Florida isn’t spending too much time worrying about the garnet-and-gold monkey on its back.
UF (3-0) has dropped three straight matchups against Florida State (3-0), and no player on the Gators roster has walked off the court in his college career with a victory against the Seminoles. Even Florida’s second national championship team lost to FSU, falling 70-66 in Tallahassee in 2006.
But when the teams square off in the O’Connell Center tonight at 7, the rivalry’s recent history will be far from the Gators’ minds.
“This is a whole new team from last year. They’ve got a different team,” sophomore point guard Erving Walker said. “The streak really don’t mean nothing. Both teams are totally different, so it’s 0-0 for us.”
FSU returns three starters from the team that beat UF 57-55 last year in Tallahassee, but with a renewed commitment to defense and some new personnel, UF has already proven to be different this season than it was last year.
“To me, anything that has happened in the past is over with and has no bearing on how we go out and perform,” UF coach Billy Donovan said. “That’s the beauty about competition. Anytime you line up and play, what happened previously has nothing to do with what’s in front of you.”
Instead of looking back on previous years, Donovan and his team have spent most of their time preparing for FSU’s big men. With their projected starting frontcourt standing 6-foot-8, 6-foot-9 and 7-foot-1, the Seminoles are a matchup problem for nearly every team they face.
FSU center Solomon Alabi in particular will present a new challenge to Florida’s post players, especially centers Vernon Macklin and Kenny Kadji, who have yet to face a player down low like the Seminoles 7-footer.
Alabi is averaging 12.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and three blocks while playing just more than 20 minutes per game.
“We have some guys who can hopefully match up. We don’t have anybody the size of those guys or the length of those guys, but neither do most teams in the country,” Donovan said. “It’s not like we’re drastically undersized playing against them. I think most teams that play against FSU are going to be drastically undersized.”
INJURY UPDATE: Donovan said Alex Tyus will likely play against FSU after suffering a sprained ankle in UF’s 80-58 win against Troy on Friday night. The junior power forward practiced Sunday with no contact but returned to full-contact practice Monday.
Chandler Parsons’ injury is a more pressing concern for the Gators. The junior forward suffered a hip flexor strain against Troy and did not practice Sunday or Monday.
Parsons has been a spark off the bench for UF this season, averaging 14.7 points and a team-leading 8.3 rebounds per game.
“My gut feeling is he’s going to want to play, regardless,” Donovan said. “How effective is he and where he’s at while he’s playing, I don’t know where that is, but I think he’ll be cleared to play. Just I don’t know what we’ll be able to get out of him, missing two days.
“We can still do different things offensively and defensively if he’s not able to go or if he’s not 100 percent.”
