Pre-Game Stuff: Florida vs Wake Forest, Orange Bowl Classic (Saturday, 5 p.m.)
Friday, December 19, 2014 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
ORANGE BOWL CLASSIC
FLORIDA vs. WAKE FOREST
When: Saturday, 5 p.m. (ET)
Where: BB&T Center, Sunrise, Fla.
Records: UF 6-4, Wake Forest 5-5
TV: Fox Sports 1 (w/Justin Kutcher, Bob Wenzel and Jessica Blaylock)
Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network (w/Mick Hubert and Bill Koss), check for outlets here.
STAKES, STARS & STATS 
> UF is back in the Orange Bowl Classic for the 16th time and comes in with a 13-2 record in its previous 15 trips. The game will mark the second of a double-header, with South Florida and Florida State meeting in the early game at 2 p.m. ... The Gators are 6-5 all time against the Demon Deacons, a mark that includes a 77-72 win in the most recent meeting, when guard Taurean Green (right) scored 23 points and Florida forced 22 turnovers in the 2005 Coaches vs. Cancer at Madison Square Garden. That was just the third game of what turned out to be UF's first national-championship season. The teams have met four times in neutral-site dates and split those games. ... Florida has won four straight in the Orange Bowl event since a 56-53 upset loss to Richmond in 2009, stringing together victories against Kansas State, Texas A&M, Air Force and a 66-49 defeat of Fresno State last year behind 16 points on 8-for-11 shooting from forward Casey Prather. 
> Florida's roster is expected to be bolstered by the addition of 6-8, 225-pound junior forward Alex Murphy (left),who transferred from Duke last December. Murphy's eligibility becomes official when his fall semester transcript is finalized and posted, which UF hopes happens Friday afternoon. His size, athleticism and passing ability will provide the Gators with some new rotation options. The brother of former UF standout Erik Murphy averaged only 1.9 points and 1.0 rebounds in limited minutes during his 1 1/2 seasons at Duke, but was a consensus top-50 prep prospect out of Wakefield, R.I., where he averaged 21 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. ... In UF's last outing, forward Dorian Finney-Smith (12.3 ppg, 5.1 rpg) and guard Michael Frazier (15.2 ppg, 5.3 rpg) combined for 47 points in a 79-34 defeat of Jacksonville, but the eye-opener of that game was Florida's uptick in energy and defense after halftime. The Gators held the Dolphins to just 16 percent shooting in the second half and only 10 points, the fewest ever scored against a Billy Donovan team in a second half. ... Point guard Kasey Hill (7.0 ppg, 4.9 apg) did not start against JU due to a bout with the stomach flu, but will be back in the first unit against the Demon Deacons. Hill was replaced by freshman Chris Chiozza (4.8 ppg, 2.2 apg), who had four assists and just one turnover in his first career start, and helped UF hit the 18-assist mark for the fourth consecutive game. ... Combo guard Eli Carter (7.8 ppg) can't get a break. After seemingly coming around from a nagging foot sprain, Carter was held out of practice the last three days with strep throat and is “questionable” for the game. 
> Wake Forest is in its first season under Coach Danny Manning, the former Kansas star who took over the Demon Deacons after going 38-29 in two seasons at Tulsa. He guided the Golden Hurricane to the NCAA Tournament last season, reaching the second round. ... Wake snapped a three-game losing streak Sunday with a defeat of Samford. Before that, they'd dropped consecutive games to North Carolina State, Minnesota and Delaware State. The Deacons also lost earlier in the year at Arkansas by 30. ... The team is led by guard Codi McIntyre (12.2 ppg) and 6-9, 255-pound forward Devin Thomas (11.5 ppg, 9.3 rpg). Thomas' work on the glass is a key reason why the Deacons are out-rebounding opponents by 10 per game (41.2 to 31.4). He could be a load for UF's frontcourt to handle. ... Wake also boasts a player whose name is very familiar to UF fans: freshman guard Mitchell Wilbekin (7.6 ppg, 1.8 apg), the younger brother of former Gator and 2014 Southeastern Conference Player of the Year Scottie Wilbkein. Mitchell starts at the point guard spot and leads his team in 3-point shooting percentage (.425), having made 17 of 40 in his rookie season.
SOME NUMBERS OF NOTE
* 10 - Players in the UF rotation, in the event Carter is cleared to play. It would mark the first time this season Donovan has had everyone available for a game. How the minutes are allocated figures to fluctuate, given the opponent. Then again, when are the Gators ever completely healthy or available? 
* 11.6 - Average assists for the Gators in their first six games.
* 18.2 - Average assists for the Gators in their last four games (See "ball movement").
* 33 - Most points scored by a UF player in the Orange Bowl Classic. Freshman forward Matt Walsh (pictured right) had 33 and 11 rebounds in a 94-93 double-overtime win over Miami in 2002.
* 36 - Average margin of victory in UF's previous three games, in defeating Yale, Texas Southern and Jacksonville, all at home. The average score in those three games was 79.7 to 43.7.
* 198 - Career 3-point field goals by Frazier, who needs two to become the seventh player in UF history to hit the 200 milestone.
WATCH FOR IT
Donovan and his staff are constantly talking to Finney-Smith about consistency. He had a career-high 25 points against Jacksonville. No one's looking for another offensive output like that; the UF coaches just want to see Finney-Smith continue to play with that energy and bounce for 40 minutes.
