Gators have yet to have full squad in practice or games

Game 7: Florida State Seminoles (5-1, 0-0 ACC) at #15/13 University of Florida Gators (5-1, 0-0 SEC)
Stephen C. O'Connell Center (capacity: 11,548), Gainesville, Florida 7:30 p.m.

Preview

The Gators have yet to have a full roster for both games and practices, for a myriad of reasons.  Here is a list of players who have missed practices or games:

Scottie Wilbekin (suspension)
Eli Carter (leg)
Will Yeguete (knee)
Dillon Graham (hips)
DeVon Walker (foot)
Damontre Harris (suspension)
Dorian Finney-Smith (suspension and illness)
Michael Frazier II (mono)
Kasey Hill (ankle)

For tonight's game against in-state rival Florida State, the Gators will, once again, be short-handed.  Hill will not be playing for another 3-4 weeks due to a high ankle sprain suffered during the Southern game on November 18.  Graham, who played in the first game of the season against North Florida, will redshirt this season after developing bone spurs on both hips.  Harris remains suspended due to a violation of team rules.  Essentially, Carter is playing on one leg as he has struggled to get back to full fitness following a broken leg last season while playing for Rutgers.  To make matters worse, Walker suffered a right foot sprain in Monday's game at Jacksonville and that makes him questionable for tonight's contest.  Luckily, Wilbekin had his suspension lifted last game and he gives the team some much-needed depth and experience.

Florida has dominated this series, winning 42 out of the 65 meetings.  The Gators are 20-6 at home versus the Seminoles.  Last season, the Gators won big in Tallahassee, 72-47.  The 'Noles have played a competitive schedule thus far, beating then-ranked #10 Virginia Commonwealth and losing to then-ranked #14 Michigan in overtime, both in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off tournament.  Ian Miller leads the team in scoring at 15.5 ppg off the bench.  Okaro White is their most complete player, averaging 14.3 ppg and 7.5 rpg.  FSU is a tall team, as their projected starting lineup goes 6'3" (Devon Bookert), 6'7" (Montay Brandon), 6'9" (Okaro White), 6'9" (Robert Gilchrist), and 7'3" (Boris Bojanovsky).  Off the bench, 7'0" Kiel Turpin and 7'1" Michael Ojo give the Seminoles add even more height to the frontcourt.    

Beginning with tonight's clash, the Gators will play five straight games against high-quality opponents: at UCONN (December 2), home against Kansas (December 10), Madison Square Garden against Memphis (December 17), and Sunrise, Florida, for Fresno State (December 21).  Coming up very quickly is Florida's first conference game on January 8 against South Carolina.  The SEC is much-improved this season, with Kentucky, Florida, and Tennessee expected to lead the way, with dark-horses LSU, Missouri, and Ole Miss right behind.            

Key Florida statistics

Points per game: 74.7
Opponent's points per game: 59.3
Scoring margin: +15.3
Field goal percentage: 47.7%
3-point percentage: 36% (31/86)- 5.2 per game
Free throw percentage: 70.3%- 18.2 per game
Rebounds: 35.7 per game
Rebound margin: +3.7
Assists: 13 per game
Turnovers: 10.5 per game
Steals: 8.2 per game
Blocks: 3.2 per game

Broadcast Information

TV: ESPN2; Mike Crispino (play-by-play) and Len Elmore (analyst)
Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network; Mick Hubert (play-by-play) and Mark Wise (analyst)
Streaming: ESPN3.com

What you need to know: University of North Florida

Game 1: University of North Florida Ospreys (0-0, 0-0 Atlantic Sun) at #10 University of Florida Gators (0-0, 0-0 SEC)
Stephen C. O'Connell Center (capacity: 11,548), Gainesville, Florida 3:00 p.m.

Another college basketball season is upon us.  The Gators played one exhibition game, last Friday against Florida Southern (won 110-88).  Ranked 10th in the AP Poll, Florida opens with the University of North Florida.  The Gators have been highly overranked to begin the season, in my opinion.  There is so much uncertainty surrounding this team that, as fans, we might need to be patient over the first month or so as the the roster gets back to 100%.  Senior point guard Scottie Wilbekin, who was suspended indefinitely in the offseason for a violation of team rules (was suspended for same violation last season), did not play in the exhibition game and there is no timetable for his return.  Two transfers are also suspended indefinitely: redshirt junior center Damontre Harris and redshirt sophomore guard/forward Dorian Finney Smith.  In addition, senior forward Will Yeguete (offseason knee surgery) and junior transfer Eli Carter (broken leg last season at Rutgers) are still not at full strength, but have been practicing.  Freshman point guard Kasey Hill has been dealing with back issues this week, but will play today.  To make matters worse, sophomore guard Michael Frazier has been dealing with mono and he hasn't practiced except for non-contact drills in recent practices.  Fortunately, he will be available to play today but I'm not sure how much action he'll see considering his limited practice time and recovery from the illness.  Assuming Frazier dresses, the Gators will have 10 active players (three suspended players) for this afternoon's contest.

In the news conference yesterday, senior center (and likely team captain) Patric Young said that he's continuing to work on his free throws (55% shooter over his career).  He made seven out of ten in the exhibition game and his form looked more natural and free-flowing.  Young has also slimmed down ten pounds which will hopefully help with his stamina.  Bringing a consistent energy and intensity level has always been a struggle for him, and we've all seen the differences when he's playing at a high level and so-so level.  He can be a complete game-changer depending on which Patric Young shows up.

Sophomore guard/forward DeVon Walker has improved his shooting dramatically during the offseason.  Head coach Billy Donovan sees him contributing as a member of the perimeter rotation.  Donovan actually gave him the option of redshirting, but Walker trusted Donovan that there would be minutes available if he kept playing well.  Due to the injuries/suspensions, Walker will find himself in the starting lineup today.  He only made one out of five 3-pointers in the exhibition game, but don't expect that to be the norm after all the reports from Walker and his teammates regarding his improved shooting.

Projected Florida starting lineup for this afternoon's game:

#0 Kasey Hill (6'1", 181 lbs. FR)
#25 DeVon Walker (6'6", 195 lbs. SO)
#24 Casey Prather (6'6", 212 lbs. SR)
#15 Will Yeguete (6'8", 230 lbs. SR)
#4 Patric Young (6'9", 240 lbs. SR)

Broadcast Information

TV: Sun Sports; Larry Vettel (play-by-play) and Mark Wise (analyst)
Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network; Mick Hubert (play-by-play) and Bill Koss (analyst)
Streaming: ESPN3.com