Through six games this season, the Gators are doing more than just winning. Not only does Florida boast a 6-0 record, but it has won each game by an average margin of 25.3 points — more than double last year’s 10.9.
UF’s 33-point win on Thursday against Marquette — last year’s Sweet 16 opponent — highlighted the team’s early success. Still, coach Billy Donovan wants the Gators to avoid complacency and focus on the game at hand.
“The biggest thing I’ve tried to do since the Marquette game is to get them to understand that every day you have an opportunity to move forward and get better,” Donovan said. “In life, the hardest thing to be able to handle is success. When success comes, being able to handle that is important.”
After the 82-49 win against Marquette, Florida moved up one spot to No. 6 in the AP poll. The Gators are one of 20 undefeated teams. Despite the success, Donovan said UF has room for improvement after struggling with transition defense and allowing too many open looks against Marquette.
“You win a game by [a large] margin, you come back to practice the next day and it ends up being a mindset of, ‘We’ve got this all figured out, we know what we’re doing,’” Donovan said. “That’s where I really think slippage starts to occur.”
Florida (6-0) will face its first true road test when it takes on Florida State (4-3) tonight at 7 in the Donald L. Tucker Center in Tallahassee.
Although the Seminoles have a tough defense, they are coming off back-to-back losses to No.14 Minnesota and unranked Mercer.
Senior guard Mike Rosario remains confident.
“It is an important game for us as it is important to those guys, too,” Rosario said. “Right now we are focusing on the things we can control.”
Said forward Will Yeguete: “It’s a rivalry game. They’re going be ready to play no matter what, no matter how many games they lost before. I think they’ll be ready to play and will play harder than any game before. We just got to make sure we’re ready to face them.”
Contact Katie Agostin at kagostin@alligator.org.
Florida forward Will Yeguete attempts a shot against Georgetown forward Otto Porter (22) aboard the USS Bataan in Jacksonville on Nov. 9.
