NCAA Tournament Round of 32: Rebounding will determine who moves on between Florida and Minnesota

All pre-game notes courtesy of Scott Carter and Kevin Brockway:

• Minnesota leads the nation in offensive rebounding percentage, grabbing 43.9 percent of their misses
• Donovan stressed to the Gators that to advance to the Sweet 16 for a third consecutive season -- something the program has never accomplished -- limiting Minnesota's second opportunities is a good place to start.
• "He chased balls," Donovan said. "That's what we need from him. We need him playing with a motor. When he doesn't do that, we're not the same team."
• Minnesota is ranked 267th in the country in turnover percentage, coughing up the ball on 21.7 percent of its possessions.
• The Gophers had not won an NCAA Tournament game since making the Final Four 16 years ago prior to Friday night's 83-63 win over UCLA
• They played 11 ranked teams during the regular season and entered the tournament with the second-best strength of schedule in the country.
• The Gators have only played the Gophers once in school history, a 74-66 loss in the first round of the 1993 NIT.
• "It didn't really bother me at all or bother coach. He was like ... 'If you get bit, I'll pay for your medical bills.'' Gators center Patric Young on a bat flying around at Florida's practice
• "I wasn't mad at him to the point to the point I was going to bench him the whole game,'' Donovan said. "But the game was going well while he was on the bench, that was probably part of it."
• The two coaches have known one another for nearly 25 years, and when Donovan's Gators face Smith's Gophers on Sunday for a berth in the Sweet 16, it will be their 25th head-to-head meeting.
• The first one came on Jan. 22, 1997, when Smith was in his second season at Georgia and Donovan his first year at UF. Georgia won 77-70 in overtime in Athens.
• The following season Smith went to Kentucky and for the next decade, they squared off regularly as leaders of the SEC's two premiere programs. Smith owns a 14-10 advantage in the rivalry but Donovan has won the last six.
• "Tubby's always going to put an emphasis on defense,'' Donovan said. "His teams have always been very good defensively. He always utilizes and takes advantage of the personnel he has on offense. They're always a tough and disciplined team."
• Florida made 14 of 23 from the foul line on Friday and is now shooting 45 of 80 (56.2 percent) in three SEC Tournament games plus the victory over Northwestern State.
• Boynton (2,006 points) joined former UF standout Ronnie Williams as the only players in school history with more than 2,000 points. Williams, UF's all-time leading scorer, finished with 2,090 career points during his career from 1981-84.
• He knows Minnesota leads the rough-and-tumble Big Ten with a rebounding margin of plus-8.8. Florida's rebound margin of plus-5.1 is respectable. But prior to Northwestern State, Florida had been outrebounded in six of nine games. The Gators went 5-4 during that stretch.
• Mbawke leads the Big Ten in rebounding at 8.8 per game.
• “That's something internally he needs to be more accountable and responsible for. He's got to take ownership of it and make the decision ‘this is what I need to do.' And he's got to go out there and do it as hard and as aggressively as he possibly can.”
• The Gators rank first in the SEC and second in the nation in scoring defense, holding opponents to 53.5 points per game. The Gators have held 13 opponents under 50 points and 24 opponents under 60 points.