Two teams emerged victoriously from the Orange Bowl Classic in Sunrise, Florida on Dec. 20: the Florida Gators and the Florida State Seminoles. Now, the two will face off in their first games since as the Gators (7-4) will face in-state rival Florida State (7-5) on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Donald L. Tucker Center in Tallahassee.
The Gators ride a four-game winning streak into Tallahassee for both teams’ final game of 2014.
Last year, Florida just narrowly defeated Florida State in the Gators’ closest victory of the regular season. The Gators defeated the Noles 67-66 in Gainesville on Nov. 29, 2013.
Coach Billy Donovan noted Leonard Hamilton’s 2014-2015 Seminoles have great strengths in length and overall size.
“They can play very big across the front line,” Donovan said. “They have shot-blocking ability.”
Donovan is working with a more complete roster than he’s had all season thanks to Alex Murphy’s long awaited debut, plus Eli Carter’s return from strep throat.
“We’ve got 12 players out there now and practices have been much, much more competitive,” Donovan said. “I think there’s a better opportunity for us to get better and improve in practice with more bodies.”
Brandone Francis has also joined Donovan's roster rotation. The freshman guard from the Dominican Republic joined the team in the practice for the first time after sitting out in the fall due to academic ineligibility.
“Obviously, Brandone has a lot to catch up on, based on what he’s missed,” Donovan said. “And he’s hung in here pretty well these first three days considering he hasn’t had any preseason conditioning or anything in terms of pre-practice or anything like that. He kind of was thrown right in there and he’s doing well. But he gives us another guard, another body. Makes practice a little bit more competitive.”
Francis’s fall semester academic performance allowed him eligibility to practice with the Gators in the spring, but he won’t see any playing time until possibly the 2015-2016 season.
Murphy echoed Donovan’s sentiment, noting the extreme competitiveness he’s seen in practice since returning from his debut at the Orange Bowl Classic.
“Even the past couple days since we’ve been back from break the practices have been really competitive,” Murphy said. “With Brandone back, Eli, both teams are sort of like the orange and blue squad in practice now are pretty even keel so it’s been really competitive so it’s brought out the best in a few guys in the last few days.”
Follow Erica A. Hernandez on Twitter @EricaAlyssa
Billy Donovan talks to his players during a timeout in Florida’s 61-60 win against Kentucky on March 16 in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.
