Stephen C. O'Connell Center (capacity: 11,548), Gainesville, FL 7:00 p.m.
Broadcast Information
TV: ESPN; Brad Nessler (play-by-play), Dick Vitale (analyst), and Shannon Spake (sideline)
Radio: WRUF/Gator IMG Sports Network; Mick Hubert (play-by-play) and Mark Wise (analyst)
Streaming: ESPN3.com
Head Coaches
Kentucky: John Calipari (119-20, 4th season at Kentucky; 522-158 overall, 21st season)
University of Florida: Billy Donovan (405-161, 17th season at Florida; 440-181 overall, 19th season)
Probable Starters
Kentucky Wildcats
#12 Ryan Harrow (6'2", 170 lbs SO) Season stats: 10.4 ppg, 3.3 apg
#34 Julius Mays (6'2", 192 lbs GS) Season stats: 9.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg
#10 Archie Goodwin (6'4", 198 lbs FR) Season stats: 14.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg
#22 Alex Poythress (6'7", 239 lbs FR) Season stats: 12.3 ppg, 6.4 rpg
#1 Nerlens Noel (6'10", 228 lbs FR) Season stats: 10.6 ppg, 9.6 rpg, 4.5 blocks per game
Bench
#33 Kyle Wiltjer (6'10", 239 lbs SO) Season stats: 11.7 ppg, 4.6 rpg
#15 Willie Cauley-Stein: (7'0", 244 lbs FR) Season stats: 7.7 ppg, 5.5 rpg
#5 Jarrod Polson (6'2", 189 lbs JR) Season stats: 2.3 ppg, 1.4 rpg
#4 Jon Hood (6'7", 212 lbs RS JR) Season stats: 1.2 ppg, 0.8 rpg
Florida Gators
#5 Scottie Wilbekin (6'2", 176 lbs JR) Season stats: 9.3 ppg, 5.1 apg, 3.0 rpg, 1.6 steals per game
#1 Kenny Boynton (6'2", 190 lbs SR) Season stats: 13.1 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.4 apg
#3 Mike Rosario (6'3", 183 lbs RS-SR) Season stats: 12.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg
#33 Erik Murphy (6'10", 238 lbs SR) Season stats: 12.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg
#4 Patric Young (6'9", 249 lbs JR) Season stats: 10.8 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.7 blocks per game
Bench
#20 Michael Frazier (6'4", 200 lbs FR) Season stats: 6.0 ppg, 3.6 rpg
#24 Casey Prather (6'6", 208 lbs JR) Season stats: 5.9 ppg, 3.0 rpg
#25 DeVon Walker (6'6", 191 lbs FR) Season stats: 0.9 ppg, 0.8 rpg
Injury News and Team Notes
- Junior forward Will Yeguete will be out 4-6 weeks after undergoing knee surgery on Friday. Yeguete's loss is debilitating because of the lack of frontcourt depth on Florida's active roster (transfers Damontre Harris and Dorian Finney-Smith must sit out this season to fulfill transfer rules).
- Senior forward Erik Murphy left Saturday's game with an ankle injury and was taken to the locker room as a precaution. Coach Donovan said that he was "full go" in Sunday's practice, so luckily the injury wasn't serious.
- The winner of tonight's game will be leading the SEC. If Kentucky wins, they'll be a half-game ahead of Florida.
- Senior guard Kenny Boynton is only shooting 41% from the field and 34% from behind the arc this season. Over his last three games, he's shooting 30% from the field and 16% from three. He had made at least one 3-pointer in 15 straight games, but that streak ended on Saturday with an 0/5 perfomance.
- The Gators are averaging 74.2 ppg, while giving up 52.7 ppg (+21.5). That scoring margin is good for second in the nation.
- The Gators' coaching staff has a few Kentucky connections: Assistant coach John Pelphrey played for the 'Cats from 1989-1992 and head coach Billy Donovan was an assistant at Kentucky from 1989-1994.
- The Gators have lost five straight games to the Wildcats.
- Kentucky has won five straight games and was voted back into the AP Poll for the first time in two months.
- Kentucky freshman guard Archie Goodwin, while he leads the Wildcats in scoring, averages three turnovers per game.
- Nerlens Noel leads the nation in blocks (103). Donovan thinks that he's just as good, if not better than, last year's number one pick, Anthony Davis, who was a shot-blocking machine that helped the Wildcats win the National Championship.
- The Wildcats are 4-3 on the road this season.
- The Gators are 11-0 at home this season.
Kentucky: Defeated Auburn (home) on Saturday, 72-62.
Florida: Defeated Mississippi State (home) on Saturday, 83-58.
Florida All-Time Versus Kentucky
Kentucky leads the all-time series, 93-33. The Gators are 13-22 against the Wildcats under Donovan. Florida is 9-7 versus Kentucky under Donovan, and 22-33 all-time in Gainesville. The Gators have lost five straight games to the Wildcats.
Last Meeting Between Schools
Florida lost to Kentucky, 74-71, in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament last season (March 10, 2012). Although the Gators led 31-21 at the 8:42 mark in the first half, UK outscored the Gators 19-8 over the remainder of the half to take a 40-39 lead into halftime. In the second half, Florida retook the lead, 56-51, but the Wildcats went on a 14-0 run to remain on top for good. Erik Murphy led the Gators with 24 points and Brad Beal added 20 points and eight rebounds.
What I'm Wondering
1. I'm curious to see how Kentucky begins the game: guns blazing or tentative? They've played in tough environments at Notre Dame, Louisville, Vanderbilt, Alabama, and Ole Miss. This is a rivalry game, but Florida clearly has the edge in terms of experience. How will Kentucky come out to start the game?
2. Boynton's shooting struggles over the past few games shouldn't be a cause for concern. He said Monday that he "just needs to see a few go in" to help his confidence. He's getting wide-open looks, but he's just not knocking them down. He's not taking bad shots, it's just a thing that shooters go through. Will Boynton find his shooting touch in tonight's game? Something tells me he will.
3. Bench play will play a huge factor in tonight's game. It will be a hard-fought game, meaning various players will be in foul trouble early on. Kentucky has an eight-man rotation, while Florida plays seven guys. The x-factors for Kentucky and Florida are Jarrod Polson and DeVon Walker, respectively. Which team's bench will make the greatest impact in tonight's game?
4. Can Casey Prather come with the same energy and athleticism that he did against Mississippi State on Saturday (season-high 12 points and five rebounds)? Also, how about another posterizing dunk like he had on Kyle Wiltjer in last season's SEC Tournament (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlfIvh97n0k&feature=related)?
Records to be Broken in the Future or Have Been Broken
- Kenny Boynton (1,877 points) is third on the all-time scoring list (Ronnie Williams leads with 2,090 points)
- Boynton (310 threes) is the all-time leader in three-pointers made in school history
- Boynton (127 games started) is just two starts away from passing Andrew DeClerq (128 starts) for the all-time record in school history
- Boynton (4,201 minutes played) is 158 minutes away from passing Erving Walker for first on the all-time list
- Patric Young (99 blocked shots) is tenth on the all-time list. David Lee is ninth with 109.
- Young (105 dunks) is sixth on the all-time list. Dwayne Davis leads with 168.
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