It would have been only natural, at the start of the season, to circle this date on the schedule and mark it "R" for revenge.
Perhaps Florida's coaches and players did that originally. But now that the long-awaited rematch with UConn is here, neither team can afford to look back at the two epic battles of last season. For both, the present season is in need of a turnaround.
"Whatever words you want to use," Florida coach Billy Donovan told reporters after practice on Thursday, "revenge, payback, whatever ? those games were their own specific, individual competitive games. The one at Connecticut and then the one in the Final Four, both teams had a chance to line up and play in those games and they ended up on top in both of them. It's two totally different teams, two totally different sets of guys."
UConn defeated the Gators at Gampel Pavilion on Dec. 2, 2013 on Shabazz Napier's buzzer-beater. Florida then won 30 in a row, was ranked No. 1 in the nation and jumped out to a big lead in the NCAA semifinals on April 5, but the Huskies stormed back to win by 10.
"We beat them in the Final Four," UConn's Ryan Boatright said. "Anybody that beats you at that level, you're going to remember that. The right thing, the political thing to say is there is no revenge factor, but you know that, if you're a basketball player, you're thinking about it."
The Huskies (6-5) and Gators (7-5) are both out of the top 100 in RPI and need a victory in the here and now. Certainly, Gators fans who will jam the O'Connell Center on Saturday at 2 p.m. will remember last season and give the defending national champs a going-over. But the Huskies have more pressing concerns. Boatright, who sustained a thigh bruise and missed much of the game against Temple on Wednesday, has not practiced. He said he intends to try to play, but without healthy legs it would be hard for him to bring what the Huskies will need.
"If I'm not able to be Boat and put the ball in the hole, then there's no point in my being out there," he said. "We have to break the press. If I can't get out there and contribute, I'm not going to play. ? I really want to play, though. ? It's a pretty bad place to get hurt in our schedule."
"I've got to run the offense better," Samuel said. "I've got to be more vocal. Be a leader. I didn't do that last game, so I personally took the game on myself because I didn't run the team well."
Frazier, who set several school records for three-point shooting last season, scored eight points in the two games against UConn last season. He's averaging 14.6 points this season.
"The best way to defend him, the way I did it, is to stay connected and make him try to make plays putting the ball on the floor," Boatright said. "We'll take our chances having him try to score off the dribble, rather than let him catch and shoot, because he'll knock those shots down nine times out of 10. He's a tremendous shooter, you can't give him any daylight."
Coach Kevin Ollie had the Huskies work on better spacing, and executing the penetrate-and-kick-out plays on offense. In addition to steady play from Samuel, the Huskies will look for more production from Rodney Purvis, who had seven points and one rebound in 38 minutes against Temple.
"We need another scorer to take some of the attention off Boat and not have Daniel [Hamilton] in a position where he has to make every play," Ollie said.
Hamilton, who had 12 points and 12 rebounds against Temple, had a chance to win the game but missed three free throws.
"He's fine, he bounced right back in practice," Ollie said. "I expected him to respond with courage and I think he's done that."
Florida is in the same situation, trying to bounce back from a loss to Florida State, in which Jake Kurtz inadvertently tipped the winning basket into his own net.
"[Kurtz] has an unbelievable opportunity to set an example of what mental toughness is, what resiliency is, perseverance is," Donovan said. "He didn't come in here pouting and feeling sorry for himself. 'Woe is me, I lost the game. I feel terrible. I can't pick myself up off the mat, so how do you expect me to practice?' There was none of that."
It has been that kind of season for both teams. Like UConn, Florida took a junior- and senior-filled team to the Final Four, and has a younger cast now, or players trying to fill bigger roles than last year.
"They're somewhat of a young team like we are," Ollie said. "They're playing some freshmen, trying to find themselves. They've had some crazy finishes to their games. But I know they're going to play hard, contest every pass, every dribble. We've got to have poise and composure to break their press, find opportunities to score against them."
Perhaps Florida's coaches and players did that originally. But now that the long-awaited rematch with UConn is here, neither team can afford to look back at the two epic battles of last season. For both, the present season is in need of a turnaround.
"Whatever words you want to use," Florida coach Billy Donovan told reporters after practice on Thursday, "revenge, payback, whatever ? those games were their own specific, individual competitive games. The one at Connecticut and then the one in the Final Four, both teams had a chance to line up and play in those games and they ended up on top in both of them. It's two totally different teams, two totally different sets of guys."
UConn defeated the Gators at Gampel Pavilion on Dec. 2, 2013 on Shabazz Napier's buzzer-beater. Florida then won 30 in a row, was ranked No. 1 in the nation and jumped out to a big lead in the NCAA semifinals on April 5, but the Huskies stormed back to win by 10.
"We beat them in the Final Four," UConn's Ryan Boatright said. "Anybody that beats you at that level, you're going to remember that. The right thing, the political thing to say is there is no revenge factor, but you know that, if you're a basketball player, you're thinking about it."
The Huskies (6-5) and Gators (7-5) are both out of the top 100 in RPI and need a victory in the here and now. Certainly, Gators fans who will jam the O'Connell Center on Saturday at 2 p.m. will remember last season and give the defending national champs a going-over. But the Huskies have more pressing concerns. Boatright, who sustained a thigh bruise and missed much of the game against Temple on Wednesday, has not practiced. He said he intends to try to play, but without healthy legs it would be hard for him to bring what the Huskies will need.
"If I'm not able to be Boat and put the ball in the hole, then there's no point in my being out there," he said. "We have to break the press. If I can't get out there and contribute, I'm not going to play. ? I really want to play, though. ? It's a pretty bad place to get hurt in our schedule."
"I've got to run the offense better," Samuel said. "I've got to be more vocal. Be a leader. I didn't do that last game, so I personally took the game on myself because I didn't run the team well."
Frazier, who set several school records for three-point shooting last season, scored eight points in the two games against UConn last season. He's averaging 14.6 points this season.
"The best way to defend him, the way I did it, is to stay connected and make him try to make plays putting the ball on the floor," Boatright said. "We'll take our chances having him try to score off the dribble, rather than let him catch and shoot, because he'll knock those shots down nine times out of 10. He's a tremendous shooter, you can't give him any daylight."
Coach Kevin Ollie had the Huskies work on better spacing, and executing the penetrate-and-kick-out plays on offense. In addition to steady play from Samuel, the Huskies will look for more production from Rodney Purvis, who had seven points and one rebound in 38 minutes against Temple.
"We need another scorer to take some of the attention off Boat and not have Daniel [Hamilton] in a position where he has to make every play," Ollie said.
Hamilton, who had 12 points and 12 rebounds against Temple, had a chance to win the game but missed three free throws.
"He's fine, he bounced right back in practice," Ollie said. "I expected him to respond with courage and I think he's done that."
Florida is in the same situation, trying to bounce back from a loss to Florida State, in which Jake Kurtz inadvertently tipped the winning basket into his own net.
"[Kurtz] has an unbelievable opportunity to set an example of what mental toughness is, what resiliency is, perseverance is," Donovan said. "He didn't come in here pouting and feeling sorry for himself. 'Woe is me, I lost the game. I feel terrible. I can't pick myself up off the mat, so how do you expect me to practice?' There was none of that."
It has been that kind of season for both teams. Like UConn, Florida took a junior- and senior-filled team to the Final Four, and has a younger cast now, or players trying to fill bigger roles than last year.
"They're somewhat of a young team like we are," Ollie said. "They're playing some freshmen, trying to find themselves. They've had some crazy finishes to their games. But I know they're going to play hard, contest every pass, every dribble. We've got to have poise and composure to break their press, find opportunities to score against them."
