Florida Gators (10-3)^ completely fell out of the latest ESPN/USA Today and Associated Press Top 25 polls two weeks ago after being upset by the Jacksonville Dolphins 71-68 in overtime on Dec. 20. Last week their game against Fairfield was canceled due to travelling conditions for the away team, but Florida did end the Xavier Musketeers‘ 30-game home winning streak with a 71-67 victory on the road.

ESPN/USA TODAY
Last Week 1-25: Duke (31), Ohio State, Kansas, Connecticut, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, San Diego State, Villanova, Georgetown, Missouri, Purdue, Kentucky, Minnesota, Texas, Notre Dame, Brigham Young, Kansas State, Texas A&M, Michigan State, Louisville, Central Florida, Memphis, Baylor, Wisconsin, Illinois
+ Florida received 33 votes, good for 32nd overall

This Week 1-25: Duke (31), Ohio State, Kansas, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, San Diego State, Villanova, Missouri, Connecticut, Purdue, Kentucky, Texas, Georgetown, Brigham Young, Notre Dame, Texas A&M, Kansas State, Central Florida, Michigan State, Illinois, Minnesota, Memphis, Louisville, Vanderbilt, Cincinnati
+ Florida received 9 votes, good for 34th overall

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Last Week 1-25: Duke (65), Ohio State, Kansas, Connecticut, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, San Diego State, Villanova, Georgetown, MIssouri, Kentucky, Purdue, Texas, Minnesota, Notre Dame, Brigham Young, Kansas State, Texas A&M, Central Florida, Michigan State, Memphis, Louisville, Illinois, Vanderbilt, Temple
+ Florida received 35 votes, good for 32nd overall

This Week 1-25: Duke (65), Ohio State, Kansas, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, San Diego State, Villanova, Connecticut, Missouri, Kentucky, Purdue, Texas, Georgetown, Notre Dame, Brigham Young, Texas A&M, Kansas State, Michigan State, Central Florida, Illinois, Memphis, Vanderbilt, Washington, Cincinnati, UNLV
+ Florida received 35 votes, good for 31st overall

^ Record at the time the polls were released.
* Numbers in parenthesis represent first-place votes.

Tags: Jacksonville Dolphins, Top 25, Xavier Musketeers

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

An impressive offensive performance by junior point guard Erving Walker fueled the Florida Gators (10-3) to a close 71-67 victory over the Xavier Musketeers (8-4) in Cincinnati, OH on Friday. Florida’s win snapped Xavier’s 30-game home winning streak at the Cintas Center, a venue the Musketeers have not lost at in more than two years.

UF had never defeated XU in two tries going into Friday’s game but led 31-27 at the half and jumped out to a game-high 15-point lead with 13:23 left in the contest due to an electric 13-1 run while holding their opponent without a basket for 10 game minutes.

Xavier closed the gap in the waning minutes, using a full-court press to take off on a 12-3 run cutting Florida’s lead to four with 1:22 remaining. The Gators, however, went 12-for-14 from the line in the final two minutes to starve off the Musketeers’ comeback.

Florida out-shot (45.1%-40.3%) and out-rebounded (38-30) Xavier but committed eight more turnovers (16-8) in the contest. The Gators scored more than 70 points for the first time in their last eight games but allowed the Musketeers to be only the second team in that span to score more than 60.

Walker led Florida with a team-high 18 points, going 3-for-6 from downtown and 9-of-11 from the charity stripe. He had trouble at times protecting the ball (as he has most of his career), committing six costly turnovers.

The frontcourt duo of redshirt senior center Vernon Macklin and senior forward Alex Tyus was dynamite in the first half with Tyus scoring the team’s first six points. The pair combined for 26 points on 12-of-23 shooting in the contest; Macklin added seven rebounds but injured his shoulder in the second half and was limited.

Senior F Chandler Parsons chimed in with five points and game-highs in rebounds (11) and assists (7), while sophomore guard Kenny Boynton dished six assists and was 2-for-4 from downtown and 7-for-9 from the free throw line for 15 points.

Xavier’s star guard Tu Holloway led the Musketeers with a game-high 26 points on 50 percent shooting to go along with six assists. Center Kenny Frease came off the bench to play 31 minutes, score 16 points and grab seven boards.

UF will have the opportunity to celebrate the new year before facing Rhode Island on Jan. 3 in Gainesville, FL. The game will air live on ESPNU at 9 p.m.

Photo Credit: David Kohl/Associated Press

Tags: Alex Tyus, Chandler Parsons, Cintas Center, Erving Walker, Kenny Boynton, Kenny Frease, Tu Holloway, Vernon Macklin, Xavier Musketeers

Location: Cintas Center – Cincinnati, OH [Capacity: 10,250]
Time: 4:00 p.m. (ET)

TV: ESPN2
Online Audio: Yahoo!
Live Updates: @OnlyGators

Odds: Xavier -1.5; O/U 126.5

HISTORY and STREAKS

» Xavier leads the all-time series against Florida 2-0. The Musketeers defeated the Gators 76-64 in Gainseville, FL, last season.
» Florida is only 14-17 all-time against A-10 opponents under Donovan and have lost three straight including two last season.
» The Gators defense has signifigantly improved over the last seven games, holding opponents to just 53.7 points per contest and allowing only one team to score 60. Simultaneously, Florida has failed to score 70 points once in the same seven games.
» Florida has out-rebounded 11 of 12 opponents this season – including in its three defeats – and is doing so by a +7.8 rebound per game advantage.
» The Gators are 80-22 under Donovan in the month of December.
» Florida bests Xavier in three of four major statistical categories nationally including rebounds per game 37.6-35.7 (97th-177th), assists per game 13.8-13.3 (138th-168th) and field goal percentage .467-.440 (57th-168th). However, the Musketeers score more points per game than the Gators 70.8-69.1 (160th-186th).

KEEP AN EYE ON…

» Sophomore guard Kenny Boynton and junior point guard Erving Walker…a backcourt duo that has combined to average 25.9 points per game and has accounted for 46 of their team’s 63 three-pointers this season.
» Redshirt senior center Vernon Macklin…who is shooting a team-high 58.6 percent this season with most of his buckets coming inside the paint.
» Senior F Chandler Parsons…who is averaging 9.7 points and 5.9 rebounds per game and is an integral part to the Gators’ success.
» Xavier G Tu Holloway…who leads his team with 20.8 points, 5.5 assists and 1.6 steals per game in an average of 39 minutes.
» Musketeers F Jamel McLean..who is his team’s biggest presence inside and averages 9.5 rebounds and almost a block per game while contributing 10.5 points.

Tags: Atlantic 10, Billy Donovan, Chandler Parsons, Chris Mack, Cintas Center, Erving Walker, Jamel McLean, Kenny Boynton, Tu Holloway, Vernon Macklin, Xavier Musketeers

The Florida Gators officially announced the basketball team’s 2010-11 non-conference schedule on Tuesday. Previously reported by OGGOA the following premiere out-of-conference games have now been confirmed:

Nov. 16 vs. Ohio State (Gainesville, FL)
Nov. 28 at Florida State (Tallahassee, FL)
Dec. 1 vs. Central Florida (Orlando, FL – Amway Center)
Dec. 18 vs. Kansas State (Sunrise, FL – BankAtlantic Center)
Dec. 31 vs. Xavier (Cincinnati, OH)

» And here are the rest:

Oct. 28 vs. Florida Tech (Gainesville, FL)
Nov. 3 vs. Georgetown College (Gainesville, FL)
Nov. 12 vs. UNC-Wilmington (Gainesville, FL)
Nov. 18 vs. North Carolina A&T (Gainesville, FL)
Nov. 21 vs. Morehead State (Gainesville, FL)
No. 23 vs. Florida Atlantic (Gainesville, FL)
Dec. 5 vs. American (Washington, D.C.)
Dec. 9 vs. Kent State (Gainesville, FL)
Dec. 20 vs. Jacksonville (Gainesville, FL)
Dec. 22 vs. Radford (Gainesville, FL)
Dec. 28 vs. Fairfield (Gainesville, FL)
Jan 3 vs. Rhode Island (Gainesville, FL)

» NOTES
- Head coach Billy Donovan on the schedule: “I think we benefited last year from a challenging non-conference schedule and getting a couple of quality wins early in the season. We’re going to stay with the same scheduling philosophy and we’ve put together another competitive non-conference schedule.”
- Florida’s opener against Florida Tech on Oct. 28 is the earliest start in school history.
- UF will face UNC-W, OSU and NC A&T as part of the Global Sports Invitational.
- The Gators play in three more events during the regular season: the Florida Citrus Shootout with UCF, the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic against KSU and the BB&T Classic vs. American.

Tags: BB&T Classic, Billy Donovan, Central Florida Knights, Florida Citrus Shootout, Florida State Seminoles, Global Sports Invitational, Kansas State Wildcats, Ohio State Buckeyes, Orange Bowl Basketball Classic, Xavier Musketeers

Coming off of a tough conference loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks on Wednesday, the Florida Gators (17-8) hoped to keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive with a win in a rare late season out-of-conference game against the Xavier Musketeers (17-7). While the Gators did their best to fend off the Musketeers throughout the game, the overwhelming size and speed of their opponent coupled with their own inconsistency would make their efforts moot in the end Saturday night in Gainesville, FL, at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.

Read the complete and detailed OGGOA game story after the jump!
Continue Reading » Florida fights off, eventually falls to Xavier 76-64

Tags: Alex Tyus, Atlantic 10, Billy Donovan, Erving Walker, Jamel McLean, Jason Love, Jordan Crawford, Kenny Boynton, NCAA Tournament, O'Connell Center, Vernon Macklin, Xavier Musketeers

Location: Stephen C. O’Connell Center – Gainesville, FL [Capacity: 12,000]
Time: 6:00 p.m. (EST)

TV: ESPN / ESPNHD
Online Video: ESPN360
Live Updates: OGGOA on Twitter

Odds: Florida -4, O/U (OFF)

KEEP AN EYE ON…
» The dynamic backcourt of…sophomore point guard Erving Walker and freshman guard Kenny Boynton who are averaging 31.5 points and 7.9 assists per game in conference play this season.
» Speaking of Walker and Boynton…they have hit 51 of the Gators’ 64 treys in SEC play. Walker has gone for 20+ points in five of 10 SEC games.
» Junior forward Alex Tyus…who is dominating the front court, averaging 14.7 points and 7.9 rebounds over the last 15 contests. He has hit double figures in 14 of 15 games and scored 15+ in eight of those. Tyus had a career-best 15 rebounds Wednesday.
» Junior F Chandler Parsons…who has back-to-back double-doubles and four on the season (six for this career). He has also been helping dish the ball with six assists in each of his last two games.
» The duo of Tyus and Parsons…who are combining for 15.6 rebounds per game during SEC play including 26 on Wednesday night.
» Double-digit scoring by Vernon Macklin…the Gators are 11-1 when the redshirt junior transfer center finishes in double figures.
» Musketeers guard Jordan Crawford leads both his team and the A-10 in scoring at 19.7 points per game.

STREAKS:
» Xavier leads the all-time series against Florida 1-0, with their sole win coming in the Hurricane Classic in Miami, FL, on Dec. 28, 1959. The Musketeers won 86-74.
» This is the first time the Gators have played a non-conference opponent during SEC play since 2003.
» Under head coach Billy Donovan, Florida is 4-3 against the Atlantic 10; they lost earlier this season to the Richmond Spiders 56-53.
» The Gators have been holding opponents to 58.8 points per game in their 17 wins while allowing the number to jump to 75.7 points per game in their seven losses.
» Florida is 11-2 at home this season and 80-10 in the O’Dome since 2005.
» The Gators are 5-3 in games decided by five points or less compared to 4-6 in such games last season. Florida is 4-1 in the last five contests that were that close.
» UF is now 6-1 in conference play and 12-2 overall when out-rebounding an opponent after losing to South Carolina on Wednesday.
» Xavier has a win over then-No. 19 Cincinnati this season and leads the A-10 in scoring offense (79.4) and three-point shooting (39.4 percent).
» The Musketeers have reached two Elite Eights and a Sweet 16 in the last six years.
» Florida will honor the 2000 NCAA Championship runner-up team at halftime.

Read OGGOA’s Florida Gators vs. Xavier Musketeers preview after the jump!
Continue Reading » Gameday: Florida Gators vs. Xavier Musketeers

Tags: Alex Tyus, Chandler Parsons, Chris Mack, Erving Walker, Jordan Crawford, Kenny Boynton, NCAA Tournament, O'Connell Center, Vernon Macklin, Xavier Musketeers

Devan Downey may be the South Carolina Gamecocks‘ star player, but fellow senior guard Brandis Raley-Ross stole the show Wednesday night in Columbia, SC. Raley-Ross’ 17 second half points and four three-pointers led the Gamecocks (14-9, 5-4 SEC) to a comeback 77-71 home victory over the Florida Gators (17-7, 6-4 SEC).

Though Florida only missed seven shots in the first half and was shooting 68.2 percent to 37.8 percent for South Carolina, an astounding 12 turnovers (including five in the first 4:17 of the game) left them with only a four-point lead at halftime.

This trend would continue after the break, with the Gators surrendering three turnovers in the first 4:30 of the second half and a five more before the final buzzer sounded. The Gamecocks were stingy, only giving up six all night compared to UF’s season-high 20.

Read the rest of OGGOA’s Florida at South Carolina game story after the jump!
Continue Reading » Gamecocks rally in second half to top Gators 77-71

Tags: Alex Tyus, Brandis Raley-Ross, Chandler Parsons, Colonial Life Arena, Devan Downey, Erving Walker, Kenny Boynton, Kyle McClanahan, NCAA Tournament, Sam Muldrow, SEC, South Carolina Gamecocks, Xavier Musketeers