Florida won't have Will Yeguete today, nor for the rest of the 2011-12 season, after he had surgery to repair a foot fracture suffered against Auburn on Tuesday. That means the Gators will be retooling rotations and looking for more from their bench. It also means that Florida has one chance to get life without Yeguete right against a modestly talented Georgia squad before finishing its SEC slate with the two-game thresher of Vanderbilt in Nashville and Kentucky at home.
Today is about the Florida-Georgia rivalry, and about Florida's place in the SEC Tournament seeding. (The Gators look great for a first-round bye, and possibly the No. 2 seed.) But it's principally about this question: Can Florida win without Will Yeguete?
Tipoff Time
4:00 p.m. Eastern
TV, Radio and Streaming Information
The game will be broadcast regionally on the SEC Network; find a list of SEC Network affiliates at GatorZone. You can also watch it streaming online or on your mobile device of choice through Watch ESPN. The radio broadcast, featuring Mick Hubert, will be available on the Gator Radio Network.
What to Watch For
Georgia's one of the worst teams in the SEC, with just three conference wins (one coming on the road at Mississippi State, naturally) and a dearth of great shooters, but the backcourt trio of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Gerald Robinson, and Dustin Ware is uncommonly careful with the basketball, and makes for one of the few teams that Florida's press might not work that well against. Add in Yeguete's absence forcing the reconstitution of that press, possibly with Casey Prather up front, and it might be wise for Billy Donovan to call off the dogs and try to play sound half-court defense.
Game Thread Guidelines
Try to remember that, despite how emotional watching a Gators game can be, there's no reason to be abusive. Rant, curse, or exult if you must, but keep the personal attacks to a minimum.
Furthermore, and I will stress this until I am blue in the face or until FlaGators admits that I'm right, comments with both a subject line and text are much easier to read when scrolling through a thread. Try to keep that in mind.