Pre-Game Stuff: Florida vs. William & Mary
Thursday, November 13, 2014 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
No. 7 FLORIDA vs. WILLIAM & MARY
When: Friday, 6 p.m.
Where: O'Connell Center, Gainesville, Fla.
Records: UF 0-0, William & Mary 0-0
TV: SEC Network (w/Dave O'Brien and Sean Farnham)
Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network (w/Mick Hubert and Mark Wise)
STAKES, STARS & STATS
> The Gators open their 19th season under Coach Billy Donovan, whose record at UF stands at 451-169 for a winning percentage of .727. Throw in his two seasons at Marshall prior to Florida and Donovan's win total is 486, meaning he needs 14 to hit 500 career victories before his 50th birthday next May. The Gators have won 23 straight season openers -- all 18 under Donovan, obviously -- and will look to extend their school-record run of 32 consecutive victories at the O'Dome, after going undefeated there each of the last two seasons. 
> Junior shooting guard Michael Frazier (12.4 points, 3.5 rebounds in 2013-14) is the lone returning starter from a team that went 36-3 and swept both the Southeastern Conference regular-season and tournament titles by going undefeated in the league en route to the Final Four. The new-look Gators were on display last week in a less-than-impressive 79-70 exhibition defeat of Division II Barry. Donovan was not pleased with his team's defense in the game or the fact the smaller Buccaneers out-rebounded the Gators 42-39. ... UF was led in that game by junior forward Dorian Finney-Smith (8.7 ppg, 6.7 rpg) and his double-double (16 pts, 10 rebs), along with junior guard Eli Carter (21 points, including 5-for-9 from the 3-point line), who is coming off a medical redshirt year after transferring from Rutgers. ... The best player on the floor tonight just might be William & Mary point guard Marcus Thornton (pictured right). The 6-4 senior averaged 18.7 points and 2.8 assists for the Tribe last season and has shown up in some long-range NBA mock drafts as a likely second-round pick. Heading into his final season, Thornton already has 1,519 career points. ... Sophomore center Chris Walker will miss the first two regular-season games while serving a suspension for violating team rules. Junior forward Alex Murphy, who transferred from Duke last December, won't be eligible to take the floor until the fall semester is in the books. 
> The Gators were way too 3-point happy in their exhibition game, jacking 37 of them and making just 12 for 32.4 percent. Since Donovan arrived for the '96-97 season, the most 3s his teams had attempted in any game that counted was 39 against Duquesne in 1997, so clearly this UF squad needs to execute better in the halfcourt in an effort to manufacture more -- and easier -- points in the paint. That might be easier said than done minus a legitimate post threat since the graduation of Patric Young. ... William & Mary, under coach Tony Shaver, will play a disciplined brand of Princeton-style basketball -- with waves of backdoor cuts -- the likes of which can drive an undisciplined and unaware defense (as the Gators displayed against Barry) absolutely nuts. ... The Tribe, out of the Colonial Athletic Conference, is coming off a 20-win season but remain one of five charter Division I programs never to qualify for the NCAA Tournament, having gone 0-8 all-time in tournament-clinching games.
NUMBERS OF NOTE * 2 - Players making their regular-season UF debuts, as forward Devin Robinson and point guard Chris Chiozza, the team's lone freshmen, figure in a rotation that should go eight deep, including walk-on forward Jacob Kurtz. Robinson, a top-20 prep prospect last year, struggled mightily in the Barry exhibition, forcing several tough shots, missing his first eight attempts (six from the arc) and finishing 2-for-10 for the night.
* 8 - Teams from Virginia the Gators have played since defeating George Mason in the Final Four on the way to the first of those back-to-back NCAA titles in 2006-07. The other schools are Richmond (twice), Liberty, Longwood, Radford and Norfolk State. UF also took on Virginia Commonwealth in a preseason scrimmage last month.
* 1990 - The last year Florida lost a season opener, as the Gators fell 70-61 to South Florida in Tampa in what was the first game under Coach Lon Kruger. That UF team finished 11-17. Three years later, Kruger led the Gators to the Final Four (left).
WATCH FOR IT
A heightened intensity on the Florida defensive end. At least there had better be. No more messing around. The season is here.
WATCH THIS
