Trying to avoid comparisons to a match-up between the same two teams in the opening game of the 2010 NCAA Tournament all week, the Florida Gators found themselves in the same spot they were one year ago – tied with the Brigham Young Cougars at the end of regulation. However, No. 2-seed Florida (29-7) proved they are a more mature and composed team than they were last season, outscoring No. 3-seed BYU (32-5) by nine points in overtime to win the Southeast Regional Semifinal of the 2011 NCAA Tournament 83-74 at the New Orleans Arena in New Orleans, LA on Thursday night.

Senior forward Alex Tyus led the Gators with the best game of his career, scoring 19 points on 8-of-9 shooting to go along with 17 rebounds in an all-around effort that kept Florida in the game and helped them prevail in the end. UF’s guards were relentless on BYU star G Jimmer Fredette, who scored a game-high 32 points but did so on 11-of-29 shooting (3-for-15 from downtown) with six costly turnovers.

The Gators started out hot, hitting eight of their first nine shots from the field to take a 20-10 lead. A trio of three-pointers from Cougars G Jackson Emery kept the score close as Florida missed five-consecutive treys after starting 4-for-6 from beyond the arc.

Fredette, who started out 0-for-6 and was blocked three times in first half, hit his first shot of the game with 6:17 left before the break. As he heated up, BYU took off on a 16-5 run to and jumped ahead 32-30 on UF. With under three minutes to play before halftime, Fredette hit two layups while senior F Chandler Parsons and junior point guard Erving Walker each dropped in a three for the Gators. Walker went to the line for a one-and-one at the end of the half but missed the front end to send the game into halftime tied at 36.

The Gators came out of the break with an 8-0 run to take a 44-39 lead. Fredette quickly responded with five-straight points – including his first trey after starting 0-for-5 from downtown – to bring his team within two with 15:12 remaining. A 6-0 run by the Cougars a few minutes later jumped them ahead 50-49, but Florida answered back with a 12-5 scoring streak to quickly retake the lead.

Down six, Brigham Young looked to Fredette to get them back in the contest; he answered the call, capping an 8-2 run with a 30-foot three-pointer to tie the game at 63 with 4:59 to play. He would go on to score 32 of his team’s final 47 points in regulation.

UF and BYU traded field goals and free throws from there, and the Gators led by one with under a minute left and the clock winding down.

Suddenly, after a missed triple by Walker, Tyus was called for a questionable over-the-back foul, which sent Cougars F Kyle Collinsworth to the line with a chance for his team to take the lead. Collinsworth proceeded to make his first free throw but missed his second to leave the game tied at 68 and the ball in the Gators’ hands.

UF head coach Billy Donovan immediately called a timeout to draw up a play for sophomore guard Kenny Boynton, who missed a three with 25 seconds left. Walker rushed across the court to get the long rebound, allowing Donovan to call a second timeout and create another play. Parsons got the ball, drove down the right side and missed a short jumper to send the contest into overtime. It was the third time in as many tries that Parsons missed a potential game-winner against BYU in regulation or extra time.

Florida started hot out of the gate in the final five minutes, knocking down four-straight points and concluding the game by outscoring Brigham Young 15-6 in overtime while holding Fredette scoreless.

Three other Gators starters scored in double figures to complement Tyus’s career-best performance. Boynton dropped in 17 points on a relatively poor shooting night (5-of-14 from the floor, 4-of-13 from downtown), though he did hit 3-for-4 from the line and scored five-straight in overtime. Walker and Parsons each finished with 16; Walker added six rebounds and five assists, while Parsons contributed nine boards and seven dimes.

Florida redshirt senior center Vernon Macklin, who saw double teams in the post most of the night, was 4-for-5 from the field for nine points with five rebounds.

Fredette did not get much help from his squad offensively as none of his teammates posted double-digit points. Emery and F Noah Hartsock each contributed nine points, but it was Collinsworth came up big for Brigham Young with a team-high 15 boards.

UF was more efficient than BYU overall, hitting a better percentage of their shots both from the floor (.477-.352) and from beyond the arc (.324-.270). However, the Cougars kept it close by making the most of their chances from the charity stripe, connecting on 14-of-16 attempts (87.5 percent) compared to the Gators only hitting on 10-of-22 tries (45.5 percent). Florida outrebounded BYU 42-39, dished 10 more assists (23-13), smacked four more blocks (5-1) and committed seven fewer fouls (12-19).

The teams set a NCAA Tournament record by combining for 71 three-point attempts.

With the victory, the Gators advance from the Sweet 16 to the Elite Eight for the fifth time in school history (1994, 2000, 2006-07). Florida has never in the Elite Eight, advancing to the Final Four on all four occasions.

UF will face No. 8-seed Butler on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. The game will air live on CBS.

Photo Credit: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Tags: Alex Tyus, Billy Donovan, Brigham Young Cougars, Chandler Parsons, Elite Eight, Erving Walker, Jackson Emery, Jimmer Fredette, Kenny Boynton, Kyle Collinsworth, NCAA, NCAA Tournament, New Orleans Arena, Noah Hartsock, Sweet 16, Vernon Macklin

Event: 2011 NCAA Tournament – Sweet 16
Location: New Orleans Arena – New Orleans, LA [Capacity: 18,500]
Time: 7:27 p.m. (EST)

Odds: Florida -3; O/U 149
Note: The line has fluctuated slightly since it was initially released, dropping as low as -2 but as high as -4. You can bet on College Basketball at BetUS! The Gators are currently the second-most wagered-on team of the day and could cover for the spread for the third-straight game in the tournament.

HISTORY and STREAKS

» Florida is making its second-straight and 16th overall NCAA Tournament appearance. The Gators are 31-13 all-time in the event with two national titles, three championship game appearances and four Final Four appearances.
» UF has advanced to the NCAA Regional Semifinal for the seventh time in school history. The No. 2 seed is their second-highest opening position in school history, and their .705 all-time NCAA Tournament winning percentage is the highest in SEC history in front of Kentucky (.695) and Auburn (.600).
» BYU is making its 26th NCAA Tournament appearance. The Cougars are 14-28 all-time in the event and have earned a berth in eight of the last 11 seasons. The No. 3 seed is their highest in school history; they earned the same rank in 1980.
» Florida and BYU are meeting for the fourth time in the history of the two programs. The Cougars are 3-0 all-time against the Gators with all games being played at neutral sites. Before squaring off in 2010, the teams had not met since 1991 and prior to that 1959. BYU’s win last year in the tournament was their first since 1993.
» The two teams share the UCLA Bruins as a common opponent during the season. Florida defeated UCLA 73-65 on Saturday, and BYU lost to them 86-79 back on Dec. 18.
» Donovan is 24-8 all-time in the tournament including two national championships and three Final Four appearances. His .750 winning percentage at the Big Dance is fourth among active coaches and second all-time among SEC coaches. He is also the youngest active coach to win a national title (age 40 in 2006).
» The Gators are 15-3 against the 2011 NCAA field and finished the regular season with the third outright SEC championship in school history (1989, 2007). Florida has captured five overall SEC titles including four under Donovan (2000, 2001, 2007, 2011).
» UF averages a +14.0-point margin of victory in 24 NCAA wins under Donovan. They have not allowed a team to connect on more than six threes in the last seven games.
» The Gators are 23-2 when holding an opponent under 70 points this year.
» Florida has won 20 of their last 24 games (and 12 of their last 14 – only losses coming to Kentucky) including 17 against RPI top 100 teams.
» The Gators are the only NCAA Division I team not to have a player foul out of a game this season. They lead the nation in fewest fouls committed per game (14.5).
» UF is 10-3 when senior forward Chandler Parsons takes 10+ shots from the field. He has moved into the top 20 in school history in scoring (1,419 points) and is the only active Division I player with over 1,300 points, 800 rebounds, 300 assists and 125 steals. He also became the sixth player in school history with 500+ career field goals.
» Brigham Young senior guard Jimmer Fredette holds the school’s career, single-season and single-game scoring records.
» BYU bests Florida in three of four major national statistical categories. The Cougars lead the Gators in points per game 81.6-71.5 (8th-98th), rebounding 38.7-37.5 (16th-49th) and assists per contest 14.5-13.7 (65th-106th); however, Florida shoots better as a team from the field .462-.452 (51st-91st). The Gators also lead the Cougars in scoring defense with 62.7-67.4 points per game and rebound margin +5.9 to +3.0. Brigham Young, on the other hand, turns the ball over less per game 10.9-12.3 and forces more miscues 14.4-12.5. UF ranks 10th in RPI (.6353) and sixth in strength of schedule nationally compared to BYU being fifth (.6462) and 22nd, respectively.

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Tags: Alex Tyus, All-SEC, Billy Donovan, Brandon Davies, BYU Cougars, Chandler Parsons, Dave Rose, Erving Walker, Jackson Emery, Jimmer Fredette, Kenny Boynton, MWC, NCAA, NCAA Tournament, New Orleans Arena, Noah Hartsock, Patric Young, Player of the Year, Scottie Wilbekin, SEC, Sweet 16, UCLA Bruins, Vernon Macklin

With the 2011 NCAA Tournament Southeast Regional Semifinal game between the No. 2-seed Florida Gators (28-7) and No. 3-seed BYU Cougars (32-4) just hours away from getting underway, there are a number of storylines being discussed going into the contest. OGGOA has compiled some of the latest news and notes surrounding the Florida-BYU game airing live on TBS Thursday evening at 7:27 p.m.

WHAT SORE ANKLE?

Sophomore guard Kenny Boynton sprained his ankle on Saturday against UCLA, but if you ask him or his teammates how he’s doing, you would never know he hurt it in the first place. “[He’s] fine. You couldn’t even tell that he twisted it,” senior forward Alex Tyus said. Boynton was 100 percent positive he would be playing without any issues on Thursday. “My status is good. I practiced fully [Wednesday],” he said. “I did every drill. I’m going to be good tomorrow. I’m confident.”

Head coach Billy Donovan provided a more substantial update on Boynton’s health and mobility. “He was in a position to practice [Tuesday], and the trainer wanted to hold him out and rest him another day. He went through practice [Tuesday] without any contact. All the running drills, moving drills, shooting drills, he did all those things. [Wednesday] he was full go. He was in full contact,” Donovan said. “He appeared to be moving well, has not said or given me any indication he’s having any issues or any problems with his ankle. We expect him to be fine [Thursday] night and to be able to play. He probably could have gone [Tuesday], but they just wanted to give him that extra time to at least get back in the flow, move, shoot, cut and then see if there was any kind of lasting effect from the injury, and there didn’t seem to be. […] I didn’t notice anything differently with him favoring it, him trying to protect himself at all today in practice. He did everything that everybody else did and was in there the whole entire time.”

REVENGE? WHAT 2010 GAME?

Like Boynton’s ankle, Florida’s loss in the opening game of the 2010 NCAA Tournament to BYU never happened if you talk to the Gators starters. Not only is UF not out for “revenge,” they are confident that there are few similarities between the two contests.

“We pretty much put that game in the past,” redshirt senior center Vernon Macklin said. “Coach Donovan told us it happened last year, and it was a great game. […] We’re just going to try to go out there and play defense because it’s a great team. We’re going to put that game in the past and just get ready to play. […] There’s no revenge. It’s just a regular game for us. And for them, also. The game happened last year was a great game. We lost first round of the tournament; they went on and won. But it’s no revenge, we just want to go out there and play against anybody and it happens to be BYU and they’re ready to play and we’re ready to play.”

Tyus and fellow senior F Chandler Parsons echoed Macklin’s sentiments on the subject. “We’re just excited to play tomorrow. No revenge. It could have been anybody we were going to play against, and we’re just ready to play tomorrow,” Tyus said after Parsons provided his own thoughts. “Us going into the game, we’re just worried about their team this year. We can’t be worried about what we did good last year, what we did bad last year,” he said. “We’ve just got to come in. We have a new team; they have a new team, new personnel. So it’s just going to be us against them. We’re playing them right now, so that’s all we can worry about. We can’t worry about the past or the future.”

Donovan remembers that game and notices that the Cougars are much improved from a year ago even though there won’t be any carry over. “They’re better because [their players have improved]. They are a physical team. They’re a very aggressive team. They’re a great steal team,” he said. “We’re not playing the same team we played a year ago; we’re playing a team that’s better than they were a year ago. So for us, and I’ve said to people, unless they’re going to take points from the last time we played them or rebounds or assists, that game has nothing to do with this game tomorrow. What we can take from the game is having a familiarity in terms of their personnel.”

That being said, the Gators have also vastly improved and are entering the contest with a different mindset. ”We’re more focused coming into this game,” Boynton said. “We’re mature. We’re focused more on defense, taking more charges than we did last year. We’re ready to play.” Added Walker, “We’ve been doing a great job all year with scouting. This week has been no different. Coach prepared us very well and we should be ready to go come [Thursday] night.”

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Tags: Alex Tyus, Billy Donovan, BYU Cougars, Chandler Parsons, Erving Walker, Jimmer Fredette, Kenny Boynton, NCAA, NCAA Tournament, Patric Young, Scottie Wilbekin, Vernon Macklin

Overseas in Spain starting every game for C.B. Gran Canaria 2014 of the ACB, former Florida Gators two-time National Championship-winning point guard Taurean Green took some nearly 45 minutes out of his busy schedule to sit down with OGGOA for a wide-ranging, in-depth interview late Tuesday evening.

Green, one of the four members of the Oh Fours and an integral part to the team’s success from 2005-07, discussed at length his college career and continuing relationship with his Gators teammates and coaches. He also provided some insight into what the current team is going through during their 2011 NCAA Tournament run and how they can improve going forward and make the most out of their opportunity.

ADAM SILVERSTEIN: With your father being a former NBA player and college coach as your adviser, what was it about Florida and Billy Donovan that had you winding up playing for the Gators out of high school?
TAUREAN GREEN: “Obviously Coach Donovan was a huge factor, the style of play, Coach [Anthony] Grant was a huge factor, too. It was just basically the style of play, how they get up-and-down [the court], and he’s a guard’s coach. I knew that he played for a great coach in Rick Pitino at Providence, and then he played some years in the NBA. Just from what everybody told me and from what I heard, he’s a guard’s coach and you’ll definitely get better [playing for him]. He’ll give you freedom out there but along with the freedom comes responsibility in running the team.”

AS: Your first year at Florida was obviously an adjustment as there were still a bunch of upperclassmen holding starting roles on the team. How was it walking into a team with established guys like David Lee, Matt Walsh and Anthony Roberson already comfortable with each other and running the show?
TG: “That was good for me. Some guys can adapt – you see freshmen get thrown into the fire right away nowadays. I felt like I needed that year to go against Anthony Roberson and all those guys just to get my feet wet. At the same time, I knew that I was going to be getting better going against Peep every day in practice. They led the way, and we just tried to contribute in whatever way we could.”

AS: You won the SEC Tournament that season and were a No. 4-seed going into the NCAA Tournament. What was it like playing at such a big stage so early in your career?
TG: “It was fun! When I was at Florida, the main thing was we just lived in the moment. We took it game-by-game. We wanted to do stuff that no other team really had done at Florida. We knew that we had David, Matt and Anthony, and we just wanted to contribute in any way we could. The main thing was just going out and playing hard, doing whatever it took to win.”

Read the rest of our exclusive interview with Taurean Green…after the break!
Continue Reading » Taurean Green: “We knew nobody could beat us.”

Tags: ACB, Adrian Moss, Al Horford, Alex Tyus, Andy Miller, Anthony Grant, Anthony Roberson, Billy Donovan, Chandler Parsons, Chris Richard, Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, Corey Brewer, David Lee, Draft, Erving Walker, EuroCup Challenge, Gran Canaria, Jaycee Carroll, Joakim Noah, Kristen Youngblood, Lee Humphrey, Matt Walsh, National Championship, NBA, NCAA, NCAA Tournament, New York Knicks, Oh-Fours, Olympics, Patric Young, Portland Trail Blazers, Rick Pitino, SEC, SEC Tournament, Sidney Green, Sweet 16, Taurean Green, Vernon Macklin

Fighting for a berth in the Sweet 16, the No. 2-seed Florida Gators had to deal with a familiar postseason foe in the No. 7-seed UCLA Bruins. Utilizing a spectacularly clutch three-pointer by junior point guard Erving Walker as part of a 7-0 run over the final 1:15, the Gators (28-7) defeated the Bruins (23-11) 73-65 in the third round of the 2011 NCAA Tournament at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, FL on Saturday.

Walker scored a team-high 21 points – on 5-of-8 shooting (3-for-5 from downtown) with eight free throws in 10 attempts – to give UF their third-straight victory over UCLA in the NCAA Tournament and a 3-0 all-time record against the Bruins. The Gators improved to 20-1 on the season when leading at the half and 23-2 when holding an opponent under 70 points while reaching the Sweet 16 for the seventh time in school history.

Florida and UCLA each achieved four-point leads in the first half, which was filled with plenty of back-and-forth action including four ties and eight lead changes. The Bruins started with a 20-10 rebounding advantage (9-0 on the offensive glass), but the Gators outscored them 7-4 to close the half and took a 35-33 lead going into the break.

The give-and-take action continued in the second half with either the score being tied or Florida holding a slight advantage through most of the latter period. With the contest coming to a conclusion and 6:34 left to play, the Gators stepped up their efforts.

UF senior forward Chandler Parsons registered an athletic rejection on UCLA center Joshua Smith with the game tied at 55, an action that jump-started his team to a 6-0 run via a pair of threes from sophomores guard Kenny Boynton and F Erik Murphy.

Bruins F Tyler Honeycutt immediately cut the Gators’ lead in half with a big trey and Florida held on to their three-point advantage until Smith hit a layup to reduce UCLA’s deficit to one with 1:33 remaining in the game.

Back on offense, Gators redshirt senior C Vernon Macklin missed a layup; UF got the ball back and inbounded it near half court to Walker, who drained a triple from beyond the arc. With Florida up four and the clock ticking down, all UCLA could do is foul. Walker hit four free throws down the stretch and scored 10 of his team’s final 12 points to give the Gators a game-high eight-point lead, which also ended up as the margin of victory.

Florida utilized a total team effort to take down Los Angeles. Macklin finished the game with 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting and three boards (two offensive), and freshman C Patric Young posted eight points, four rebounds and a pair of blocks in reserve minutes behind him. Senior F Alex Tyus contributed eight points as well as a career- and team-high 13 rebounds, and Murphy scored seven points on 3-of-4 shooting.

Walker and Boynton were responsible for all of the backcourt production, with Boynton scoring 12 points even though he was limited toward the end of the game after injuring his ankle coming down from a three-pointer. Parsons and Boynton each posted a team-high five assists with Parsons also adding seven points and five boards.

The Bruins saw four players score in double figures with Smith and F Reeves Nelson each contributing a team-high 16 points; Nelson also notched a team-high 11 rebounds. Honeycutt scored 13 and hit three of his six attempts from downtown, while G Malcom Lee added 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting.

Though the differential was two-to-one in the first half, UF and UCLA each grabbed 30 rebounds. The Gators outshot the Bruins 50.0 percent to 41.8 percent from the floor and 42.9 percent to 23.1 percent from downtown. Florida was also faced with a 5-15 free throw disparity early but saw a 12-10 advantage in the second half.

UF will face the winner of BYU/Gonzaga (to be contested Saturday at 7:55 p.m.) in regional semifinals action on March 24. Additional information forthcoming.

Photo Credit: Chris O’Meara/Associated Press

Tags: Alex Tyus, Chandler Parsons, Erik Murphy, Erving Walker, Joshua Smith, Kenny Boynton, Malcom Lee, NCAA, NCAA Tournament, Patric Young, Reeves Nelson, St. Pete Times Forum, Sweet 16, Tyler Honeycutt, UCLA Bruins, Vernon Macklin

Event: 2011 NCAA Tournament – Round of 32
Location: St. Pete Times Forum – Tampa, FL [Capacity: 20,500]
Time: 2:45 p.m. (EST)

Odds: Florida -5; O/U 135

HISTORY and STREAKS

» Florida is making its second-straight and 16th overall NCAA Tournament appearance. The Gators are 30-13 all-time in the event with two national titles, three championship game appearances and four Final Four appearances.
» UCLA is making its 44th NCAA Tournament appearance. The Bruins are 99-46 all-time in the event and have the third-most wins behind North Carolina and Kentucky.
» UF’s No. 2 seed is their second-highest opening position in school history.
» Donovan is 23-8 all-time in the tournament including two national championships and three Final Four appearances. His .742 winning percentage at the Big Dance is fourth among active coaches and second all-time among SEC coaches. He is also the youngest active coach to win a national title (age 40 in 2006).
» Florida is 14-3 against the 2011 NCAA field and finished the regular season with the third outright SEC championship in school history (1989, 2007). The Gators have captured five overall SEC titles including four under Donovan (2000, 2001, 2007, 2011).
» The Gators and Bruins are meeting for just the third time in the history of the two programs. Florida is 2-0 in those match-ups, defeating UCLA in back-to-back seasons, first for the national championship in 2006 and then in the 2007 Final Four to eventually go on and win a second-straight title.
» Florida is 5-3 all-time in the St. Pete Times Forum (2-1 in the NCAA Tournament).
» UF is averaging a +14.3-point margin of victory in 23 tournament wins under Donovan.
» The Gators are 22-2 when holding an opponent under 70 points this year.
» Florida has won 19 of their last 23 games (and 11 of their last 13) including 16 against RPI top 100 teams. The Gators have not lost back-to-back contests since Feb. 2010.
» UF is 10-3 when senior forward Chandler Parsons takes 10+ shots from the field. He has moved into the top 20 in school history in scoring (1,412 points) and is one of only two active Division I players with over 1,300 points, 800 rebounds, 300 assists and 100 steals. He also became the sixth player in school history with 500+ career field goals.
» Florida bests UCLA in in three of four major national statistical categories. The Gators lead the Bruins in points per game 71.5-70.0 (98th-137th), rebounding 37.5-37.3 (49th-61st) and field goal percentage .462-.456 (51st-74nd); however, UCLA dishes more assists 14.6-13.7 (57th-106th). UF also sports a superior defense, holding opponents fewer points per game 62.6-65.8 while they grab more steals 6.0-5.5 and force more turnovers 12.7-12.1. Florida ranks 10th in RPI (.6353) and sixth in strength of schedule nationally compared to Los Angeles being 43rd (.5785) and 60th, respectively.

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Tags: Alex Tyus, Ben Howland, Billy Donovan, Chandler Parsons, Erving Walker, Kenny Boynton, NCAA, NCAA Tournament, Patric Young, Reeves Nelson, Scottie Wilbekin, SEC, Tyler Honeycutt, UCLA Bruins, Vernon Macklin

In a day filled with buzzer-beaters and close calls, the No. 2-seed Florida Gators (27-7) strayed from the norm and smacked down the No. 15-seed UC Santa Barbara Gauchos (18-14) 79-51 in the second round of the 2011 NCAA Tournament at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, FL. with the win, Florida earned its first NCAA Tournament victory since defeating Ohio State for the 2007 national title.

Senior forward Chandler Parsons led the way for the Gators with 10 points, 10 assists and seven boards, while junior point guard Erving Walker was the team’s leading scorer posting 18 points on 5-of-8 shooting (4-for-6 from downtown).

UCSB opened the game by winning the tip-off and hitting a free throw, but it was all Florida the rest of the way. The Gators started their dominance with a 10-0 run including a pair of treys from Parsons and soon after used a 17-2 run to jump ahead 35-13.

Florida took a 25-point lead a few minutes later and outshot Santa Barbara 58.1 percent to 27.3 percent in the first half. The Gators also out-rebounded the Gauchos 19-9 and stole the ball five more times (8-3) to force an extra handful of turnovers (5-10).

UF continued their onslaught after the break, jumping ahead a game-high 34 points midway through the second half. UCSB failed to make any headway in the latter portion of the game as Florida substituted most of their bench and held on for the victory.

Joining Parsons and Walker with impressive outings were sophomore guard Kenny Boynton (13 points) and senior F Alex Tyus (eight points, seven boards). Redshirt senior center Vernon Macklin finished with 10 points, and freshman C Patric Young added six points and six rebounds (three offensive).

G/F Orlando Johnson led Santa Barbara with a game-high 21 points, and teammate F James Nunnally contributed 12 points.

The Gators finished the game shooting 54.7 percent from the floor while holding the Gauchos to 36.2 percent efficiency. UF was also 8-for-23 (34.8 percent) from beyond the arc and 13-for-17 from (76.5 percent) from the charity stripe.

Florida will move on to face the winner of No. 7-seed UCLA vs. No. 10-seed Michigan State in round of 32 action on Saturday in Tampa. The game’s start time and television carrier are yet to be determined but will be announced here when available.

Photo Credit: Chris O’Meara/Associated Press

Tags: Alex Tyus, Chandler Parsons, Erving Walker, James Nunnally, Kenny Boynton, NCAA, NCAA Tournament, Orlando Jones, Patric Young, St. Pete Times Forum, UC Santa Barbara Gauchos, Vernon Macklin

Event: 2011 NCAA Tournament – Second Round
Location: St. Pete Times Forum – Tampa, FL [Capacity: 20,500]
Time: 6:50 p.m. (EST)

Odds: Florida -12.5; O/U 127.5

HISTORY and STREAKS

» Florida is making its second-straight and 16th overall NCAA Tournament appearance. The Gators are 29-13 all-time in the event with two national titles, three championship game appearances and four Final Four appearances.
» UF’s No. 2 seed is their second-highest opening position in school history.
» Donovan is 22-8 all-time in the tournament including two national championships and three Final Four appearances. His .733 winning percentage at the Big Dance is fourth among active coaches and second all-time among SEC coaches. He is also the youngest active coach to win a national title (age 40 in 2006).
» Florida is 13-3 against the 2011 NCAA field and finished the regular season with the third outright SEC championship in school history (1989, 2007). The Gators have captured five overall SEC titles including four under Donovan (2000, 2001, 2007, 2011).
» The Gators and Gauchos are meeting for the first time. Florida will also be facing an opponent from the Big West conference for the first time in school history.
» Florida is 4-3 all-time in the St. Pete Times Forum (1-1 in the NCAA Tournament).
» UF is averaging a +13.7-point margin of victory in 22 tournament wins under Donovan.
» The Gators are 21-2 when holding an opponent under 70 points this year.
» Florida has won 18 of their last 22 games (and 10 of their last 12) including 16 against RPI top 100 teams. The Gators have not lost back-to-back contests since Feb. 2010.
» UF is 10-3 when senior forward Chandler Parsons takes 10+ shots from the field. He has moved into the top 20 in school history in scoring (1,402 points) and is one of only two active Division I players with over 1,300 points, 800 rebounds, 300 assists and 100 steals. He also became the sixth player in school history with 500+ career field goals.
» Florida bests UC Santa Barbara in three of four major national statistical categories. The Gators lead the Gauchos in points per game 71.5-68.4 (98th-184th), rebounding 37.5-32.6 (49th-284th) and field goal percentage .462-.456 (51st-72nd); however, UCSB dishes more assists 14.5-13.7 (67th-106th). UF also sports a superior defense, forcing opponents to score fewer points per game 63.0-65.4. Florida ranks 10th in RPI (.6353) and seventh in strength of schedule nationally compared to Santa Barbara being 153rd (.5024) and 20th, respectively.

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Tags: Alex Tyus, Big West, Billy Donovan, Bob Williams, Chandler Parsons, Erving Walker, James Nunnally, Kenny Boynton, NCAA, NCAA Tournament, Orlando Johnson, Scottie Wilbekin, SEC, St. Pete Times Forum, UC Santa Barbara Gauchos, Vernon Macklin