At a glance
Who: Florida Gators (10-3) vs. Rhode Island Rams (9-4)
When: 9, tonight
Where: O'Connell Center
TV: ESPNU
Gainesville radio: AM-850, 103.7 FM
FLORIDA PROBABLE STARTERS
G Kenny Boynton 6-2 So. 12.5 ppg, 2.7 apg
G Erving Walker 5-8 Jr. 13.9 ppg, 2.9 apg
F Chandler Parsons 6-9 Sr. 9.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg
F Alex Tyus 6-8 Sr. 9.3 ppg, 4.9 rpg
C Vernon Macklin 6-10 Sr. 10.8 ppg, 6.4 rpg
RHODE ISLAND PROBABLE STARTERS
G Marquis Jones 6-1 Sr. 10.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg
G Akeem Richmond 6-1 So. 10.6 ppg, 1.4 rpg
F Nikola Malesevic 6-7 So. 10.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg
F Delroy James 6-8 Sr. 19.1 ppg, 7.2 rpg
C Will Martell 7-0 Sr. 7.8 ppg, 6.1 rpg
Notes:Florida and Rhode Island, an Atlantic-10 school, are meeting for the first time. ... Florida coach Billy Donovan improved to 15-17 all-time vs. A-10 teams with a 71-67 win Friday over Xavier. ... The Gators have out-rebounded 12 of their first 13 opponents and are averaging 13.5 offensive rebounds per game. ... Walker is averaging 18 ppg over his last four games and is 28 points shy of 1,000 for his career. ... Rhode Island returns 65 percent of its scoring, 70 percent of its rebounding and 78 percent of its assists from last season. ... Rhode Island is 59-22 against non-conference opponents since 2006-07. ... Malesevic, who scored 16 points in Rhode Island's 67-65 win over Boston College, is shooting 58.1 percent (25-43) from 3-point range this season. ... Donovan notched his 341st win at Florida against Xavier, putting him third in the all-time SEC coaching wins list.
When: 9, tonight
Where: O'Connell Center
TV: ESPNU
Gainesville radio: AM-850, 103.7 FM
FLORIDA PROBABLE STARTERS
G Kenny Boynton 6-2 So. 12.5 ppg, 2.7 apg
G Erving Walker 5-8 Jr. 13.9 ppg, 2.9 apg
F Chandler Parsons 6-9 Sr. 9.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg
F Alex Tyus 6-8 Sr. 9.3 ppg, 4.9 rpg
C Vernon Macklin 6-10 Sr. 10.8 ppg, 6.4 rpg
RHODE ISLAND PROBABLE STARTERS
G Marquis Jones 6-1 Sr. 10.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg
G Akeem Richmond 6-1 So. 10.6 ppg, 1.4 rpg
F Nikola Malesevic 6-7 So. 10.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg
F Delroy James 6-8 Sr. 19.1 ppg, 7.2 rpg
C Will Martell 7-0 Sr. 7.8 ppg, 6.1 rpg
Notes:Florida and Rhode Island, an Atlantic-10 school, are meeting for the first time. ... Florida coach Billy Donovan improved to 15-17 all-time vs. A-10 teams with a 71-67 win Friday over Xavier. ... The Gators have out-rebounded 12 of their first 13 opponents and are averaging 13.5 offensive rebounds per game. ... Walker is averaging 18 ppg over his last four games and is 28 points shy of 1,000 for his career. ... Rhode Island returns 65 percent of its scoring, 70 percent of its rebounding and 78 percent of its assists from last season. ... Rhode Island is 59-22 against non-conference opponents since 2006-07. ... Malesevic, who scored 16 points in Rhode Island's 67-65 win over Boston College, is shooting 58.1 percent (25-43) from 3-point range this season. ... Donovan notched his 341st win at Florida against Xavier, putting him third in the all-time SEC coaching wins list.
— Kevin Brockway
Gator players insist they won't take Rhode Island lightly tonight in a nationally televised game at the O'Connell Center. Nor should they. Rhode Island gave No. 6 Pittsburgh all it could handle before falling 83-75 in its season opener. The Rams are also coming off a big 67-65 win last week against Boston College.
Florida coach Billy Donovan said Rhode Island is as talented as any team that the Gators have faced outside of Ohio State.
"We've got our work cut out for us to see how we respond," Donovan said. "We obviously didn't respond very well after the Florida State win, we didn't respond well after the Kansas State win. And that's got to be something we've got to make sure that we can find a way to respond well with two days to prepare for the Monday night game."
After a road win at Florida State, Florida suffered a 57-54 loss to UCF. And after a big win against Kansas State outside of Fort Lauderdale, Florida returned home to lose to Jacksonville 71-68 in overtime. It was Florida's first loss to JU in 16 years.
"We just have to realize when we play, we have to play well and give it all we've got because any team can beat us on a good night," Florida senior forward Alex Tyus said.
Coming off a 71-67 win at Xavier on New Year's Eve, Florida comes into tonight's matchup a little banged up. Center Vernon Macklin returned to practice Sunday after injuring his shoulder in the second half against Xavier and is probable to play tonight. Point guard Erving Walker was limited in practice Saturday with a hip-pointer. Senior forward Chandler Parsons practiced, but still needed rehab Saturday to tend to an ankle injury.
Against Xavier, the Gators shot the ball better from the perimeter (6-of-13 from 3-point range) and the free-throw line (19-of-25). But turnovers remained a problem. Florida had 17 turnovers, including nine in the first half on several unforced errors.
"That's something we're still working to get better at," Walker said. "We're going to have some mistakes. It's inevitable. We just want to cut down on the mental mistakes."
Florida has averaged 17 turnovers in its last four games.
"Definitely a concern," Florida sophomore guard Kenny Boynton said. "I think that's just the decision-making. We've got to make better decisions when we have the ball in our hands."
