2011 NCAA Tournament: (2) Florida vs. (3) BYU
Event: 2011 NCAA Tournament – Sweet 16
Location: New Orleans Arena – New Orleans, LA [Capacity: 18,500]
Time: 7:27 p.m. (EST)
TV: TBS/ TBSHD
Online Video: —->
Live Updates: @OnlyGators
(2) FLORIDA GATORS (3) BYU COUGARS
Head Coach: Billy Donovan Head Coach: Dave Rose
Record: 28-7 Record: 32-4
Conference: Southeastern Conference: Mountain West
Roster | Schedule Roster | Schedule
Odds: Florida -3; O/U 149
Note: The line has fluctuated slightly since it was initially released, dropping as low as -2 but as high as -4. You can bet on College Basketball at BetUS! The Gators are currently the second-most wagered-on team of the day and could cover for the spread for the third-straight game in the tournament.
HISTORY and STREAKS
» Florida is making its second-straight and 16th overall NCAA Tournament appearance. The Gators are 31-13 all-time in the event with two national titles, three championship game appearances and four Final Four appearances.
» UF has advanced to the NCAA Regional Semifinal for the seventh time in school history. The No. 2 seed is their second-highest opening position in school history, and their .705 all-time NCAA Tournament winning percentage is the highest in SEC history in front of Kentucky (.695) and Auburn (.600).
» BYU is making its 26th NCAA Tournament appearance. The Cougars are 14-28 all-time in the event and have earned a berth in eight of the last 11 seasons. The No. 3 seed is their highest in school history; they earned the same rank in 1980.
» Florida and BYU are meeting for the fourth time in the history of the two programs. The Cougars are 3-0 all-time against the Gators with all games being played at neutral sites. Before squaring off in 2010, the teams had not met since 1991 and prior to that 1959. BYU's win last year in the tournament was their first since 1993.
» The two teams share the UCLA Bruins as a common opponent during the season. Florida defeated UCLA 73-65 on Saturday, and BYU lost to them 86-79 back on Dec. 18.
» Donovan is 24-8 all-time in the tournament including two national championships and three Final Four appearances. His .750 winning percentage at the Big Dance is fourth among active coaches and second all-time among SEC coaches. He is also the youngest active coach to win a national title (age 40 in 2006).
» The Gators are 15-3 against the 2011 NCAA field and finished the regular season with the third outright SEC championship in school history (1989, 2007). Florida has captured five overall SEC titles including four under Donovan (2000, 2001, 2007, 2011).
» UF averages a +14.0-point margin of victory in 24 NCAA wins under Donovan. They have not allowed a team to connect on more than six threes in the last seven games.
» The Gators are 23-2 when holding an opponent under 70 points this year.
» Florida has won 20 of their last 24 games (and 12 of their last 14 – only losses coming to Kentucky) including 17 against RPI top 100 teams.
» The Gators are the only NCAA Division I team not to have a player foul out of a game this season. They lead the nation in fewest fouls committed per game (14.5).
» UF is 10-3 when senior forward Chandler Parsons takes 10+ shots from the field. He has moved into the top 20 in school history in scoring (1,419 points) and is the only active Division I player with over 1,300 points, 800 rebounds, 300 assists and 125 steals. He also became the sixth player in school history with 500+ career field goals.
» Brigham Young senior guard Jimmer Fredette holds the school's career, single-season and single-game scoring records.
» BYU bests Florida in three of four major national statistical categories. The Cougars lead the Gators in points per game 81.6-71.5 (8th-98th), rebounding 38.7-37.5 (16th-49th) and assists per contest 14.5-13.7 (65th-106th); however, Florida shoots better as a team from the field .462-.452 (51st-91st). The Gators also lead the Cougars in scoring defense with 62.7-67.4 points per game and rebound margin +5.9 to +3.0. Brigham Young, on the other hand, turns the ball over less per game 10.9-12.3 and forces more miscues 14.4-12.5. UF ranks 10th in RPI (.6353) and sixth in strength of schedule nationally compared to BYU being fifth (.6462) and 22nd, respectively.
[EXPAND Click to expand the rest of the Gameday Preview]LAST TIME OUT…
Florida and BYU met in the opening game in the first round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament. The Gators had opportunities to win the contest at the end of regulation and conclusion of the first overtime, but Parsons missed both shots and the Cougars pulled away during the second overtime to earn a hard-fought 99-92 victory. Fredette led the way for his squad with 37 points including two treys in the second OT (he only hit one the rest of the game), helping his team outscore UF 18-11 in the final five minutes.
KNOW THE OPPONENT
Coming out of the MWC, No. 3-seed BYU defeated No. 14-seed Wofford 74-66 in first round action before thrashing No. 11-seed Gonzaga 89-67 in the round of 32. Fredette finished 7-for-12 from downtown and 11-of-23 from the floor; though he had trouble in the first half, he found his stride later in the game. The Cougars finished the regular season as a top-10 team and co-MWC regular season champions, splitting the honor with San Diego State. BYU is 9-2 against teams ranked in the RPI top 50.
KEEP AN EYE ON…
» Parsons…the 2011 SEC Player of the Year and a unanimous All-SEC First Team selection…who is averaging double-digit points (11.4) while leading the Gators with 7.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. He is sporting a 15:4 assist-to-turnover ratio in the NCAA Tournament, which is much improved compared to his season average.
» Junior point guard Erving Walker…who was marred in a shooting slump but has rebounded and is still leading his team in scoring with 14.7 points per game while also leading the backcourt in both field goal percentage (.421) and three-point percentage (.393). Walker also leads Florida in both turnovers (82) and steals (39). He is shooting 62.5 percent (10-of-16) from the field and 63.6 percent (7-of-11) from downtown in the NCAA Tournament. Walker is averaging a team-best 19.5 points in those games while also hitting 80 percent (12-of-15) of his attempts from the line.
» Sophomore guard Kenny Boynton…who is arguably the Gators' most talented player but was struggling with consistency shooting the ball. Boynton is shooting 38.2 percent from the field and 33.2 percent from beyond the arc; however, he is second in scoring with 14.0 points per game and makes a team-high 82.4 percent of his free throws. He has scored in double figures in 14-straight games and has made at least one three-pointer in each of those contests.
» Redshirt senior center Vernon Macklin…who is shooting a team-best 58.1 percent from the floor as a starter this season with most of his buckets coming inside the paint. He averages 11.3 points and 5.4 rebounds a game while being a major presence for UF.
» Senior F Alex Tyus…who is averaging career-lows in points, rebounds and field goal percentage and is the only starter who does not score in double digits. He averages just 8.6 points and 5.7 boards each game.
» Freshmen PG Scottie Wilbekin and C Patric Young…who are Florida's primary reserves each averaging approximately 17.5 minutes per game. Wilbekin leads UF in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.33:1), while Young averages 3.5 points and 3.8 boards.
» BYU's Fredette…the 2011 MWC Player of the Year and a unanimous All-MWC First Team selection…who is averaging a team-high 28.8 points in 35.5 minutes per game while also leading his squad with 4.3 assists each contest. Fredette shoots 45.5 percent from the field, an astounding 40.6 percent from beyond the arc and also hits 89.1 percent of his free throw attempts.
» Cougars G Jackson Emery…who is second on the team to Fredette in points (12.6), assists (2.7) and free throw shooting (82.9 percent). He averages 32.5 minutes each game and hits 35.9 percent from downtown.
» BYU F Noah Hartsock…who is the team's leading rebounder with Brandon Davies on suspension. Hartsock grabs 5.9 boards per contest and is the team's best three-point shooter on average with 44.6 percent accuracy. He scores 8.6 points per game, shoots 50.4 percent from the field and makes 82.1 percent of his shots from the charity stripe.
Alex Tyus All-SEC Billy Donovan Brandon Davies BYU Cougars Chandler Parsons Dave Rose Erving Walker Jackson Emery Jimmer Fredette Kenny Boynton MWC NCAA NCAA Tournament New Orleans Arena Noah Hartsock Patric Young Player of the Year Scottie Wilbekin SEC Sweet 16 UCLA Bruins Vernon Macklin
Forget Fredette, Tyus proves Gators are elite as Florida tops BYU 83-74 in overtime
3/21: Donovan on Boynton's ankle, facing BYU
2010 NCAA Tournament Gameday – First Round: No. 10 Florida Gators vs. No. 7 BYU Cougars
Daniel M. says:
Have a safe trip home Jimmer. I will be looking forward to not hearing your name anymore.
A one man team isn't going to beat this team.
Time to put BYU out of their misery. Maybe they can chug some coke to drown their sorrows. So long as we come out strong in the first half, nobody can beat us in the second half.
Right there with you Daniel, be nice to stop hearing Jimmer's name every time I turn on the TV.
TonyM1449 says:
Way to battle Gators! Way to finish!
Ken (CA) says:
what a great game! For those who have been down on Tyus all year, he really showed up tonight. Massive!
I am not sure, but I don't think UF has ever lost in the elite 8
FISH-GATOR-59 says:
GREAT WIN!!!
Had my heart pounding the whole game. I'm so impressed with this team.
Go Gators
Just goes to show you that Jimmer is an overrated ball hog. If Parsons or EWalk had 30 attempts they'd score 40 a game too.
i disagree completely, he is an awesome player, he had an off night had some of toughest d against him ever, boynton did it last year til fouled out, this year boynton had help from scottie….you dont avg as many assists as jimmer does and be a ball hog
Averaging 4.3 assists per game for a guard and what I have seen from him all tourney is that he is a ball hog. Check the box scores of the team around him and open your eyes, he had 29 attempts while the other 8 players on the team had 42.
He drives down the court and fires off a 40 foot three despite other players being open. He is drives into the paint on 2 bigs and never considers kicking it out. Dude is a flat out ball hog. Wondering if they added the "r" to the end of his first name to make him look better as it should be Jim"ME"
Deuce-Five says:
That's what I'm talkin about gators made jim Rome eat his words buying into the jimmer hype shoulda known better
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