Tag Archives: SEC

The NCAA Tournament Starts Tomorrow; How Excited Are You?

  By The Bull Gator | March 18, 2013 - 7:50 pm | College Basketball
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It’s been a while since I’ve been this excited for the NCAA Tournament. As a Florida fan, I’m always excited for the Gators as they make their way to the big dance, but my overall excitement for the tourney as a whole has leveled off in recent years. Call it an overwhelming obsession with one team, too many other sports on my mind at one time, or whatever you want. Whatever it is, it has put the tournament in a place of muted thrill for me.

Florida Gators - National Champions

That doesn’t mean I don’t watch, but I’ve been a halfhearted tourney follower at best. My brackets were completed with little thought and venture too far out of the SEC and I may give you a line similar to “er…uh…yeah…sure they can pull off the upset…they have that guy, don’t they…no, the tall one…you know who I mean.” I was a sports fan that needed a slap on the wrist, or better yet a smack across the back of the head.

For whatever reason, that period of my life has since passed. I’ve become more involved in the college basketball season and more excited for what March brings than in other recent years (and not just because yours truly has a birthday on the horizon). I’ve watched games, I’ve followed the latest stories, and I’ve even found myself fretting over 8-9 matchups. Basically, I’m back.

Just the other day, Mrs. TBG (not much of a basketball fan) said from her spot on the couch “the Florida game ended, we’re still watching basketball?” Yes. Yes we were. And we still are. I’m excited. Overly so.

I printed out my bracket early this morning and it has more corrections, fixes, and edits than I remember it having in five years. March is here and I’m ready. I’m ready too watch the orange and blue try to win a close game. I’m ready to cheer on those other schools I’ve always liked for reasons I can’t understand (North Carolina) and reasons I can (Wisconsin) should something drastic happen to the Gators too early. And I’m ready to be consumed by all that is college basketball for the next three weeks.

Florida Gators Secure No. 3 Seed in South Region of 2013 NCAA Tournament

  By The Bull Gator | March 17, 2013 - 7:50 pm | Florida Gators Men's Basketball
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After falling to the Ole Miss Rebels in the finals of the SEC Tournament, the Florida Gators took a small tumble when it came to NCAA Tournament seeding. Thought by many to be a 2-seed if the Gators had won their conference championship, the loss pushed Florida all the way down to…wait for it…3-seed status.

Patric Young - Florida Gators

The Gators are the 3-seed in the South Region and will face the 14-seed Northwestern State Demons in the second round (which used to be the first round, but is now the second round because someone insisted on calling the play-in games the first round) on Friday, March 22. The Friday opening game means a victory would have Florida playing again on Sunday, March 24. If the Gators do indeed defeat the Demons, they will face either the 6-seed UCLA Bruins or the 11-seed Minnesota Golden Gophers. Those four play their opening games in Austin, TX.

The South Region isn’t lacking of talented teams. The teams, in order of seeding, include Kansas, Georgetown, Florida, Michigan, VCU, UCLA, San Diego State, North Carolina, Villanova, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Akron, South Dakota State, Northwestern State, Florida Gulf Coast and Western Kentucky. If the Gators can manage to get past their first two opponents, a likely rematch with Georgetown looms in the Sweet Sixteen. If you remember, the Gators and Hoyas played on an aircraft carrier to open the season in a game that ultimately wasn’t counted.

In 2006, Florida won the national championship as a 3-seed. In that tournament, the Gators came out of a region that also included Georgetown, Villanova and Oklahoma. And that, kids, is what we call searching desperately for some link to past glory that we can thrust upon this year’s team.

Until Friday and the start of the true season.

Ole Miss Rebels 66 – Florida Gators 63: Gators Blow 14-Point Lead in SEC Tournament Final

  By The Bull Gator | March 17, 2013 - 3:26 pm | Florida Gators Men's Basketball
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After 20 minutes of basketball, you would have thought the Florida Gators were on their way to a blowout victory in the final of the SEC Tournament. Unfortunately, games are a full 40 minutes and the Ole Miss Rebels saved their best basketball for the second half. Up 14 at one point during the first 20, the Gators saw a 12-point halftime lead evaporate, eventually falling 66-63 to the Rebels. Florida was a lock for the NCAA Tournament regardless of the outcome of this one and now Ole Miss will join them in the big dance.

Billy Donovan - Florida Gators

Rebels junior guard Marshall Henderson did what he was supposed to do–score–but he was bested by one of his teammates. Senior forward Murphy Holloway went 11-for-14 from the field, finished with a game-high 23 points, and added 10 rebounds. Henderson made the tough shots and was the spark of the Ole Miss comeback, but Holloway was the player of the game.

The Gators offense was hot at times–the first half–and not at others–the second half. On the day, Florida only managed to connect on 37.2% of their shots and went an abysmal 8-for-17 from the free-throw line. The Gators first half intensity was not only matched by the Rebels in the second half, but outdone. To Florida’s credit, they did fight back to stay in it and make it a game at the end, but it was far from enough as Ole Miss held on to be crowned conference champions.

Head coach Billy Donovan has little time to find an answer to Florida’s struggles in close games. The NCAA Tournament is made up of close games and the Gators can’t seem to win them. As we’ve seen in recent years, Florida is able to put together runs, but those runs are eventually unraveled by the inevitable close game. At 26-7, the Gators are good. They are very good. But those seven losses show a weakness and one that every team Florida matches up against will look to exploit. Pressure the Gators in the second half and you can have success even if you’re overmatched.

Florida has a few days to think about it all and shake off this loss, but there can be no more. One more loss means the Gators are going home and, for the few seniors, the end of their Florida careers. If there was a time to figure out how to pull ahead in close games, now is that time.

Florida Gators vs. Ole Miss Rebels: SEC Championship on the Line

  By The Bull Gator | March 17, 2013 - 11:18 am | Florida Gators Men's Basketball
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The Florida Gators appear to have found their rhythm. After a pedestrian finish to the 2012-13 regular season, the Gators have turned up the intensity and marched to back-to-back double-digit victories. Florida now finds itself in the SEC Tournament championship game against the Ole Miss Rebels. A win means the double–regular season and conference tourney titles.

Will Yeguete - Florida Gators

The 26-6 Gators are looking for win number 27, which would break a tie with the 2011-12 team for the fifth most under head coach Billy Donovan. Of the four Donovan-coached Florida teams that won more games, two won the national title, one lost in the championship game, and the other exited the NCAA Tournament in the Elite Eight. We don’t know how the story will end for this season’s team, but it’s safe to say they have become one of Donovan’s best.

Florida is peaking at the right time, but so is Ole Miss. The Rebels have won their last four and six of their last seven. And they’ve found a way to win the close ones. Two of their last four victories have been by four points or less.

These two teams have met once before during this season and both were ranked at the time. The Gators took a 13-point lead into the locker room at halftime and held on to win 78-64. Florida’s big men were just too much for Ole Miss as senior forward Erik Murphy and junior center Patric Young combined for 32 points and 18 rebounds. Rebels junior guard Marshall Henderson–one of the nation’s best scorers–did pour in 25 points, but he didn’t have much help from his teammates.

The Gators will look to contain Henderson, but may alternatively focus on the rest of the Ole Miss offense. Donovan’s Florida teams have had success in the past letting the star players of opponents be great while shutting down the rest of the roster. The first matchup between these two is one example as is the national championship game victory over Ohio State at the end of the 2006-07 season. Donovan’s plan allowed for Buckeyes star Greg Oden to dominate down low while focusing on the rest of the Buckeyes offense. While Mike Conley did add 20 points to Oden’s 25, no other starting Buckeye shot at even a 50% clip. Similar to the earlier win over the Rebels when senior forward Murphy Holloway had 15 points to go with Henderson’s 25, but did so on 5-for-16 shooting.

So don’t be surprised it Henderson gets his buckets, but the rest of the Ole Miss offense has trouble scoring. Donovan and the Gators know what talent Henderson brings and at times they may not be able to stop him, but if they can slow the rest of the Rebels roster, they could be taking a new trophy back to Gainesville.

Florida Gators vs. Alabama Crimson Tide: One More Win Puts Gators in SEC Tournament Finals

  By The Bull Gator | March 16, 2013 - 9:07 am | Florida Gators Men's Basketball
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The Florida Gators advanced the SEC Tournament semifinals with ease thanks to an 80-58 win over the LSU Tigers on Friday. The Gators will face the Alabama Crimson Tide at 1:00 PM on Saturday thanks to the Tide’s 58-48 victory over the Tennessee Volunteers.

Kenny Boynton - Florida Gators

The Gators were running on all cylinders against the Tigers and showed little desire to take their foot off the pedal. Senior forward Erik Murphy had a career game and Florida shot well from the field. Add to that a defensive performance to hang your hat on and it was an easy victory for the orange and blue.

There was one Gator that would have wanted to contribute more to the team’s cause though. Senior guard Kenny Boynton has been caught in the middle of a shooting slump of epic proportions. Boynton has shot 37.6% from the field and 29.4% from behind the arc during his senior season–both career lows. The senior hasn’t reached 20 points in a game since January 2 and hasn’t shot better than 45.5% since January 26. To make matters worse, Boynton has only shot better than 37.5% once in his last seven games.

Kenny Boynton is a phenomenal player and will go down as one of the best to ever wear a Gators uniform, but we’re all sure this isn’t how he wants it to end. If the wins keep coming, the statistics don’t matter, but he surely wants to contribute on the offensive end. While his last performance against the Tide wasn’t a stellar one, it was solid enough to warrant a desire to repeat it. Boynton went 3-for-8 from the floor, 6-for-7 from the free-throw line, scored 13 total points, and had three assists to zero turnovers. If Boynton can do that again on Saturday, he’ll erase his 1-for-7 performance against LSU.

Head coach Billy Donovan has turned up the intensity on his team. Practices have been harder and Donovan has pushed his team to play to the talent he knows it possesses. It worked on Friday and should again on Saturday. With each SEC Tournament win, the Gators gain momentum for the start of the NCAA Tournament. Another big game is needed against Bama.

Florida Gators vs. LSU Tigers: Top-Seeded Gators Look for Victory in Opening SEC Tournament Game

  By The Bull Gator | March 14, 2013 - 9:57 pm | Florida Gators Men's Basketball
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The Florida Gators men’s basketball team will begin their quest for the 2013 SEC Tournament on Friday. At 1:00 PM, the top-seeded Gators will face the LSU Tigers in Nashville, TN. LSU defeated the Georgia Bulldogs 68-63 on Thursday to advance to the quarterfinals.

Kenny Boynton - Florida Gators

The Gators are looking for their fourth conference tourney championship. Florida won its first three titles in back-to-back-to-back seasons from 2005 to 2007. The Gators, as you surely remember, would go on to win national championships after the final two of those three. Just a few short weeks ago, Florida was considered a national title contender again, but a 3-3 record over the final six games of the regular season has left many questions unanswered.

That 3-3 record is behind the Gators now. It doesn’t matter anymore. The postseason starts on Friday and Florida is only permitted one more loss. Not that we want that loss to occur, far from it, but there is one on the table.

We would prefer the Gators to make this easy on all of us and go 9-0 over the next few weeks. That would be the clean and simple end to this season’s story that we’re all looking for. We’ll take 8-1, 7-1, or even 6-1, but only if that loss comes in the next three days. Let’s throw those scenarios out though and go back to the 9-0 dream. Again, clean and simple.

The Gators and Tigers last faced each other in Baton Rouge, LA on January 12. Florida cruised to a 74-52 victory. Senior guard Kenny Boynton led the Gators with 20 points and junior forward Will Yeguete had a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. LSU struggled to find any sort of rhythm, only shooting 32.3% from the field.

The stakes are much higher this time around. For Florida, it’s about NCAA Tournament seeding. For LSU, it’s about survival. The Tigers will bring more against the Gators than they did two months ago. They have to. The Gators, on the other hand, look to prove they can live up to the lofty expectations that have faded in recent weeks. Florida is the team that should win not only on Friday, but on Saturday and Sunday as well. They question is if they will.

Kentucky Wildcats 61 – Florida Gators 57: Gators Fall In Regular Season Finale

  By The Bull Gator | March 9, 2013 - 2:26 pm | Florida Gators Men's Basketball
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The Florida Gators will head into the SEC Tournament without the momentum they were hoping to carry. After two big conference wins, the Gators fell to the Kentucky Wildcats 61-57 in the regular season finale. The loss drops Florida to 24-6 (14-4 SEC), while Kentucky improves to 21-11 (11-6 SEC). The Gators hadn’t won at Rupp Arena since 2007 and will have to wait another season for a chance to break that streak.

Billy Donovan - Florida Gators

The game was one of streaks as both teams jumped out to big leads only to have the other fight back. It was good for Florida at times and bad at others. Unfortunately, the last of the bad times encompassed the final 7:36 of the game. With that much time left on the clock, the Gators went up 57-50. Florida would not score again. Yes, you read that correctly. The Gators would not add a single point to their total for the final seven minutes and 36 seconds. In that time, the Wildcats went on an 11-0 run to close out the regular season on the SEC champs.

The Gators shot better than the Wildcats across the board, but it wasn’t enough. Senior forward Erik Murphy and junior center Patric Young combined for 27 points on 11-for-22 shooting, but they weren’t helped by the other Florida starters. Senior guards Kenny Boynton and Mike Rosario and junior guard Scottie Wilbekin combined to go 8-for-24 from the field and 2-for-7 from behind the three-point line. None of the three were able to get into double digits in scoring.

While Kentucky didn’t shoot as well as Florida overall, they did when it mattered. The Wildcats only went 13-for-22 from the free-throw line on the day, but were 3-for-4 in the final 25 seconds. The Gators struggled to find a good look at the basket as time was running down as Kentucky kept up the defensive pressure and didn’t allow Florida anything easy.

The Gators regular season has to be considered a successful one, but ultimately it’s all about how you finish. Florida is 3-3 over the final six games and all three losses came to unranked opponents. While the Gators do have quality wins, the selection committee will be taking recent play into account and the end to the season will hurt Florida when it comes to seeding.

Florida has a chance to shake off the Kentucky loss before the SEC Tournament, but that will be here soon. The Gators should find themselves in the conference tourney title game, but they have to get there first. The regular season is over. It’s tourney time. There’s no excuse for losses of any kind.

Florida Gators 66 – Vanderbilt Commodores 40: Gators Win SEC Title, Finish Unbeaten At Home

  By The Bull Gator | March 6, 2013 - 10:05 pm | Florida Gators Men's Basketball
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The Florida Gators men’s basketball team claimed the program’s fourth outright SEC title on Wednesday night with a 66-40 victory over the Vanderbilt Commodores. A conference title was the ultimate goal, but the Gators also capped off an undefeated home record with the win. The last Florida team to do that–2006-07–just happened to win a national championship.

Kenny Boynton - Florida Gators

The Gators put the game out of reach early, jumping out to a nine-point lead midway through the first half. The outcome was never truly in question after it took the Commodores nearly 16 minutes of game time to reach the double-digit mark in points. Florida would go on to lead by 10 at the half and extend that lead in the second frame.

In addition to the SEC title and undefeated home record, Florida claimed the No. 1 seed in the upcoming conference tournament. The Gators still travel to Kentucky to close out the regular season against the Wildcats, but their place in the SEC tourney is already known.

The three Florida seniors went out on a high note. Guard Kenny Boynton led all Gators scorers with 15 points while forward Erik Murphy added 10 and guard Mike Rosario had five. It surely was a great feeling for all three to get a big victory and win a regular season conference title in their last game in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.

Florida still has that final hurdle–the regular season finale at Kentucky–to get over before thinking too much about the tournaments ahead, but they will both be here soon enough. This is the time of season to stay focused and build on wins like Wednesday night’s.

Congrats to the Gators and the senior class on an impressive victory.

Plenty On the Line In The Florida Gators Final Home Game

  By The Bull Gator | March 5, 2013 - 2:49 pm | Florida Gators Men's Basketball
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The No. 11/9 Florida Gators men’s basketball team will play its final home game of the 2012-13 regular season on Wednesday. The Gators will host the Vanderbilt Commodores in a matchup with a number of storylines.

Erik Murphy - Florida Gators

First and foremost, Florida can secure the program’s fourth outright SEC title with a victory over Vandy. Not only will it be the fourth for the program, it will be the second for the current seniors. If the Gators get the win, the seniors will be the first class to ever win two outright conference titles.

Not far behind, but less meaningful if we’re being honest, is a chance to go undefeated at home during the regular season for the first time since 2006-07. Not losing at home doesn’t mean much toward the Gators chances at a national championship, but the last Florida team to do so just happened to take home the trophy. Being unbeatable in your own building is a matter of pride though. It’s not something Florida will want to slip out of their hands in their final game. And more wins never hurt.

Finally, it’s senior night for two that have been there since the beginning—guard Kenny Boynton and forward Erik Murphy—and one that has raised his level of playing during his final season—guard Mike Rosario. While Boynton won’t do it in this game, he still has an outside shot at becoming the Gators all-time leading scorer. Not bad for a player many expected to be long gone at this point.

For Boynton, it’s a chance to go out on a high note; to play his final game in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center and leave the building with another victory. With 150 points to go and a career-low scoring average of 12.5 points per game, it seems unlikely Boynton will break the record, but he’s playing for more. Boynton joined the Gators following the back-to-back NIT seasons (ugh) and hasn’t missed the NCAA Tournament since. Two Elite Eight appearances is nothing to scoff at, but he’ll want more this final season.

Murphy has developed into a threat from anywhere on the court. After nearly ruining his college basketball career, Murphy was allowed to remain in the program by head coach Billy Donovan and became the player he is today. Vital to Florida’s success, Murphy has career highs across the board this season—minutes, field-goal percentage, three-point percentage, free-throw percentage, rebounds, scoring average, you name it.

Then there’s Rosario. A transfer from Rutgers, Rosario was expected to bring his heightened scoring ability to the Gators. After a rocky first two seasons (he sat out after transferring), Rosario seems to have brought it together. He hasn’t reached the scoring numbers he put up while with the Scarlet Knights, but Rosario is the Gators leading scorer and a danger to opposing defenses when he has the ball.

Wednesday won’t mark the end of the 2012-13 season, but it does mean more than just another game to the Gators. Florida wants that SEC title. The Gators want to hold on to that unblemished home record. And the seniors want to walk out of the O’Connell Center victorious.

2013 Football Recruiting: Florida Gators NSD Ends With Two Commits

  By Evandagator | February 10, 2013 - 12:00 pm | Football Recruiting
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If you watched any portion of National Signing Day, you saw coverage dominated by late-risers in the recruiting rankings, as the likes of Alabama, Ole Miss, Ohio State, and others dominated the late NSD decisions.

You didn’t see as much from the Florida Gators (The number 1 recruiting class on ESPN at the beginning of the broadcast) as you thought you would have. And, despite the fact that many of you would categorize that as “Boring,” it doesn’t necessarily suggest anything to make the Gators’ recruiting class anything less than great.

Let’s look at the Gators’ commitments on National Signing Day. Will Muschamp’s day started well with defensive tackle Jay-nard Bostwick from Port Saint Lucie, Florida near Miami. The Gators won this battle against mainly Miami and Alabama.

Below is Bostwick’s commitment. Listen to the interview after if you don’t think that playing in the SEC impacts some of these recruits.

In Bostwick, Florida gets a somewhat raw defensive tackle who has only been playing football for a few years. At 280 pounds, Bostwick already has some of the size needed to be a DT in the NFL, and the next few years will be spent building more muscle (Jeff Dillman), while adding technique (Bryant Young).

And here are some highlights from Bostwick’s junior year:

While many of Florida’s commitments were sending in their LOIs, there was a rumor that Tashawn Bower, an Auburn commit had sent his LOI to the Gators. He was widely thought by many to be headed to either Auburn or Florida, but in the end, none of those rumors proved to be true. And, well, Bower chose LSU.

The next news for the Gators came in the afternoon when another DT, this time a JUCO from East Mississippi Community College, Jarran Reed picked the Gators over Ole Miss and Alabama. EMCC continues to be very good to the Gators, where Florida gets DTs Reed and Darious Cummings this year, and where they got immediate-impact Damien Jacobs from last year.

After National Signing Day, the Florida Gators signed the No. 2 punter in the nation Ryan Townsend, who had been previously committed to Ohio State. And not long before that, OL/TE Trevon Young determined that he wished to be a Gator when he decided against a scholarship offer to play basketball, his true passion, at Eckerd College. Young is VERY raw, so we’ll see how his development at Florida goes.

The Florida Gators’ 2013 recruiting class, should end up at a final number of 30, the most in school history. But the Gators didn’t just add depth for no reason. With recruits at nearly ever position on the team, the Gators filled their needs well with talent that could serve as a building block for future Will Muschamp teams. Though time will tell, this years recruiting class looks like it could end up being one of the bests in school history.