Fresh off its second league loss in five games, No. 4/5 Florida Gators basketball (22-4, 12-2 SEC) extended its lead in the Southeastern Conference standings to two games with a dominant 71-54 victory over the Arkansas Razorbacks (17-10, 8-6 SEC) on Saturday evening at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center in Gainesville, FL.

Florida, in its second meeting with Arkansas during regular season play for the first time in program history, earned a measure of revenge for the initial showdown in which the Razorbacks upset the Gators 80-69 on Feb. 5 in Fayetteville, AR.

Four Florida players scored in double figures, all of whom gave complete efforts throughout the contest. Redshirt senior guard Mike Rosario led the way with a team-high 15 points, but junior center Patric Young made a bigger impact with 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting to go along with seven rebounds.

Ensuring that Arkansas did not take the upper hand out of the gate like it did two weeks ago, Florida opened the contest on a 7-0 run but was soon tied with the Razorbacks at 8-8 after the visitors matched the Gators’ intensity with a 8-1 scoring stretch including seven-straight points from forward Marshawn Powell.

Minutes later, Powell found his way to the bench as Florida junior F Casey Prather entered the game and drew a pair of charges on the big man. The Gators completed a 9-0 run to take a 23-13 lead before being given a taste of their own medicine.

Young left the court with 5:53 to play in the first half after committing his second foul, and Arkansas took advantage with a 6-0 run to get within four of the hosts, a margin that would hold until halftime.

Continue Reading » Florida trounces Arkansas 71-54, Frazier injured

Tags: Arkansas Razorbacks, Braxton Ogbueze, Casey Prather, DeVon Walker, Dillon Graham, Erik Murphy, Kenny Boynton, Marshawn Powell, Michael Frazier, Mike Rosario, Patric Young, SEC, Stephen C. O'Connell Center

Location: Stephen C. O’Connell Center – Gainesville, FL [Capacity: 11,548]
Time: 7:00 p.m. EST

TV: ESPNU/ESPNUHD (Tom Hart, Matt Doherty)
SiriusXM: 91 | Radio: Gator Radio Network [Affiliates]
Online Video: WatchESPN.com | Mobile Video: WatchESPN app
Live Updates: @OnlyGators on Twitter and SportsYapper app

Odds: Florida -18.5 | O/U 138

HISTORY / STREAKS / STATS

» Florida leads the all-time series against Arkansas 15-11 with every victory coming under Donovan (15-6). The Gators are 8-2 at home in the series (8-0 under Donovan). The teams are meeting twice in the regular season for the first time ever.
» UF is looking to rebound from an 80-69 loss at UA on Feb. 5.
» Florida is undefeated at home this season (12-0) and looking to start 13-0 in the O’Dome for the sixth time under Donovan.
» Four Gators starters are averaging double figures in scoring. The Tigers have two players that score in double digits; each averages 15+ points per game.
» Florida is 46-4 since the beginning of the 2011-12 season when holding opponents under 71 points in a game (20-3 in 2012-13).
» Arkansas has won three-straight games and five of its last six after starting 3-4 in league play over its first seven games.
» The Gators are 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.
» UF is outscoring SEC opponents by an average of +20.8 points per game.
» Florida freshman guard Michael Frazier II (.506) is chasing school history as he looks to become the most proficient single-season three-point shooter ever at UF (Kenyan Weaks – .508).
» The Gators are second nationally in scoring margin (+20.7), third in scoring defense (53.0), seventh in field goal percentage (.493) and three-point shooting (9.0 per game), ninth in field goal defense (.374), 13th in assist-turnover ratio (1.39), 18th in assists (16.0), 20th in three-point percentage (.390) and 23rd in rebound margin (+6.3).
» Florida is also seventh nationally in fouling, committing 14.0 per game.
» The Razorbacks are second nationally in turnover margin (+6.5), 14th in steals (9.3), 16th in assist-to-turnover ratio (+1.37) and 24th in assists (15.7).

Read the rest of the Florida-Arkansas preview with much more after the break!
Continue Reading » Gameday: No. 4/5 Florida Gators vs. Arkansas

Tags: Arkansas Razorbacks, Billy Donovan, Kenny Boynton, Marshawn Powell, Michael Frazier, Mike Anderson, Patric Young, SEC, Stephen C. O'Connell Center