Florida vs. Kansas State, Game Thread: Gators look to cook in Kansas City

Florida's return to playing teams better than Southeastern Louisiana comes at 8 p.m. tonight, when the Gators take on Kansas State in Kansas City as the return trip to a "neutral site" for a December 2010 contest the Gators won in Sunrise, Florida.

It's been just one week since Florida's last road trip ended in heartbreak at Arizona, when the Gators coughed up a six-point lead in the final minute to fall for the first time in the 2012-13 season. Florida rebounded by waxing Southeastern Louisiana by 39 points on Wednesday, but concerns about Kenny Boynton's poor shooting remain, as the Gators' four-year starter is enduring the worst shooting and scoring stretch of his career, recording single digits in points in four of Florida's last six games, the first such span of futility for him.

Fortunately for Florida, Mike Rosario's been excellent off the bench in relief of Boynton, scoring in double figures in points in each of his last four games and pouring in a Florida career-high 20 points against the Lions on Wednesday.

Florida enters Saturday's game as the No. 1 team in the country according to KenPom ratings, and Kansas State is just No. 82, but the Wildcats have two 6'10"+ post players in Adrian Diaz and Jordan Henriquez who could test Erik Murphy and Patric Young, and point guard Will Spradling is a perfect 20-for-20 from the free throw line this year.

Florida-Kansas State will be televised on ESPN2.