Florida Gators head basketball coach Billy Donovan likes to talk – and we like to listen – which is why we have compiled some of the most important news, notes and quotes following UF’s back-to-back wins – 71-67 at the Xavier Musketeers and 84-59 over the Rhode Island Rams in the following post.

LITTLE THINGS MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE

Just last week Donovan pointed to Florida’s penchant for turnovers and poor free throw shooting as two of the reasons they unraveled against Jacksonville. Though he still hopes for improvement from the charity stripe, he was pleased with the effort put forth by the Gators over the last two games. Speaking about the Rhode Island victory, Donovan said UF outplayed URI in all but four minutes of the contest.

“We played a pretty complete game – outside the last four minutes of the first half, they beat us by seven the last four minutes,” he said. “The difference in the game tonight was, one, the rebounding margin and, two, the way we defended the three-point line.”

Turnovers were still a minor issue for the Gators on Monday, but improvement in the team’s collective ball handling was evident.

“We’re getting better there. The two guys that have the ball that are our playmakers are Chandler [Parsons] and Erving [Walker] a lot. Erv has five assists, four turnovers; Chandler five assists, three turnovers. So of our 13 turnovers, [seven] come from those two guys,” Donovan said. “It’s hard for me to nit pick at those guys because they both play so hard and they both do a lot of things, but we’ve got to get those two guys in particular to do a better job. We’re moving in the right direction.”

Florida scored more than 80 points for only the second time this season (105 on 11/18 vs. North Carolina A&T)

“Our guys offensively…we’re getting better, we’re improving,” he said. “I didn’t know if we could hold them to 59 points because they have so many different offensive weapons, but we did. We’re getting better on offense. Alex [Tyus] and Kenny Boynton didn’t have great shooting nights for us, but Chandler did and we were able to get the ball inside and still able to manufacture 84 points.”

Read the rest of the notes and quotes from Donovan…after the break!
Continue Reading » 1/3: Donovan’s post-game notes and quotes

Tags: Alex Tyus, Billy Donovan, Chandler Parsons, Erik Murphy, Erving Walker, Kenny Boynton, Rhode Island Rams, Vernon Macklin, Will Yeguete, Xavier Musketeers

Suffering a devastating upset to Jacksonville on Monday, the No. 19/20 Florida Gators (9-3) rebounded slightly with a 66-55 victory over the Radford Highlanders (2-9) Wednesday evening at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center in Gainesville, FL.

Junior point guard Erving Walker, who led Florida in points for the second-straight game and was perhaps the most efficient offensively he has been all season, posted 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting while going 5-for-7 from downtown and 3-for-4 from the free throw line. He scored a season-high 21 points for UF on Monday.

Radford, which is 340th in the nation in points per game and field goal percentage and has now lost nine-straight games, never led in the contest but was only down seven points going into halftime and ended up losing the game by 11 after facing a game-high 18-point deficit late in the second half.

The Highlanders turned the ball over five times in the first 4:30 of the game, allowing the Gators to jump out to an early 13-1 lead. Radford did not make its first field goal until 12:22 remained in the first half but went on a 7-1 run to cut Florida’s lead to 23-16.

UF coughed up the ball nine times in the first half and shot a paltry 3-for-12 from beyond the arc. Senior forward Chandler Parsons dished five assists in the period, one more than the entire RU team.

The second half began in a similar fashion for both Radford and Florida. The Highlanders committed seven turnovers in the first 5:17 of the half, and the Gators used a 14-2 run to jump out to a 45-28 lead. Controlling the game most of the half, Florida went up a game-high 18 points and looked to cruise to the finish line until Radford exploded on an 11-3 run to cut UF’s lead to 64-55 with 1:05 left in the game.

The Gators forced a season-high 23 turnovers in the contest, and their nine treys tied their top mark for the year. Head coach Billy Donovan won his 340th game Wednesday night, tying him for third all-time in Southeastern Conference history.

Parsons finished the game with nine points, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals but missed all four attempts from downtown. Sophomore guard Kenny Boynton continued to struggle shooting, finishing 4-of-13 (3-for-9 from three) with 11 points.

Senior F Alex Tyus grabbed five boards and was an efficient 4-for-6 from the field for eight point, while redshirt senior center Vernon Macklin added six points and six rebounds. Freshman PG Scottie Wilbekin saw 20 minutes off the bench and scored the first three-pointer of his career to go along with two assists.

Florida now has nearly a week off to celebrate the holidays before they face Fairfield at home on Dec. 28 at 7 p.m. The game will air live on ESPNU.

Other statistics from the box score:
- Sophomore F Erik Murphy: 2-of-7 for four points, four rebounds, two blocks
- Freshman F Will Yeguete: 3-for-4 from FT line, five points, five rebounds (four off.)
- Radford shot 50% from the field against Florida after averaging 36.5% on the season.

Tags: Alex Tyus, Billy Donovan, Chandler Parsons, Erik Murphy, Erving Walker, Kenny Boynton, O'Connell Center, Radford Highlanders, Scottie Wilbekin, Vernon Macklin, Will Yeguete

By Malik Grady – OGGOA Correspondent

After nine games, the Florida Gators men’s basketball team is a hard-to-gauge 7-2 with losses to a top-five Ohio State team in Gainesville, FL, and an embarrassing loss to a possible NCAA Tournament team in Central Florida in Orlando, FL. Is this team closer to the top-10 ranked one that led Ohio State at the 12-minute mark of the second half or more akin to the one that only beat Morehead State by six and lost to UCF?

Complicating the issue is the curious combination of players struggling offensively and extended minutes for young players who may still improve dramatically in the coming months. It’s much easier to look at the often contradicting facts than to make any certain predictions for this team going forward.

Simply put, the Gators have not been particularly noteworthy on either offense or defense as of yet, except in a few curious instances. Checking their advanced statistics so far reveals a few things about how the team has played up until this point.

Read the rest of Malik’s commentary on Florida basketball…after the jump!
Continue Reading » Jury still out on Florida basketball through nine

Tags: Alex Tyus, Billy Donovan, Casey Prather, Chandler Parsons, Erik Murphy, Erving Walker, Jacob Pullen, Kenny Boynton, NCAA, NCAA Tournament, Nick Calathes, Patric Young, Scottie Wilbekin, Vernon Macklin, Will Yeguete

Event: Florida Citrus Sports Shootout
Location: Amway Center – Orlando, FL [Capacity: 20,000]
Time: 7:00 p.m. (EST)

TV: FSN
Online Video: ESPN3.com
Online Audio: Yahoo!
Live Updates: @OnlyGators

Odds: Florida -3.5

HISTORY and STREAKS

» Florida is undefeated in the all-time series against Central Florida 9-0, though the two teams have never squared off in Orlando.
» The Gators are 8-1 against Conference USA opponents under Donovan.
» Donovan is also 5-1 against his former assistants.
» Florida is 77-20 under Donovan in the month of December.
» UF will play UCF in the first collegiate event at the brand new Amway Center; ironically, they also faced Stanford in the first collegiate event at the old Amway Arena.
» Donovan needs just five victories to move into sole possession of third place in SEC history for most wins as an SEC head coach.
» The Gators have out-rebounded five of six opponents thus far and are doing so by +8.2 rebounds per game.
» The Knights are No. 2 in the nation in field goal percentage (55.4), No. 9 in assists per game (18.8) and No. 10 in points per game (85.8).

KEEP AN EYE ON…

» Sophomore guard Kenny Boynton and junior point guard Erving Walker…a backcourt duo that has combined to average 27.6 point per game and has accounted for 25 of their team’s 37 three-pointers this season.
» Sophomore forward Erik Murphy…who is really coming on this season after only seeing the court sparingly as a freshman. Murphy has posted double-digit points three times and played important minutes in Florida’s win over Florida State.
» Redshirt senior center Vernon Macklin and senior Fs Chandler Parsons and Alex Tyus…UF’s three frontcourt starters who are average 16.2 rebounds per game.
» Freshman PG Scottie Wilbekin…who has posted a commendable 15-2 assist-to-turnover ratio while running the point in relief of Walker.
» Freshman F Will Yeguete…who has been a spark off the bench for the Gators averaging 5.6 rebounds per game and 3.4 points per game in just 12.6 minutes.
» UCF G Marcus Jordan…who is the son of Michael Jordan and is averaging a team-high 16.8 points per game.
» Knights F Keith Clanton…who averages 16.2 points per game and 8.2 rebounds per game while shooting 68.4 percent from the field.

INJURIES

» Active: Redshirt senior C Vernon Macklin (knee)
» Inactive: Redshirt junior F Adam Allen (knee)

Tags: Alex Tyus, Amway Center, Billy Donovan, C-USA, Central Florida Knights, Chandler Parsons, Donnie Jones, Erik Murphy, Erving Walker, Florida Citrus Sports Shootout, Keith Clanton, Kenny Boynton, Marcus Jordan, Scottie Wilbekin, SEC, Vernon Macklin, Will Yeguete

Hoping to save the University of Florida from a disastrous weekend in Tallahassee, FL, No. 14/16 Florida Gators basketball (5-1) survived a late run to take down the Florida State Seminoles (5-1) 55-51 at the Donald L. Tucker Center on Sunday.

Up a game-high 13 points with 14:30 remaining in the second half, Florida allowed Florida State to rattle off a 15-3 run to narrow their lead to a single point. From there the game went back-and-forth until sophomore forward Erik Murphy put in a layup off an airballed three from sophomore guard Kenny Boynton to ice the contest for the Gators.

The Seminoles began the game with a quick 5-0 run including an opening three-pointer and fastbreak dunk. Minutes later, Gators freshman F Casey Prather hit a trey to give his team their first lead of the game; it would never be relinquished after that point.

A 12-2 run helped Florida extend their lead to 17-11, and a subsequent 9-2 run to end the half allowed the Gators to walk into the locker room up 30-21.

Florida started the second half strong with a 6-0 run including a three from junior point guard Erving Walker, free throw from freshman F Will Yeguete and jumper from Boynton that put them up a game-high 13 points.

Florida State went on their 15-3 run at that point, leaving UF scrambling to keep its 44-43 lead over FSU. After plenty of back-and-forth, Seminoles G Michael Snaer nailed a trey off a loose ball to cut the Gators’ lead to 53-51 with 51.4 seconds left.

Murphy’s layup made it a two-shot game, and Florida State conceded the contest after a turnover with only three seconds remaining.

Boynton led the way for the Gators with a team-high 14 points on 4-of-11 shooting (2-of-5 from downtown) with a game-high three steals and five rebounds. Murphy made his presence felt off the bench playing major minutes in place of senior F Alex Tyus. He finished with 10 points on 3-of-3 shooting (1-of-1 from three) with a team-high six rebounds (three offensive).

With Tyus and redshirt senior center Vernon Macklin only seeing 14 and 13 minutes on the court, respectively, Florida’s freshmen frontcourt players stepped up. Center Patric Young played 25 minutes grabbing five rebounds and Yeguete notched 22 minutes with five boards of his own.

The Gators were effective in somewhat shutting down Seminoles star F Chris Singleton, who was held to eight points on 2-of-12 shooting while only grabbing five rebounds. Snaer led Florida State with 15 points (5-of-6 from three), and G Derwin Kitchen contributed eight rebounds and four assists.

UF shot better from the field (38.1-33.3%) and the line (68-54.5%) than FSU but not downtown (37.5-41.2%). They grabbed six more rebounds, notched one more block and committed six fewer fouls but turned the ball over three more times (17-14).

Winning their first road game of the season and coming out victorious in Tallahassee for the first time since 2002, Florida will remain on the road for their following two contests – a neutral site contest against Central Florida in Orlando, FL on Dec. 1 and a true road game in Washington, D.C. against American on Dec. 5.

POST-GAME NOTES & QUOTES (After the break…)
Continue Reading » Florida basketball holds on to defeat FSU 55-51

Tags: Alex Tyus, Casey Prather, Chris Singleton, Derwin Kitchen, Donald L. Tucker Center, Erik Murphy, Erving Walker, Florida State Seminoles, Kenny Boynton, Michael Snaer, Patric Young, University of Florida, Vernon Macklin, Will Yeguete

Location: Donald L. Tucker Center – Tallahassee, FL [Capacity: 14,000]
Time: 7:30 p.m. (EST)

TV: FSN / Sun Sports
Online Video: None.
Online Audio: Yahoo!
Live Updates: @OnlyGators

Odds: Florida State +4; O/U 137

HISTORY and STREAKS

» Florida leads the all-time series against Florida State 39-22, but the Seminoles are 4-2 in the last six meetings between the schools. The Gators have been unable to win in Tallahassee recently, dropping their last three contests (2004, 2006, 2008). However, they did win 68-52 last year in Gainesville, FL.
» UF has fared well against the ACC under Donovan, posting a 17-9 record and four straight wins and a buzzer-beater victory over N.C. State.
» The Gators are 65-8 under Donovan in the month of November (41-4 since 2004).
» Sunday’s game is Florida’s first game away from the O’Connell Center this season. It is the first time UF has played a true road game as its first game away from home since facing Jacksonville in 2004.
» Donovan needs just six victories to move into sole possession of third place in SEC history for most wins as an SEC head coach.
» The Gators and Seminoles have different specializations early in the season, splitting four main statistical comparisons. Florida is 46th in the nation in points per game (79.4), 136th in rebounds per game (37.6), 43rd in assists per game (16.0) and 11th in field goal percentage (.505), while Florida State is 21st in the nation in points per game (83.6), 10th in rebounds per game (44.6), 129th in assists per game (14.0) and 28th in field goal percentage (.493). FSU has also allowed fewer points per game (60.4-65.8), is playing better defense (32.7-44.9%) and shoots better from the line (71-67.3%).

KEEP AN EYE ON…
» Sophomore guard Kenny Boynton and junior point guard Erving Walker…a backcourt duo that has combined to average 28.6 point per game and has accounted for 21 of their team’s 31 three-pointers this season.
» Redshirt senior center Vernon Macklin and senior forwards Chandler Parsons and Alex Tyus…Florida’s three frontcourt starters who have combined to average 17.7 rebounds per game.
» Freshman PG Scottie Wilbekin…who has posted a commendable 14-2 assist-to-turnover ratio while running the point in relief of Walker.
» Freshman F Will Yeguete…who has been a spark off the bench for the Gators averaging 5.8 rebounds per game and 3.8 points per game in just 10.3 minutes.
» FSU F Chris Singleton…who is the ACC’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year and is currently averaging a team-high 17.4 points per game, 10.8 rebounds per game and a conference-high 3.6 steals. He recently became the first player in ACC history to score a triple-double including steals with 22 points, 11 rebounds and 10 steals against UNC-Greensboro.

INJURIES

» Active: Redshirt senior C Vernon Macklin (knee)
» Inactive: Redshirt junior F Adam Allen (knee)

Tags: ACC, Alex Tyus, Billy Donovan, Chandler Parsons, Chris Singleton, Erving Walker, Florida State Seminoles, Kenny Boynton, Leonard Hamilton, Scottie Wilbekin, SEC, Tucker Center, Vernon Macklin, Will Yeguete

Head coach Billy Donovan has criticized the No. 14/16 Florida Gators (4-1) for the poor way they have performed in the second half of games since the season began. His message will likely be different Tuesday evening considering Florida struggled out of the gate but pulled away in the latter part of the contest to defeat the Florida Atlantic Owls (3-3) 79-66 at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center in Gainesville, FL.

Shooting only 41.4 percent in the first half, Florida took a 34-32 lead in the closing seconds after sophomore guard Kenny Boynton put in a fastbreak layup and freshman center Patric Young contributed a free throw.

Though they out-rebounded Florida Atlantic 22-14 and committed five less fouls in the period, UF allowed FAU to shoot 46.7 percent from the field and provided them with some wide open looks from downtown.

Boynton and senior forward Alex Tyus led the way offensively for the Gators in the first half, scoring 11 and 10 points, respectively. Tyus also grabbed five rebounds in the early portion of the contest.

Florida would keep its lead the entire second half, going on a short 8-1 run including a mid-range jumper and layup off a steal by junior point guard Erving Walker to jump ahead 47-39 with 12:08 to play.

Finally pulling way, Florida used a trey from senior F Chandler Parsons to take a game-high 13 point lead with 2:46 remaining. They would go up-and-down the remainder of the game to win by the same margin.

Boynton (21 points) and Tyus (19 points) stayed hot in the second half, and Walker scored 11 of his 14 points in the latter period to go along with six rebounds, four assists and five clutch steals.

Hobbled with a bad knee, redshirt senior C Vernon Macklin got off to a slow start but scored five points and pulled down 11 rebounds while blocking three shots. Freshman F Will Yeguete made the most of his eight minutes off the bench by grabbing six boards and getting to the line three times while injecting some energy into the team.

Parsons was scoreless in the first half with two turnovers but found his legs late in the contest to finish with eight points and six rebounds without giving the ball up again.

Gainesville native G Greg Gantt was dynamite from downtown for the Owls, going 3-of-5 from beyond the arc and 6-of-12 from the field for a FAU-high 17 points.

Both teams shot 33.3 percent from three and in the low-40s from the field, but Florida earned the rebounding advantage 44-28 and committed five fewer fouls.

The Gators’ sluggish start was somewhat understandable seeing as Tuesday’s contest was their fourth game in eight days, and their resilience coming out of the locker room at halftime was certainly a sight for Donovan’s sore eyes.

Florida will now get four days of rest before traveling to Tallahassee, FL, on Sunday to face Florida State at 7:30 p.m. The game will air live on Fox Sports Florida.

POST-GAME NOTES & QUOTES (After the break…)
Continue Reading » Gators start slow then fly past Owls 79-66

Tags: Alex Tyus, Billy Donovan, Chandler Parsons, Erving Walker, Florida Atlantic Owls, Greg Gantt, Kenny Boynton, O'Connell Center, Patric Young, Vernon Macklin, Will Yeguete

Just two days after suffering a tough loss at home to No. 4/5 Ohio State, the No. 9/10 Florida Gators (2-1) rebounded with a dominating 105-55 victory over the North Carolina A&T Aggies (1-3) at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center in Gainesville, FL.

Senior forward Chandler Parsons and sophomore guard Kenny Boynton led the Gators with 16 points apiece and were just two of eight Florida players to score in double figures on the evening. Freshman F Will Yeguete proved to be a dominating presence down low, grabbing 15 rebounds (nine offensive) while also scoring seven points, dishing four assists and stealing the ball thrice.

Yeguete’s 15 boards were the most by a freshman since Al Horford (18 vs. Alabama in 2005), but he was not the only first-year player to have a big night. Center Patric Young posted 11 points, six rebounds, four steals and two blocks, G Casey Prather scored 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting (2-of-4 from downtown), and point guard Scottie Wilbekin finished with 11 points and six assists.

Rounding out the starting five for the Gators were senior C Vernon Macklin (10 points, six rebounds, two blocks), PG Erving Walker (11 points, six assists, no turnovers) and sophomore F Erik Murphy (11 points, four rebounds, two blocks). Murphy started the first game of his young career in place of senior F Alex Tyus, who missed the contest with a mild concussion but is expected to return to action on Sunday.

Up 28 points late in the first half and eventually winning the game by 50, Florida scored 52 points in the paint, 35 off turnovers and 25 on second chances. The Gators’ bench produced 41 points, which helped UF score more than 100 for the first time since defeating North Florida by 102 in 2007. Florida also notched 26 assists, 16 steals and eight blocks while turning the ball over 11 times as a team.

Though most of the team was solid defensively, head coach Billy Donovan had to sit Boynton early on due to a poor defensive effort. He returned to the court after a quick talking to and helped hold North Carolina A&T to 34.5 percent shooting on the evening.

The Gators are back in action in less than 72 hours, taking on Morehead State in the O’Dome on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. The game will air live on Sun Sports.

POST-GAME NOTES & QUOTES (After the break…)
Continue Reading » Florida bounces back to rout N.C. A&T 105-55

Tags: Al Horford, Alex Tyus, Billy Donovan, Casey Prather, Chandler Parsons, Erik Murphy, Erving Walker, Joakim Noah, Kenny Boynton, North Carolina A&T Aggies, O'Connell Center, Patric Young, Scottie Wilbekin, Vernon Macklin, Will Yeguete