Location: Stephen C. O’Connell Center – Gainesville, FL [Capacity: 11,548]
Time: 12:00 p.m. EST

TV: ESPN/ESPNHD (Mark Jones, Jimmy Dykes)
SiriusXM: 85 | Radio: Gator Radio Network [Affiliates]
Online Video: WatchESPN.com | Mobile Video: WatchESPN app
Live Updates: @OnlyGators on Twitter and SportsYapper app

Odds: Florida -16 | O/U 120

HISTORY / STREAKS / STATS

» Alabama leads the all-time series against Florida 73-60, but the Gators are 17-5 against the Crimson Tide under Donovan. UF is 38-19 all-time against UA in Gainesville including 8-0 since Donovan took over.
» Donovan is 4-0 against Grant, his former assistant coach.
» Florida is undefeated at home this season and has started 13-0 in the O’Dome for the sixth time under Donovan (second in the last three seasons).
» Four Gators starters are averaging double figures in scoring. The Tigers have three players that score in double digits on average.
» Florida is 47-5 since the beginning of the 2011-12 season when holding opponents under 71 points in a game (21-4 in 2012-13).
» Alabama has won five of its last six games, an impressive feat considering the Crimson Tide lost six of eight over a five-week span from Dec. 1, 2002 to Jan. 8, 2013. UA’s lone loss in its last six games was in a triple-overtime thriller at LSU.
» 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.
» Florida is 0-4 this season in single-digit decisions; Alabama is 8-2 in similar contests.
» The Gators are second nationally in scoring margin (+29.6), third in scoring defense (53.5), seventh in field goal defense (.375), eighth in field goal percentage (.489), ninth in three-point shooting (8.7 per game) and assist-turnover ratio (1.40), 20th in turnover margin (3.4), 21st in assists (15.8), and 24th in three-point percentage (.384) and three-point defense (.300).
» Florida is also seventh nationally in fouling, committing 14.1 per game.
» The Crimson Tide is 16th nationally in steals (9.0) and 20th in scoring defense (58.2).

INJURY REPORT

FLORIDA
» Active: Freshman Michael Frazier II (back), junior Casey Prather (facial laceration)
» Questionable: Junior Will Yeguete (knee)

Read the rest of the Florida-Alabama preview with much more after the break!
Continue Reading » Gameday: No. 6/8 Florida Gators vs. Alabama

Tags: Alabama Crimson Tide, Anthony Grant, Billy Donovan, Casey Prather, Kenny Boynton, Michael Frazier, Mike Rosario, Scottie Wilbekin, SEC, Stephen C. O'Connell Center, Trevor Releford, Will Yeguete

Believe it or not, No. 6/8 Florida Gators basketball (22-5, 12-3 SEC) will have its full roster active and practicing together for the first time in three weeks on Thursday as the team officially announced Wednesday that trainers have cleared junior forwards Will Yeguete (knee) and Casey Prather (facial laceration) and freshman guard Michael Frazier II (concussion) to return to the court.

Yeguete, who aggravated a knee injury and left the court after a single minute of action on Feb. 5 at Arkansas, underwent arthroscopic knee surgery on Feb. 8 and has missed the last six games while rehabilitating. Florida, already thin in the frontcourt before Yeguete went down, is 4-3 over the last seven games while he has been sidelined.

A “dirty work” player and the squad’s best defender, Yeguete cleans up for a lot of his teammates’ shortcomings. He averaged 6.0 points and 6.3 rebounds (second-most on the team) before going down three weeks ago.

Frazier suffered a concussion at home against Arkansas on Feb. 23 and missed Tuesday’s away contest against Tennessee. UF fell 64-58 partially because it shot a low percentage and struggled mightily with UT’s length in the backcourt, two areas in which Frazier would have been of great assistance.

He is averaging 6.4 points and 3.4 boards per contest while shooting a team-high 48.9 percent from beyond the arc and team-best 95.2 percent from the charity stripe.

Knocked from Tuesday’s contest after his head began bleeding following a collision with redshirt senior G Mike Rosario, Prather skipped the bench and immediately headed to the locker room with Gators trainer Dave Werner.

Head coach Billy Donovan said after the game that he did not know whether Prather suffered his third concussion of the 2012-13 season.

In the end, it appears as if Prather’s injury was a simple facial laceration as he otherwise would not be returning to practice. He has already been out of action for 10 games this season due to two preseason concussions (five) and a high-ankle sprain (five).

Prather has been an important bench player for Florida as of late, filling in admirably for Yeguete and averaging 9.2 points and 4.7 rebounds while shooting 75.7 percent from the field over the last six games.

The Gators have not yet determined whether Yeguete or Frazier will be active for Saturday’s showdown against the Alabama Crimson Tide though things are obviously looking up for UF’s depth. Florida and Alabama are separated by one game in the Southeastern Conference standings with three left to play, making Saturday’s contest an important one for both teams.

Tags: Alabama Crimson Tide, Billy Donovan, Casey Prather, Dave Werner, Michael Frazier, Mike Rosario, SEC, Will Yeguete

Playing without their two primary reserves in a tough road atmosphere, the No. 6/8 Florida Gators (22-5, 12-3 SEC) were dealt an upset at the hands of the Tennessee Volunteers (17-10, 9-6 SEC), which took down their rivals 64-58 at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, TN on Tuesday evening.

Tennessee extended its winning streak to six games by defeating a Florida team playing with just six rotation players in an environment in which it now has a record of 5-12 under the helm of head coach Billy Donovan.

Volunteers guard Jordan McRae took advantage of the Gators’ undersized backcourt and posted a game-high 27 points on 9-of-20 shooting with seven rebounds and four assists. UT forward Jarnell Stokes played physical in the post and made the most of UF’s depleted frontcourt as he racked up eight points and a game-high 14 rebounds including six on the offensive glass.

Continue Reading » Short-handed Gators fall to Vols in Knoxville

Tags: Billy Donovan, Casey Prather, Jarnell Stokes, Jordan McRae, Kenny Boynton, Mike Rosario, Patric Young, Scottie Wilbekin, SEC, Tennessee Volunteers, Thompson-Boling Arena

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

Another close game, another upset loss for the No. 4/5 Florida Gators, which blew double-digit leads in both halves before falling 63-60 to the Missouri Tigers on Tuesday evening at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, MO.

Florida (21-4, 11-2 SEC) fell to 0-3 in games decided by three points or less this season while Missouri (19-7, 8-5 SEC) remained undefeated at home and now boasts a 15-0 record on its court (7-0 in league play).

The Gators held a game-high 13-point lead on the Tigers with 10:41 left in the game but committed six fouls and five turnovers over the duration of the contest while allowing Mizzou to pull off the come-from-behind upset.

Forward Laurence Bowers, whose absence was felt in Missouri’s 31-point loss at Florida on Jan. 19, led all scorers with 17 points on 8-of-17 shooting. He also grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds and proved to be a big-time problem for the Gators in the paint.

Continue Reading » Missouri upsets Florida as Gators collapse late

Tags: Billy Donovan, Erik Murphy, Kenny Boynton, Laurence Bowers, Mike Rosario, Missouri Tigers, Mizzou Arena, Patric Young, Scottie Wilbekin, SEC

With No. 4/5 Florida Gators basketball (21-3, 11-1 SEC) set to begin a challenging week of action including a road game at Missouri and a home contest against Arkansas on Saturday, head coach Billy Donovan met with the media Monday to provide updates on his team heading into its next two games.

MISSOURI: A DIFFERENT TEAM AT HOME

Florida trounced Missouri 83-52 back on Jan. 19 in Gainesville, FL, but the Gators had plenty of things working for them that day. Not only was the home crowd as loud and rowdy as it had been in recent memory, the Tigers took the court without their best player as forward Laurence Bowers was sidelined with a knee injury. Donovan explained that Bowers being back in the fold makes Mizzou a completely different team.

“[He’s] a guy that has been referenced by their team and coaches as a heart and soul guy to their team. He’s a very good player,” he said. “He can do a lot of different things. He rebounds, he can score from the low post, he can shoot threes. He’s very crafty, he’s good defensively, [and] he’s a very smart player. I think anytime you take a player like that off your team, your team is going to be a little different. Certainly, as an older guy, a veteran, an experienced guy, him being back only makes their team better.”

Tuesday’s hosts also play significantly better on their home court. Missouri is 14-0 at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, MO this season, boasting a 6-0 mark in Southeastern Conference play and winning those games by an average of 14 points. Conversely, the Tigers are 1-5 against league opponents on the road. The last time UF faced a team with such an extreme difference in their level of play based on location, the Gators were upset 80-69 at Arkansas on Feb. 5.

“You go play in Rupp [Arena], you go play at Arkansas, you go play in certain places around the league, a tough environment is going to be a tough environment. The noise level at any place on the road is going to be loud,” Donovan said. “Our guys have played on the road. We played at Arizona; I thought that was a very, very difficult place to play. We went to Kansas State [and] they had a great turnout. Our guys have played in difficult situations. I don’t think that there’s anything that we’re going to talk about environment-wise that is going to [catch] our guys off-guard.”

That is not to say Donovan is unaware of Missouri’s proficiencies in the friendly confines of their home gym. He has studied up on those variances, which means Florida’s players will be on high alert come Tuesday.

“They certainly feel more comfortable shooting the ball at home,” Donovan said of the Tigers. “The biggest numbers are what they’re shooting from the field, which is right around 48 percent, and what they’re shooting from three, which is about 42 percent. So they’ve been a team that has been extremely explosive offensively at home. … Now you’re dealing with a very, very explosive offensive team that can score in bunches in a lot of different ways, in a lot of different situations and they have back a key guy in Bowers that we didn’t see when we played against them last time.”

Read what else Billy Donovan had to say…after the break!
Continue Reading » 2/18: Donovan on Mizzou, Frazier’s progress

Tags: Billy Donovan, Erik Murphy, Freshman of the Week, Kenny Boynton, Michael Frazier, Mike Rosario, Missouri Tigers, SEC

No. 6/7 Florida Gators (21-3, 11-1 SEC) basketball plowed its way through yet another Southeastern Conference opponent on Saturday, outscoring the Auburn Tigers (9-16, 3-9 SEC) by 25 points in the first half and holding on for a dominant 83-52 victory on the road at Auburn Arena in Auburn, AL.

The victory was the Gators’ eighth by 30+ points this season, five of which have now come in SEC play.

Florida shot 50 percent from three in the contest, hitting 15-of-30 shots from beyond the arc while registering 25 assists on 31 made baskets. The Gators scored 18 points off 14 turnovers and swiped nine steals on the afternoon.

Redshirt senior guard Mike Rosario scored 18 first-half points and registered a new career-high at Florida, scoring a game-high 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting to go along with five assists. He was one of four Gators to score in double figures.

Freshman guard Michael Frazier II drained 6-of-7 threes for a career-high 18 points, and senior guard Kenny Boynton hit 4-of-9 treys for 16 points. Boynton also grabbed five boards and dished four dimes.

Senior forward Erik Murphy brought down a game-high six rebounds while swishing 3-of-4 triples for 11 points. Junior point guard Scottie Wilbekin ran the offense well throughout the contest, registering a game-high 10 assists.

Florida took the upper hand from the get go, using a 9-0 run to jump ahead 13-3 less than five minutes into the contest. Still leading by 10 midway through the half, Rosario jump-started a 12-3 run with consecutive layups. He first hit a reverse scoop layup before running back on defense, grabbing an impressive steal and going coast-to-coast for an old-fashioned three-point play.

Consecutive three-pointers by Boynton and Frazier vaulted the Gators ahead by 21 points, and Florida closed the half on a 10-0 run to take a 47-22 lead at the break.

The Gators eventually doubled up the Tigers 72-36 with eight minutes left in the second half on the back of a 17-4 scoring stretch that included five-straight treys including three-in-a-row from Frazier.

Guards Chris Denson and Jordan Price did most of Auburn’s scoring, combining for 25 points on 10-of-18 shooting. The rest of the Tigers’ roster went 9-of-36 combined.

Florida remains on the road when it travels to Columbia, MO on Tuesday to take on Missouri for the second time this season. The game will air live on ESPN at 9 p.m. The Gators beat the Tigers 83-52 in Gainesville, FL on Jan. 19.

Animated GIF created for OnlyGators.com by photekxl.

Tags: Auburn Tigers, Erik Murphy, Kenny Boynton, Michael Frazier, Mike Rosario, Scottie Wilbekin, SEC

The No. 6/7 Florida Gators (20-3, 10-1 SEC) loudly answered many of their critics on Tuesday evening with a sound and complete 69-52 takedown of the No. 25 Kentucky Wildcats (17-7, 8-3 SEC) at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center in Gainesville, FL.

Florida, which was 1-7 in its last eight games against Kentucky heading into Tuesday night’s contest, earned its first victory over its rivals since Feb. 5, 2011 to remain undefeated at home this season (12-0) and end the visitors’ five-game winning streak. The 17-point margin of victory over UK was the second-largest in program history and most for UF since it earned a 70-53 win on March 13, 2005.

The Gators also took a two-game lead in the Southeastern Conference standings and improved to 4-1 against top-25 opponents during the 2012-13 campaign.

UF was led by stellar performances from its junior class including great showings by point guard Scottie Wilbekin, center Patric Young and forward Casey Prather. Wilbekin registered game-highs of 14 points and eight assists, Young posted a double-double of 12 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, and Prather scored 12 points. All three gave superb efforts on the defensive end as well.

Continue Reading » No. 6/7 Florida clobbers No. 25 Kentucky 69-52

Tags: Billy Donovan, Casey Prather, Erik Murphy, Kenny Boynton, Kentucky Wildcats, Mike Rosario, Nerlens Noel, Patric Young, Scottie Wilbekin, SEC, Will Yeguete