the team has set itself up for success in at least one area – big-game experience. Donovan was “anxious to see” how Florida progressed in practice this week. Fans are equally as anxious to find out the type of effort and intensity the Gators will put forth on Friday at 3:30 p.m. against either Alabama or South Carolina.

NOTES AND QUOTES

» Donovan on junior guard Kenny Boynton being late to a meeting and pulled from the starting lineup: “I have no issues on a daily basis with Kenny at all. He is a great kid. He comes to practice every day. He does work hard. He’s very coachable. Those guys know we’re supposed to be on time. A lot of times you have players that are younger that are looking at what’s tolerated and what’s not tolerated. [If] nothing’s done, ‘I guess it’s no big deal if I come 15 minutes late or 20 minutes late.’ It sets a bad precedent there. I don’t think it was anything done maliciously but there’s also that maturity thing I’m talking about. There’s different things where there has to be an awareness inside of our team. Somebody getting to where we need to be 10 minutes earlier, if they’re not there, a player runs and grabs them and makes sure he’s where he needs to be. [...] I have to honestly say, this is the first time it’s happened all year long with Kenny. He’s never been late for anything. It was the first time. We’ll move on. He dealt with what he needed to deal with. He works hard here this week, he’ll be right back in the starting lineup.”

» Boynton said the meeting occurred in the middle of the week and was set for 9:15 a.m. he was about 10 minutes late. “I take full responsibility. I just kind of lost track of time. I was up and just lost track of time.” As far as if his relationship with Donovan was strained at all, Boynton added, “We’re good.”

» Boynton on if the team’s pride was hurt by the losses: “We’re playing for pride and respect. We let a few get away from us. As a team you should come out every game ready to play no matter who you’re playing. [...] I don’t think we lost our pride. We probably lost a little respect from the fans and stuff, but I think we’re going to get it together. We’ve been on a three-game losing streak in my freshman year before, but I think we’re going to pick it up and get it together.”

Donovan spoke at length Monday about Young, who had arguably his best performance of the season on Sunday against No. 1 Kentucky by posting 21 points and nine rebounds while providing a great deal of effort and energy on both ends of the floor. That has not always been the case for Young this season, and Donovan has had the reason why pinpointed for a while now.

“When you’re talking about maturity, it rears its head in a lot of different ways. Maturity can also be when the game is not going well for you that you still find ways to impact the game by still staying locked in instead of maybe having your own internal pity party that you’re not playing well,” he said. “I talk to our guys a lot about an internal will. Internal will to me is, when you’re not playing well as a player, do you fight harder because your internal will is that you want the outcome or result that you want? Are you willing to fight for those things not only for yourself but for your team? That can be a lack of maturity, when adversity hits not being able to understand how to deal with it.

“Another part of maturity can be your self-talk in your own head, convincing yourself of something that may not even be true but you deem it to be true in your head. Patric has dealt with some foot and knee [injuries] but it’s not anything that is preventing him from playing. He played that way against [Anthony] Davis and Kentucky [Monday], he’s capable of doing that every single game. I’m not saying getting 21 points and 15 rebounds, but he’s capable of having that impact in the game.

“There’s a level of requirement that you have to have as a player that, when you step into practice, you’ve got to work on a regular basis to get better. He had two really good days on Friday and Saturday going into the game, and he did not have a very good day on Wednesday at all. It’s that up-and-down-ness of, ‘I’m tired, I’m sore, my knee hurts, my foot hurts.’ You can’t one minute say that and then the next minute jump up and tomahawk dunk. That doesn’t make any sense. That’s part of any player growing, and I think Patric is still scratching the surface of understanding who he can be and what he can be on a consistent basis.”

Donovan has never been one to hold a player back from going to the NBA if he truly felt he was ready to leave. He told Corey Brewer, Al Horford and Joakim Noah that he felt all three were prepared to turn pro after they won their first national championship; the decision to stay was a choice the trio made, partially because they wanted to win another title and partially because they knew their coach could get them even more prepared for the next level.

Based on general comments he made about Young on Monday, Donovan does not appear convinced that he is ready to take that next step in his career. Though NBA teams may have him up high on their draft boards based on his physical attributes and potential, Young still has a ways to go to become a well-rounded basketball player in Donovan’s eyes.

“As much as I want to expedite that process – I want it to happen right now – he’s got to go through it. What happens is, when you go through the pain and struggle of competition, you start to find out a lot more about yourself internally,” he said. “Patric is finding those things out because I think there was a struggle there for a while for him, even in practice every day – giving the effort and the commitment that he needs to give.

“It also comes down to, more than that, what does Patric want out of the game of basketball? Every player can want something. There are some players that like what the game brings to them – notoriety, attention, for certain guys playing in the NBA, money. Then there’s certain guys that really want to be great in the game and what drives them is to be the best they can be. This process, while these guys are in college, is all about them figuring out what do I really want from the game? Who do I want to be in the game of basketball? It can’t be about external, peripheral stuff. It has to be: what do I really want?

“Once you find out what you really want form the game, then you’re able to go in with incredible perseverance, great internal will because you have a clear-cut understanding of what it takes. Patric is finding out right now what it takes to be a great player. Now the next step is, is he able to make that commitment every single day to play like he did [Sunday] all the time? Not scoring – his activity. A post presence, good post moves, running the floor, offensive rebounding, being physical, defending. He’s capable of doing those things every single night.”

Unlike Beal and Young, Boynton is not a player on the top of teams’ draft boards right now. Slightly undersized for a shooting guard and lacking experience at the point, he has not had the sustained success that scouts like to see from veteran college players.

Working to Boynton’s advantage, however, is the fact that he is in the midst of a career year for the Gators, posting career-highs in points (16.8) and shooting averages. He is hitting shots from the field at a 45.9 percent clip (7.4 percent better than a season ago) and has improved his accuracy from three by 10.3 percent, now hitting 43.4 of his attempts from long range.

Asked Monday if he has made a decision on whether or not he intended to return for his senior season, Boynton gave a short, simple and potentially concerning reply.

“I don’t know,” he said.

Should Beal be the only player to leave early, Florida whould be able to recover relatively quickly. His talent is irreplaceable, but junior G Mike Rosario can step into his minutes and the Gators also have a trio of young guards committed for 2012.

Young and Boynton departing along with Beal would be a cause of major concern for Florida, the former being UF’s only true dominant post presence and the latter being a veteran scorer who is only beginning to hit his stride at the collegiate level. The Gators have no big men committed for 2012 and would face major depth issues in the frontcourt.

The best-case scenario for Florida, of course, would be all three returning for the 2012-13 season with the potential to build on the foundation laid out this year. With as few as two and as many as eight games remaining until the 2011-12 campaign comes to a close, winning tournament games is not the only thing on the Gators’ mind as much as some may want to believe that’s the case.

“Sometimes mentally when you convince yourself of something, you basically deal with it as truth,” he said. “‘My knee is really bothering me today so we’re going to focus on that the whole entire day.’ His growth and maturing of going through some of that stuff, I don’t know if Patric ever understood how challenging it was going to necessarily be for him. He just figured, ‘OK Vernon [Macklin] and Alex [Tyus] are gone, I’m going to step right in and this is what I’m going to do. I’m big, I’m strong and everything is going to be fine.’

“He got challenged in a lot of different ways by me, by himself, by the competition. There’s been a level of inconsistency because of that. I’m hoping that basically some of the adversity he has gone through and he has had to deal with this year, that there is a growth and maturity for him going forward.

“I thought he was a really big, bright spot for us [on Sunday].”

Young specifically recognized and noted that his improved mental focus was one of the main reasons for his success against the Wildcats.

“I think it was mostly just my mentality coming into the game, asking God if I could have fun out there [Sunday] because I haven’t been having too much fun out there,” he said. “I had an opportunity. He took my pain away. I didn’t feel my knee, didn’t feel my ankle or anything like that. My team was able to find me and I was able to finish.”

Whether or not he can maintain that strong mentality focus for the two upcoming tournaments is something that remains to be seen and will undoubtedly play a major role in determining how far the Gators can go in the postseason.

NOTES AND QUOTES

» Donovan on one major difference between Florida and Kentucky: “Their talent and ability to make a difficult shot was much, much better than our ability to do that.”

» Donovan on what kind of team can beat UK: “It would have to be a real physical team where somebody would have to constantly – there would have to be pressure at the basket constantly. Duck-ins, post-ups and a physical game that is played three-out, two-in, smash mouth basketball. [...] I don’t think a finesse team, so to speak, [could win]. I think it would have to be a real physical game.”

» Donovan on where his team goes from here after losing three-straight games: “I’m just hopeful that, at the right time, our guys can understand what is to be taken from the experiences they’ve gone through up to this point in time and if they really buy into and are committed. That’s the biggest thing, being committed to working hard and knowing this is what needs to be done collectively as a group in every situation – approaching practice, being on time, maturity-wise, handling adversity, handling set-backs, handling when things don’t go your way in practice or in a game. Those kind of things now, there needs to be a maturing process to be able to handle the difficulties, the adversities and the challenges.”

» Sophomore guard Kenny Boynton did not earn the start Sunday due to being late for a team meeting earlier in the week. He entered the contest following the first media timeout.