Updated on May 3 at 10:30 a.m.

Florida Gators basketball’s 2013-14 non-conference schedule is taking shape after information was released this week about opponents for the upcoming season.

It has been confirmed that Florida will take on Kansas for the first time since 2006 as part of the inaugural SEC-Big 12 Challenge. KU will travel to Gainesville, FL on Dec. 10, 2013 for what is sure to be a fantastic showdown.

According to CBSSports.com’s Jeff Goodman, UF will also face Memphis at the 2013 Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY on Dec. 17.

The UF website announced on Friday that the Gators will play a road game at Connecticut on Dec. 2. It is the first time the teams have squared off since 1994.

It has long been known that Florida will finish off a home-and-home series with a road game at Wisconsin, host Florida State and Richmond, participate in the 2013 Orange Bowl Basketball Classic (Sunrise, FL) against an unsigned opponent, and take part in a five-team round robin called the Global Sports Challenge that includes Arkansas Little-Rock, Middle Tennessee State, North Florida and Southern.

Below is the non-conference schedule as of press time:

Nov. 8 vs. North Florida
TBA at Wisconsin
Nov. 16 vs. Arkansas Little-Rock
Nov. 18 vs. Southern
Nov. 21 vs. Middle Tennessee State
Nov 25 at Jacksonville
Nov. 29 vs. Florida State
Dec. 2 at UConn
Dec. 10 vs. Kansas
Dec. 17 vs. Memphis (New York, NY)
Dec. 21 vs. TBA (Sunrise, FL)
Dec. 29 vs. Savannah State
Jan. 4 vs. Richmond

Florida will be adding additional games to its non-conference schedule in the near future, so stay tuned for updates.

Tags: Global Sports Challenge, Jimmy V Classic, Orange Bowl Basketball Classic, SEC-Big 12 Challenge

In front of a crowd filled with orange and blue even though Saturday’s contest was billed as a neutral site game, No. 11/14 Florida Gators basketball (9-2) put together a strong second half to ground the Air Force Falcons (8-3) in the 2012 Orange Bowl Classic at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, FL.

Florida, behind three second-half three-pointers from senior guard Kenny Boynton, outscored Air Force by 15 and hit 70 percent of its shots in the final 20 minutes, pulling away for a 78-61 victory.

Erik Murphy, who was voted the contest’s MVP after registering a game-highs of 21 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three blocks. He shot 8-of-10 from the floor and 2-of-3 from beyond the arc.

Though the Falcons stuck to what they were good at and succeeded in keeping the game close by going 9-for-20 from three, UF blew it open in the second half with a 36-24 advantage on the boards and an overwhelming 38 points in the paint.

Senior forward Patric Young also scored in double-digits for Florida, posting 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting with four boards and a rejection.

Air Force standout senior G Michael Lyons registered team-highs of 11 points and seven rebounds but went just 3-of-12 from the floor in the game.

The Gators will conclude their non-conference schedule after the New Year by travelling to Yale on Jan. 6 for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off on NBC Sports Network.

Read the Florida-Air Force post-game report…after the break!
Continue Reading » Florida grounds Air Force 78-61 in Sunrise

Tags: Air Force Falcons, BB&T Center, Billy Donovan, Casey Prather, Dillon Graham, Erik Murphy, Kenny Boynton, Michael Frazier, Michael Lyons, Orange Bowl Basketball Classic, Patric Young, Will Yeguete

Event: 2012 MetroPCS Orange Bowl Basketball Classic
Location: BB&T Center – Sunrise, FL [Capacity: 20,737]
Time: 4:30 p.m. EST

TV: FSN/FSNHD (Rich Waltz, Mark Wise)
SiriusXM: 94/201 | Radio: Gator Radio Network [Affiliates]
Online Video: None | Mobile Video: None
Live Updates: @OnlyGators on Twitter and SportsYapper app

Odds: Florida -20.5 | O/U 131.5

HISTORY / STREAKS / STATS

» Florida is 1-0 all-time against Air Force with the lone game played in 1963 as part of the Gator Bowl Tournament. UF took a 74-68 victory in that game and is 3-1 all-time against service academies.
» The Gators are 9-2 all-time in the OBBC and will be participating in the event for the 12th time in the last 13 years.
» Four of UF’s regular starters are averaging double figures.
» Florida has held six of its 10 opponents under 50 points but has given up 61 or more points in three of its last six games (1-2).
» UF is 33-3 since the beginning of the 2011-12 season when holding opponents under 71 points in a game (8-2 in 2012-13).
» The Gators were just 3-5 against top-25 opponents last season with all five losses coming to top-three teams. UF is currently scheduled to take on seven top-25 opponents as part of the 2012-13 campaign and is already 1-1 in such games.
» Florida is third nationally in scoring defense (51.3), eighth in scoring margin (+20.9), 13th in field goal percentage defense (.359) and 20th in rebound margin (+8.7).
» The Gators are ninth nationally in fouling, committing 13.6 per game, and 111th nationally in assists, dishing just 14.0 per game.
» All five Falcons starters are seniors.
» Air Force seventh nationally in three-pointers per game (9.1) and turnover margin (+6.1), 15th nationally in three-point shooting (.492) and 28th in assists (16.5).
» The Falcons are 199th in rebounding margin (-0.1) and 277th in free throw shooting, connecting on just 64.6 percent of their attempts from the charity stripe.
» Air Force has eight players that have attempted 10 or more treys already this season.

Read the rest of the Florida-Air Force preview with much more after the break!
Continue Reading » Gameday: (11) Florida Gators vs. Air Force

Tags: Air Force Falcons, BB&T Center, Billy Donovan, Dave Pilipovich, Kenny Boynton, Michael Lyons, MWC, Orange Bowl Basketball Classic, SEC

Florida Gators basketball on Tuesday announced the times for all of the team’s non-conference games this season, officially completing the 2012-13 schedule. Florida will face a total of nine opponents who took part in the 2012 NCAA Tournament. The Gators will also participate in three events within the state – Navy/Marine Corps Classic, SEC/BIG EAST Challenge and Orange Bowl Basketball Classic.

UF will take on their permanent rival of Kentucky twice as part of the Southeastern Conference‘s new 18-game schedule; Florida begins its annual rotation facing Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi State and Missouri twice each.

The Gators start their SEC slate with four of their first six games on the road but will then have four of their next five at home concluding with Kentucky on Feb. 12.

Florida will play one game on CBS, 17 on ESPN networks, two on the NBC Sports Network, four on the SEC Network, seven on Sun Sports/FOX Sports Network and one on Comcast Sports South.

During non-conference and SEC competition combined, the Gators will play 20-of-31 games on national television including the conference’s season finale.

Below is the official 2012-13 schedule:

CLICK TO EXPAND and see the entire schedule.

Tags: basketball, Big East/SEC Challenge, Navy/Marine Corps Classic, Orange Bowl Basketball Classic, SEC

Florida Gators basketball announced the team’s 2012-13 non-conference schedule on Tuesday. Florida will face five opponents who took part in the 2012 NCAA Tournament while also participating in three events within the state of Florida – Navy/Marine Corps Classic, SEC/BIG EAST Challenge and Orange Bowl Basketball Classic.

“This is as challenging a non-conference schedule as we’ve had during my tenure at Florida,” head coach Billy Donovan said in an official school release. “We’ve made deep runs in the NCAA Tournament each of the last two years and a schedule like this helps expose us to a number of different styles of play that we could see later in the season, and also does a great job preparing us for SEC play.”

Below is the official 2012-13 non-conference schedule:

SCHEDULE NOTES

» The Gators will play four games in the state of Florida but outside of Gainesville for the second-straight year (Jacksonville, Tampa, Tallahassee, Sunrise).
» Twelve teams each from the SEC and Big East will each compete in the SEC/BIG EAST Challenge from Nov. 29-Dec. 1. Florida last faced and defeated Marquette 68-56 in the Sweet 16 round of the 2012 NCAA Tournament.
» Senior forward Erik Murphy will be able to play in front of friends and family during UF’s road game against Yale. He is from South Kingstown, RI.
» Florida will announce its 18-game conference schedule at a later date.

Tags: Big East/SEC Challenge, Billy Donovan, Global Sports Shootout, Navy/Marines Corps Classic, NCAA, NCAA Tournament, Orange Bowl Basketball Classic

1 » A report early Friday morning from ESPN’s Marc Stein and Chad Ford notes that former Florida Gators forward Chandler Parsons, a second-round draft pick of the Houston Rockets last year who had a stellar rookie season with the franchise, may wind up playing for the Orlando Magic in 2012 if his current franchise is successful in completing a trade for All-Star center Dwight Howard. Sources told Stein and Ford that Houston recently “sweetened” its offer to Orlando and that Parsons is one of four current players the Rockets would send to the Magic as part of an enormous package. Though nothing is imminent whatsoever, Houston has been in hot pursuit of Howard as of late. The Rockets traded for numerous first-round draft selections that they used in June (all of which would go to the Magic in the deal) and are trying to clear tons of cap space in order to give Howard a maximum contract and absorb expensive contracts as part of the trade. Should Parsons wind up getting traded, he would be able to play professionally in front of his family as he grew up in nearby Casselbery, FL.

2 » Coming off of a successful rookie season with Maccabi Ashdod of the Israeli league in which he averaged 12 points and 8.5 rebounds per game and was named the league’s Sixth Man of the Year, former Gators F Alex Tyus has signed a two-year deal to play for Pallacanestro Cantu in Italy, according to Sportando. Tyus, who recently received his Israeli citizenship and passport, will also play for the Israeli National Team while he is over in Europe. His contract with Cantu is worth $525,000 over the two seasons.

3 » Florida basketball is set to compete in the 2012 Orange Bowl Basketball Classic this season and will take part in the event for the 12th time in the last 13 years and 14th time in team history. It was revealed on Tuesday via a press release that UF will take on the Air Force Falcons in the event, marking the first time since 2008 that they will play a “lower-tier” program in the event (the Gators have faced Richmond, Kansas State and Texas A&M in Sunrise, FL over the last three seasons). The two-game tournament will be held on Dec. 29 at the BankAtlantic Center with Florida State and Tulsa going head-to-head in the first game of the doubleheader.

Read three more BITS on Lochte, Tebow, Wambach and Debose…after the break!
Continue Reading » SIX BITS: Parsons, Tebow, Wambach, Debose

Tags: Abby Wambach, Air Force Falcons, Alex Tyus, Andre Debose, BankAtlantic Center, Chandler Parsons, Houston Rockets, Maccabi Ashdod, NBA, Olympics, Orange Bowl Basketball Classic, Orlando Magic, Pallacanestro Cantu, Ryan Lochte, Sixth Man of the Year, soccer, swimming, Tim Tebow, World Cup

The sixth editions of the regular season USA Today/ESPN and Associated Press Top 25 Polls were released on Monday, and the Syracuse Orange maintained their spot as the No. 1 team in the country for the second week in a row.

The Florida Gators moved up slightly in both polls on the heels of an 84-64 victory over then-No. 22 Texas A&M. Florida is one of three Southeastern Conference teams listed in the respective rankings.

Additionally, Gators junior guard Kenny Boynton took home SEC Player of the Week honors after hitting 6-of-12 treys for 22 points and earning the MVP award in the 2011 Orange Bowl Basketball Classic on Saturday.

Click to expand and view the full top 25 polls.

Tags: Kenny Boynton, Orange Bowl Basketball Classic, Player of the Week, SEC, Top 25

The No. 13 Florida Gators beat up on the No. 22 Texas A&M Aggies 84-64 on Saturday afternoon at the 2011 Orange Bowl Basketball Classic in Sunrise, FL. After the game, head coach Billy Donovan and game MVP junior guard Kenny Boynton shared their thoughts on the victory.

BOYNTON’s BIG HOMECOMING

For the second-straight year, Boynton returned home to South Florida and picked up the MVP award in the OBBC. He accomplished the feat this time around by, as Donovan said, playing within himself and not losing sight of what was important in the game.

“With Kenny playing here before and playing like he did a year ago, the thing I just told him [before the game] was to let the game come to you. Just play and just take what the defense is giving us and do what we’re doing. There’s going to be enough opportunities for him,” he said. “There’s a mindset you have to have. I don’t think it’s ever easy when you come back [and play at home]. One thing I told Patric Young when he went back to play at Jacksonville: ‘All those people in the stands – they’re still going to love you regardless of what happens.’ When you’re back home, you want to do well you want the team to do well. There is so much you want to happen in a positive way. It says a lot about Kenny mentally coming in, staying focused on what the team needed to do. As a result, he had a great game because I think he really played the right way.”

Boynton dropped six threes on his way to a team-high 22 points and was efficient from beyond the arc, appearing to take controlled, balanced shots at every opportunity. Donovan explained that his mindset has changed a lot this year – all for the better.

“When he’s got his legs under him and he’s on balance, he can make deep shots and if guys are closing to him, he can get it off. I’m really happy for him this year. It’s been a lot of fun for me as a coach,” he said. “When he got here as a freshman, he was such a prolific scorer and he did it from behind the line because he could get it off. He went through a great learning process where he had a chance to play a lot as a freshman and then last year he added some different things. Right now, offensively, he’s becoming more and more complete. His turnover ratio is really good. He’s making pull-up mid-range jump shots. He’s making runners. With him doing that, it’s opening up other areas for him behind the line. The biggest thing that he’s doing right now is he’s finally realizing how long a game is.”

REMEDYING THE FREE THROW WOES
Click to expand and read the remainder of this post.

Tags: Billy Donovan, Bradley Beal, Casey Prather, Erving Walker, Kenny Boynton, Orange Bowl Basketball Classic, Patric Young, Texas A&M Aggies, Will Yeguete