Gators Look To Stay Atop SEC Standings As Dangerous Arkansas Squad Visits O'Dome
Saturday, January 22, 2011 | Men's Basketball, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The day after, Gators coach Billy Donovan still wasn't sure what to make of Thursday night's game at Auburn.
Other than for the most important stat for the Gators: they won 45-40.
“I've never been part of a game like that,'' Donovan said Friday afternoon at UF's practice facility. “I don't think I've been part of a game as a coach where, one, you go on the road and you score 45 points and win, and two, you go on the road and you shoot the percentages we did.''
The Gators shot 28.3 percent overall (15 of 43) and only 19.2 percent (5 of 26) from three-point range. But with the game on the line in the final two minutes, Florida guards Kenny Boynton and Erving Walker hit back-to-back three-pointers.
“I'll give Boynton and Walker a lot of credit from the fact they made two big ones,'' said Donovan, whose team was 3-for-24 from behind the arc before Boynton's shot tied the game 40-40 with 1:50 left. “I look at it this way: We're on a streak. We're 2-for-2 right now. We're on a roll shooting the ball.''
The Gators hope they can start Saturday's home game against Arkansas the way they ended the win at Auburn, closing on an 8-0 run. While Donovan expects a better shooting performance from the Gators, he'll take a similar defensive effort.
Florida limited Auburn to 16 second-half points and held the Tigers to their fewest points since the shot clock was installed in 1985. The Gators had not held an SEC opponent to 40 or less points since giving up just 38 against Georgia on March 2, 2005.
The Razorbacks feature one of the SEC's most dangerous shooters in junior guard Rotnei Clarke, who has drawn a lot of comparisons to BYU's Jimmer Fredette as a pure shooter. Fredette is one of the nation's leading scorers and had 37 points against the Gators in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last season.
“One of the best pure shooters in all of the game'' is the way Donovan described Clarke. The top concern for most of Arkansas' opponents is make sure to keep Clarke quiet and limit his looks from three-point range.
The Gators have the same concerns. Clarke leads the Razorbacks in scoring at 13.5 points per game and is third in the SEC in three-pointers, averaging 2.8 per game.
“In a half-court set situation, Kenny Boynton played him a lot last year. Ray Shipman played him,'' Donovan said. “We'll have probably different guys on him at different times in the game.''
Donovan expects Florida's frontcourt to be challenged defensively by forwards Marshawn Powell (10.3 points, 3.9 rebounds) and Delvon Johnson (10.7 points, 8 rebounds). But he sounded confident that Thursday's grind-it-out win against Auburn may have taught his team a lesson.
The Gators played their best defensive game since starting SEC play, limiting the Tigers to 37.3 percent shooting (18 of 48) and 32.7 fewer points than they allowed in their first three league games. Prior to starting conference play, Florida surrendered just 59.4 points a game as it transitioned into being more of a man-to-man defensive team more than in recent seasons.
“Hopefully it drives home a message to our guys,'' Donovan said of Thursday's improved defensive effort. “This was a game in which our offense was not there, we didn't shoot the ball very well. It was a difficult grind for us offensively. But our guys kept managing to play relatively good defense.''
At 3-1 in SEC play, the Gators are tied with South Carolina atop the SEC East. The Razorbacks lost in overtime at South Carolina on Wednesday.
While both teams are battling for better position early in the league standings, the game also features another matchup between Donovan and his former assistant, Arkansas head coach John Pelphrey.
Donovan is 3-1 against Pelphrey since his former understudy took over the Razorbacks.
“They've got a lot of different balance,'' Donovan said. “They are very athletic. They pressure. They force more turnovers in league play than anybody. They are a team that I think continues to get better defensively. And they certainly have enough offensive firepower.''
GATOR GAMEBOX
Arkansas at Florida
Tip-off: 8 p.m., O'Connell Center
Records: Arkansas 12-5 (2-2 SEC); Florida 14-4 (3-1 SEC)
Game notes: (click here)
TV: Sun Sports/FOX Sports Florida
Radio: Gator Radio Network (click here for affiliates)/XM 199
Need to know: Gators lead the all-time series vs. Razorbacks 13-10, including nine of the last 11 … Florida extended its winning streak to eight against the SEC West with Thursday's victory at Auburn … Florida is 7-0 at home vs. Arkansas under Donovan … Gators are 10-1 when holding opponents to less than 60 points … Razorbacks lead the SEC in blocked shots (6.8 per game) and steals (9.4 per game) … UF is hitting 29.1 percent of its three-point shots in the first half, 39.8 percent after halftime … Florida had 16 offensive rebounds against Auburn and has outrebounded its opponent in 14 of 18 games this season.
