On Monday, UF defeated then-No. 7 Florida State in an 82-72 thriller, it’s biggest win since beating then-No.15 Kentucky on Feb. 9, 2014.
Florida will be looking to avoid a hangover when it faces Kennesaw State in the O’Connell Center at 4 p.m. on Saturday.
Based on what some of the players said after the game against FSU, it shouldn't be a problem.
“A win is big for us period, regardless if it’s Florida State, Kennesaw State, a win is a win,” junior forward Ronni Williams said.
Sophomore guard Dyandria Anderson echoed that sentiment.
“Every game’s a big one. It doesn’t matter who we’re playing,” she said. “It’s just a big win no matter what.”
In Florida’s last two games following a win over ranked teams, the Gators are 0-2.
Last season, the Gators followed up a 51-48 win at No. 24 Georgia with a disappointing — albeit expected — loss on the road to No. 13 Mississippi State.
And after the Gators’ 86-80 victory over Kentucky in 2014, they followed with a loss against unranked Georgia in Athens.
The good news for the Gators is that those Mississippi State and Georgia teams were both much more talented teams than Kennesaw State, which finished last season with a 17-13 overall record and a 6-8 mark in the Atlantic Sun Conference.
In addition, the last time the Gators beat a top-10 team — No. 6 Kentucky two years ago — they followed it up with a victory over No. 25 Arkansas.
And one last bit of good news for Florida is that the last time the two teams met, Florida took down Kennesaw State 83-62 on the road. That was back in November of 2013, but there are plenty of players left from that team.
Williams and senior guard January Miller put up 14 and 13 points, respectively, against KSU in 2013. Redshirt senior guard Cassie Peoples only had six points, but led the team in assists with eight and steals with four.
Kennesaw State features two Gainesville natives in junior guard Deja McPhee, a Gainesville High standout and transfer who played last season at Santa Fe College, and sophomore forward Katie Polinsky, who played at Gainesville’s The Rock School, which happens to be the same school where current Gator forward Viktorija Dimaite played her high school ball.
They’ll likely have a lot to play for, as will the entire Owls team so early in the season.
Follow Ethan Bauer on Twitter @ebaueri
Sophomore Ronni Williams drives down the lane during Florida's 77-42 loss to No. 1 South Carolina on Monday in the O'Connell Center.
