Stephen C. O'Connell Center (capacity: 11,548), Gainesville, FL 7:00 p.m.
Broadcast Information
TV: CSS; Dave Baker (play-by-play) and Bill Koss (analyst)
Radio: WRUF/Gator IMG Sports Network; Mick Hubert (play-by-play) and Mark Wise (analyst)
Head Coaches
University of Georgia: Mark Fox (56-53, 4th season at UGA; 179-96 overall, 9th season)
University of Florida: Billy Donovan (396-160, 17th season at Florida; 431-180 overall, 19th season)
Probable Starters
Georgia Bulldogs
#11 Vincent Williams (6'0", 165 lbs SR) Season stats: 4.2 ppg, 2.6 apg
#1 Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (6'5", 205 lbs SO) Season stats: 17.5 ppg, 7.2 rpg (team leader in points and rebounds)
#31 Brandon Morris (6'7", 205 lbs FR) Season stats: 3.9 ppg, 1.9 rpg
#42 Nemanja Djurisic (6'8", 230 lbs SO) Season stats: 8.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg
#32 John Florveus (6'11", 240 lbs SR) Season stats: 2.9 ppg, 3.3 rpg
Bench
#15 Donte' Williams (6'9", 225 lbs JR) Season stats: 5.7 ppg, 4.8 rpg (suspended- violation of team rules)
#4 Charles Mann (6'4", 205 lbs FR) Season stats: 5.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg
#23 Sherrard Brantley (6'2", 187 lbs SR) Season stats: 3.8 ppg, 1.2 apg
Florida Gators
#5 Scottie Wilbekin (6'2", 176 lbs JR) Season stats: 8.2 ppg, 4.7 apg, 2.7 rpg, 1.8 steals per game
#1 Kenny Boynton (6'2", 190 lbs SR) Season stats: 13.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.7 apg
#3 Mike Rosario (6'3", 183 lbs RS-SR) Season stats: 11.8 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 2.4 apg
#24 Casey Prather (6'6", 208 JR) Season stats: 6.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg
#4 Patric Young (6'9", 249 lbs JR) Season stats: 10.8 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.9 blocks per game
Bench
#15 Will Yeguete (6'7", 240 lbs JR) Season stats: 6.8 ppg, 6.5 rpg (suffered knee injury in practice, will play but not start)
#20 Michael Frazier II (6'4", 200 lbs FR) Season stats: 5.8 ppg, 3.0 rpg
#33 Erik Murphy (6'10", 238 lbs SR) Season stats: 12.1 ppg, 4.7 rpg (DNP vs. Yale with a cracked rib, but will be active tonight)
#25 DeVon Walker (6'6", 191 lbs FR) Season stats: 1.0 ppg, 1.0 rpg
Injury News and Team Notes
- Senior forward Erik Murphy, who suffered a rib injury in the Air Force game and missed Saunday's game at Yale because of it, will be available tonight. He re-aggravated the injury last Wednesday during practice. Coach Billy Donovan announced that the rib was cracked but that Murphy won't do any added damage by playing. It's just a question of how much pain he can tolerate, Donovan said.
- Junior forward Will Yeguete injured his knee in practice this week and will come off the bench with Casey Prather starting at power forward. He has tendinitis in his knee, but took part in shootaround today. Look for seldom-used freshman forward DeVon Walker to see some action if Yeguete and Murphy are showing signs of discomfort.
Georgia: Defeated George Washington, 52-41
Florida: Defeated Yale, 79-58
Gators All-Time Versus Georgia
Florida leads the all-time series, 106-97. However, the Gators lost in their most recent meeting. The Gators have more wins against Georgia than any other team. The Gators are 13-2 at home versus the Bulldogs and 23-8 overall under Billy Donovan.
Last Meeting Between Schools
Georgia beat Florida 76-62 in Athens on February 25, 2012. UF trailed the entire game.
What I'm Wondering
1. The first game of league play is always an interesting one, no matter who you're playing. Georgia may have caught Florida at a good time, as the Gators' frontcourt is banged up. The O'Dome will be rocking and this should be the start of some great home crowds during the conference season. Will the Gators come out ready to play?
2. With Murphy and possibly Yeguete limited by injuries, Coach Donovan may have to go a little bit deeper into his bench. I'm looking for DeVon Walker to get some time tonight and I really hope he takes advantage. He was getting some minutes early in the season, but has only been getting garbage time since then. If DeVon Walker gets some quality minutes, how will he respond?
3. Senior guard Kenny Boynton broke Lee Hemphrey's three-point record on Sunday versus Yale when he hit eight three's. He seems to have broken out of his slump, beginning with the Air Force game. Will Boynton's first game of his final SEC campaign follow the previous two in terms of his shooting?
4. Coach Donovan said that junior forward Casey Prather will start in place of Yeguete. How will Prather respond to a place in the starting lineup?
5. Georgia goes as Kentavious Caldwell-Pope goes. They're not an overly-talented team. Pope's one of the most underrated players in the SEC and was overshadowed last year by Florida's Bradley Beal and Kentucky's Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who drew the most attention as freshmen. How will Florida defend Pope?
Final score prediction: Florida 81 - Georgia 58
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