Kentucky Wildcats vs. Florida Gators: Game notes

With the No. 25 Kentucky Wildcats (17-6, 8-2) traveling south to take on the No. 6 Florida Gators (19-3, 9-1), here are game notes to help prepare 'Cats fans for the tussle in The Swamp.

• The Gators are a perfect 11-0 in Gainesville this season.
• Kentucky leads the all-time series with Florida, 93-33. With Billy Donovan as head coach of Florida, UK leads the series 22-13.
• In Gainesville, UK holds a 33-22 all-time advantage over the Gators, while UK is 7-9 versus UF with Donovan as head coach.
• Florida is 3-1 versus top 25 competition this season, beating then-No. 20 Wisconsin, then-No. 16 Missouri, and then-No. 16 Ole Miss. The Gator's lone top 25 loss was at then-No. 8 Arizona.
• UF's all-time SEC record stands at 567-610, with five SEC regular season titles, and three league tourney championships. The program has produced 22 All-Americans and 96 All-SEC performers.
• The Gators have held three opponents to 40 or fewer points this season (Alabama State, Savannah State, South Carolina).
• Florida has held 11 opponents under 50 points.
• The Gators have held eight opponents to 20 or fewer points in the first half. South Carolina scored only 10 first half points against UF in a 75-36 loss on January 20.
• UF has scored 35-plus points in the paint seven times this season, and has outscored its opponent by at least 15 points in the paint another seven times.
• UF is beating SEC opponents by an average of 22.6 points.
• In their January 19 whitewashing of the Missouri Tigers, the Gator's Scottie Wilbekin forced All-SEC guard Phil Pressey into 10 turnovers, while allowing Pressey to score only two points.
  
• Florida has made at least 50.0 percent of its shots in nine of the last 12 games.
• Kentucky has won five consecutive in the series, and nine of the last 11.
• Billy Donovan, in his 17th season at Florida, is one of three SEC coaches to win 400 games in league play (Adolph Rupp won 875 at UK, Dale Brown 448 at LSU), and only the fourth coach to win 300 games at one league school (Harry Rabenhorst won 340 games at LSU).
• Gator guard Kenny Boynton and forward Patric Young were both preseason First Team All-SEC selections.
• Young boasts five double-doubles this season and has nine for his career.
• In his SEC career, Young has made 60.6 percent of his shots from the field (309-510), which leads all active conference players.
• Rutgers transfer, guard Mike Rosario, has led the Gators in scoring a team-high nine times, including the last two contests.
• Although he hasn't shot enough free throws to qualify as the SEC's free throw leader, Rosario is making 91.3 percent of his charity stripe tries (42-46).
• Although normally a role player, Michael Frazier II made the most of his first starting nod as he tallied 11 points, six rebounds and three assists against Mississippi State. In 22 minutes off the bench versus Marquette in late November, Frazier II totaled a team-high 17 points, earning SEC Freshman of the Week honors.
• The largest crowd in the 12 year history of the Gator's home court, the Stephen C. O'Connell Center, occurred in 2011as the Gators beat UK 70-68 in front of 12,633 fair-weather fans.
• Five of Florida's top seven attended O'Connell Center contests have come against Kentucky.
• Versatile Gator Erik Murphy netted 24 points the last time these two teams matched up (in the SEC tourney last season). This season, Murphy has made 60-plus percent from 3-point range in six of the last seven games.
• In SEC play, Kenny Boynton has dished out 42 assists and committed only 10 turnovers. Boynton is also the SEC's leading active point scorer with 1,877 points, and three-point shooter (310 made treys).
• Coach Donovan's son, also named Billy, is sitting out this season after transferring to Florida from Division III Catholic University in Washington, DC.
• The Gators have three players on the various "watch lists," including: Boynton and Young (Wooden & Naismith Awards), Boynton and Wilbekin (Bob Cousy Award).

Thanks for reading and Go 'Cats, beat the Gators!

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