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