Alligator Army - For Florida Gators Fans

Gators Basketball Schedule

Last 5 Games

@ BYU Vanquish The Foe	Thu 03/18	L 92 - 99
@ BYU Vanquish The Foe	Thu 03/18	L 92 - 99
@ Mississippi St. For Whom the Cowbell Tolls	Fri 03/12	L 69 - 75
@ Mississippi St. For Whom the Cowbell Tolls	Fri 03/12	L 69 - 75
Auburn Track Em Tigers	Thu 03/11	W 78 - 69

Southeastern Conference Standings

(updated 3.20.2010 at 10:48 PM EDT)

East	Conf		Overall
	W	L	W	L
Kentucky Wildcats A Sea Of Blue	14	2	33	2
Vanderbilt Commodores Anchor Of Gold	12	4	24	9
Tennessee Volunteers Rocky Top Talk	11	5	27	8
Florida Gators Alligator Army	9	7	21	13
South Carolina Gamecocks Garnet And Black Attack	6	10	15	16
Georgia Bulldogs Dawg Sports	5	11	14	17

West	Conf		Overall
	W	L	W	L
Mississippi St. Bulldogs For Whom the Cowbell Tolls	9	7	24	12
Mississippi Rebels Red Cup Rebellion	9	7	23	10
Arkansas Razorbacks Arkansas Expats	7	9	14	18
Alabama Crimson Tide Roll 'Bama Roll	6	10	17	15
Auburn Tigers Track Em Tigers	6	10	15	17
LSU Tigers And The Valley Shook	2	14	11	20

Your Yearly "Billy Donovan Is Considering Other Jobs" Rumor: St. John's

by mlmintampa on Mar 21, 2010 5:20 PM EDT in Basketball Comment 2 comments

More photos » Sue Ogrocki - AP

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The body of Florida's 2009-10 season is still warm and Billy Donovan has already been attached to another job. This one makes no sense, however.

St. John's, once a pillar of The City Game, is crumbling. They just fired Norm Roberts, who cleaned up the program, but had only two winning seasons out of six. In a New York Times article, Roberts was criticized by New York AAU and High School coaches for not "bending the rules," essentially not greasing the palms of local coaches who can steer kids to certain programs. Of course, the irony is that a Catholic school fired a squeaky clean coach for not playing dirty.

Inside the five boroughs, St. John's is still a brand name. That's why so many want a big name for the Red Storm. The first name that comes up is Catholic and Long Island native Billy Donovan. Not only did the Daily News' great basketball writer Dick Weiss call for it, the NY Post did the same complete with the anonymous sources that the Post has built their reputation on.

The reasons the News and Post give for Donovan in Queens is that he's Catholic, from New York and played in the Big East at Providence. Some how, he would appreciate half as much salary (but twice the taxes) playing at a Catholic commuter school in Queens in a 16-team superconference without football funding or great facilities. St. John's likes to promote that they play in Madison Square Garden. But they play half their games on-campus in a building that seats as many as UF's Southwest Rec would if you pulled in bleachers. St. John's can barely compete in the Big East, much less a SEC Powerhouse like Florida.

The News and Post also ignore the reasons why Donovan stays in Gainesville and has turned down Kentucky and the Orlando Magic. Donovan makes a crapton of money, none of which is taxed by a city or state income tax like in New York. The O'Connell Center isn't fantastic, but UF's basketball complex is so nice, it became a model for facilities at Kentucky and Texas. Also, the idea that Donovan, as a New Yorker, would go back is absurd. His Gainesville neighborhood is the highest concentration of people from Rockville Centre, NY south of RVC that isn't my family's house. (My family is from the same street as the Donovans.) Why would he uproot to salvage a program that can't pay him, can't provide the facilities needed to win and doesn't have the resources to do either?

Donovan has already been quoted that he's not interested. He told the NY Post;

"I am very happy here, and we have a very good team coming back next season," Donovan told the Post in a text message. "St. John's has a great tradition, and I have great respect for that program.

Donovan also told the Gainesville Sun's Pat Dooley;

"I have not talked to anyone from St. John's. There was an alum that reached out to me who knows people at St. Johns and the Post."

Dooley also says that the Post report of St. John's contacting UF Athletic Director Jeremy Foley is "false," according to Foley. As long as Donovan is at Florida and UF is perceived as a football school that plays basketball to pass the time, Donovan will be attached by others to open jobs. It just so happens that this year's rumor came early.

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What We're Watching Today: 2010 NCAA Championship

by mlmintampa on Mar 21, 2010 12:18 PM EDT in Basketball Comment 0 comments

Sunday's slate of games begins shortly and it will be hard to top yesterday's bracket busting win by Northern Iowa. The last overall No. 1 to lose was Kentucky in 2004 and Kansas did have a tough bracket, but when a huge favorite falls, it sends shock waves. Syracuse will hope to avoid that same fate in Buffalo against Gonzaga. Late in Buffalo, West Virginia plays Mizzou. We hope either one of those games turns into a Gus Johnson Special. HERE COMES THE PAIN!

The only two non-chalk games are No. 10 Georgia Tech vs. No. 2 Ohio State, and No. 12 Cornell vs. No. 4 Wisconsin. With the Badgers less than outstanding history in the tournament, the Big Red might be our upset of the day. Two 5 vs. 4 matchups are Michigan State-Maryland, Texas A&M-Purdue. Xavier-Pitt is a 6-3 game in the West Region at Milwaukee, and Duke plays Cal in Jacksonville to end the day.

As always, you can use NCAA March Madness on Demand to track the games and get your fix of awful Capital One commercials. Click the game below and the internets will take you to your game of choice for free.

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What We're Watching Today: 2010 NCAA Championship

by mlmintampa on Mar 20, 2010 10:16 AM EDT in Basketball Comment 1 comment

It is a gorgeous day in most of Florida today, but the Tournament is on and the sun is always there, so you need to stay inside and enjoy the games. In a battle of Catholics at 1pm, Villanova will try to grow a pair against St. Mary's. During the 3pm hour, you need the NCAA March Madness On Demand player on your laptop with Murray St.-Butler and Ohio-Tennessee. While we always root for the SEC in bowl games, I am rooting hard for an Ohio stunner again today against the Vols. (Also, I was very happy to see FSU lose to Gonzaga. If I can't be happy, I don't want my enemies happy either.)

The 5pm cocktail hour games feature three majors against three mid-majors; Northern Iowa's foreign exchange program vs. Kansas, Old Dominion Brewing Company (the Pale Ale sounds lovely) vs. Baylor, and Washington vs. New Mexico. The 8pm hour is Wake Forest-Kentucky, and BYU attempting to pull off a Mormon miracle and defeat Kansas State for a chance to play a Sweet 16 game in Salt Lake City.

As always, you can watch the Tournament on NCAA March Madness On Demand. Click the game below and the magic of this series of tubes will whisk you away to exotic locales like Providence and Oklahoma City. We suggest having your local CBS affiliate on the TV and the next best option on your laptop, in full screen mode, sitting next to the TV. We also suggest using the Gus Johnson Soundboard to make things a little more exciting. HERE COMES THE PAIN!

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Gator Baseball vs. Mississippi State

by mlmintampa on Mar 19, 2010 3:41 PM EDT in Other Sports Comment 2 comments

Florida begins SEC play against traditional SEC powerhouse Mississippi State in Gainesville tonight.

The Gators (13-3, No. 6 ranking) have played very well this season, losing to FSU, Miami and Charleston Southern. Miss State (11-6) has been up and down, including a 3-game sweep to Southeastern Louisiana and losing 3 of 4 games last weekend at a tournament in Texas.

Tonight, Florida will run out sophomore southpaw Alex Panteliodis, who is 4-0 with an 1.10 ERA. He faces MSU's Kendall Graveman, who is making his first start. Graveman has allowed 20 hits and seven runs in 16.2 innings, with one win in five appearances. Saturday, Brian Johnson (1-1, 5.52) will look to improve his recent struggles against Miss State's Chris Stratton (2-2, 2.95). UF has not yet announced their Sunday starter as they deal with the loss of Tommy Toledo, who is out after a line drive broke bones in his face last weekend.

Miss State is allowing opponents to hit .271 and has a team ERA of 4.18. The Gators need to take advantage of this and get SEC play started on the right note. UF first baseman Preston Tucker is hitting well (.383) but his power numbers are too low for a guy of his ability; 2 HR, 4 doubles, .550SLG. Miss State may try to pitch around him as FSU and Miami have done, which means Tucker has to pound anything in the zone.

All three games will be on TV. Friday and Sunday will be on FSFlorida, Saturday will be on CSS.

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What We're Watching Today: 2010 NCAA Championship

by mlmintampa on Mar 19, 2010 11:56 AM EDT in Basketball Comment 1 comment

The weak beginning for the Big East should get better today when No. 1 Syracuse faces No. 16 Vermont and No. 2 West Virginia gets No. 15 Morgan State. Cornell and Temple will be a nice matchup as the Big Red have become a trendy No. 12 over No. 5 pick. I'm looking for Siena to roll injured Purdue in a 13 over 4 game. Louisville and Cal should be a good game as they fight to upset Duke in round two. And of course, I'm rooting hard for Gonzaga to beat FSU.

To watch all these games free and online, you can use the NCAA March Madness on Demand, which is linked below. Click on the game you want to watch and it will pop up. If you have used it before and noticed a lag, that seems to have been fixed this year. Every year, the March Madness on Demand player gets better. /remembers waiting in "lobby" before I could watch games in 2006

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Gators In 2010 NCAA Tournament: Grade The Gators

by mlmintampa on Mar 19, 2010 10:27 AM EDT in Basketball Comment 5 comments

More photos » Sue Ogrocki - AP

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For all of the hand wringing and complaining we did about the Gators this season, they still made the NCAA Tournament and finished above .500 in a better SEC. I think we expect a lot out of our basketball program because of the two National Championships and the success of football. We seem to forget how much harder it is to find a Tim Tebow or Percy Harvin basketball player and that it takes three or four of those guys to go deep in the Tournament.

When grading the Gators, take that into consideration. The losses sustained by the Gators to pro leagues and transfers put this team in a rough spot, having to run an 8-man rotation with two guys (Erik Murphy, Ray Shipman) who are not mature enough to play a better role. But, we also saw Candler Parsons step out of the shadow of Nick Calathes and Kenny Boynton become a legit player. Vernon Macklin and Alex Tyus have a lot of growing to do, but they will have the knowledge of fourth year players next season. As for Erving Walker, at least Billy Donovan can show Walker's performance in the BYU game to point guard recruits and say, "Look at how bad this is! You could start for us tomorrow!"

Looking at the Gators' body of work, I give the Gators a 'B' grade, about an 83 on the 100 point scale. They won a lot of close games, but also should have won other games (at Georgia, vs. South Alabama). Those wins would have meant better seeding and a deeper run in the Tournament. The thing that keeps coming back is that this team isn't very deep or talented. They won games on guts, not great shooting or defense. Their comeback against BYU was unreal, even if they could not close (which is a feature of the post-title Gators). Maybe if the Gators had more McDonald's All-Americans or seniors, I would grade them harder.

Make your vote and give us your thoughts in the comments.

Poll

What is your grade for the Gators this season?

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Gators Run Out Of Gas In 99-92 Double OT Loss To BYU

by mlmintampa on Mar 18, 2010 3:21 PM EDT in Basketball Comment 15 comments

The Gators showed their guts, but turnovers and bad possessions did in Florida in their 99-92 double overtime loss to BYU in their NCAA Tournament first round game. Florida had two chances to win, once each in regulation and overtime, but could not convert.

Florida would not have been in position to win had it not been for Kenny Boynton's 27 points and fantastic defense against BYU's Jimmer Fredette. Boynton locked Fredette down, including holding the BYU guard scoreless in the first overtime. Boynton had a chance to win at the end of the first OT, but ran out of time and space and was forced to shoot a wild shot that had no chance of being made or rebounded. Boynton fouled out in the second OT with three assists, two rebounds and five turnovers.

Turnovers was the reason why UF found themselves down 13 points with 9:13 remaining. Florida followed great defensive possessions with Erving Walker throwing the ball out of bounds to start the second half. Chandler Parsons had the nerves get to him as he had five turnovers, including two traveling calls. Parsons would get a third walk when BYU's Noah Hartsock pulled a Darnell Dockett and jumped on Parsons' exposed leg for a loose ball, spinning Parsons over to earn the traveling call. Parsons finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists. His turn around jumper at the end of regulation was off the back of the rim.

UF did a good job guarding Fredette, but allowed bench player Michael Loyd to get 26 points. Tyler Haws and Jackson Emery each got 10 points. Loyd's first half play sucked the momentum away from Florida as the Gators started the game strong. UF led by seven, before BYU rolled back and ended the first half with a 35-33 lead.

Alex Tyus struggled today, shooting 3-11 for six points and nine rebounds. Vernon Macklin had 16 points and seven rebounds. Erik Murphy had seven points as he finishes the season on a high note. Dan Werner finished his final game as a Gator with four points and five rebounds.

Florida ends the season 21-13.

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Gator Basketball vs. BYU, NCAA Championship First Round

by mlmintampa on Mar 18, 2010 9:18 AM EDT in Basketball Comment 3 comments

For the first time since 2007, they are playing that song for us as the Florida Gators face the BYU Cougars in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. That the Gators are here was in doubt only a few days ago, but now is not the time to worry about seedings or who has experience (UF's only players who have seen the Tournament are Vernon Macklin and Dan Werner) and who hasn't won lately (BYU has not won an NCAA game in 17 years).

The team that wins this game will do so by limiting their opponents strength. Florida has to get in the chest of BYU's guards and prevent them from nailing 3-pointers. BYU has to keep the Gators out of the paint.

BYU's Jimmer Fredette is the type of guy every mid-major has; a cold blooded jump shooter. The instant connection for Gator fans would be Devan Downey of South Carolina. As the Gators have done against the Gamecocks, Florida may have to let Fredette get his points, but on the outside. If Kenny Boynton can guard him enough to prevent Fredette from driving to the bucket and make him shoot jumpers, Florida can win. Everyone on BYU can shoot, so if Fredette is limited, guards Jackson Emery and Tyler Haws can score in double figures and shoot close to 50%. Forward Jonathan Tavernari is the guy who New Mexico coach Steve Alford called an, "asshole," so he could be a thorn in the Gators' side too.

The Gators need to pound the inside to win today. Not only on offense with Macklin, Chandler Parsons and Alex Tyus, but defensive rebounding. With BYU's ability to score, the Gators have to limit their second chance points. UF tends to win when they out-rebound their opponent, but they are 9-1 when Macklin gets 14 points or more. If the Gators use their length to their advantage, they can win.

In case you are wondering, yes, this is a Championship Mode game.

By the way, you can watch the Florida-BYU game and all of the NCAA Championship games online for free with NCAA March Madness on Demand. Linked below is a video player that is set to send you to the games. You can also access March Madness on Demand by clicking on the widget below the Fanshots column.

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