OBBC: No. 13 Florida Gators vs. Richmond Spiders

By Adam Silverstein
December 19, 2009

Event: Orange Bowl Basketball Classic
Location: BankAtlantic Center – Sunrise, FL [Capacity: 20,737]
Time: 6:30 p.m. (EST)

TV: Sun Sports
Online: GatorVision
Sirius: 211; XM: 199

No. 13 Florida Gators Richmond Spiders
Head Coach: Billy Donovan Head Coach: Chris Mooney
Record: 8-1 Record: 7-3
Conference: Southeastern Conference: Atlantic 10
Roster | Schedule Roster | Schedule

Odds: Florida -6.5, O/U 129

KEEP AN EYE ON…
– Five-star freshman guard Kenny Boynton…has 22 assists with just one turnover in the last three games.
– Senior F Chandler Parsons…who comes off the bench as Florida’s sixth man and is averaging 12.0 points per game and 6.1 rebounds per game (team-high). Playing a career-high in minutes, Parsons is UF’s first double-figures scorer off the bench since point guard Anthony Roberson in 2002-03.
– Richmond PG Kevin Anderson…who was named Preseason All-Atlantic 10 first-team and leads his team with 16.8 points per game.

STREAKS:
– Florida is 7-1 when participating in the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic, with their last loss coming to the UAB Blazers in 1997. The Gators are on a 3-0 streak since returning to the game in 2006.
– The Gators are 1-1 all-time against the Spiders, winning the last meeting 66-52 on March, 19, 1992.
– Florida is 10-11 all-time against the Atlantic 10, 4-2 under Donovan.
– The Gators have shot over 50 percent from beyond the arc in three of their last four games, hitting 12 three-pointers in each of its last two outings.
– Florida leads the nation in three-point field goal defense at 21.5 percent. The team also leads the SEC in points per game allowed.
– Since 2005, the Gators are 24-4 in the month of December.
– In the last six games, Florida has recovered 53 total steals, reaching double-digits in steals three times in that stretch.

Read OGGOA’s Florida Gators vs. Richmond Spiders preview after the jump!

Though the No. 13 Florida Gators (8-1) dropped a heartbreaker to then-No. 7 Syracuse Orange (9-0), the Orange and Blue were barely affected by the loss in the AP and USA Today/ESPN Top 25 standings, falling only three spots. The Gators look to rebound from that loss against the Richmond Spiders (7-3) on Saturday in the 2009 Orange Bowl Basketball Classic. Taking place in Sunrise, FL, at the BankAtlantic Center, the OBBC is an annual two-game event that Florida has dominated.

With a 7-1 record in eight OBBC appearances, the Gators look to extend that streak against a Spiders team that has been playing some good basketball as of late. Coming off of an eight-day layoff, Florida’s dominant nation’s-best three-point defense should hold stout against a Richmond team only shooting 32.4 percent from behind the arc.

Freshman point guard Kenny Boynton and sophomore guard/forward Ray Shipman are both South Florida natives who will be playing close to home for only the first and second time, respectively, in their college careers. The third-leading scorer in the history of Florida high school basketball, Boynton (Pompano Beach, FL) finished his career at American Heritage School after beginning it at Pompano Beach Ely. He led Ely to the 2006 Class 6A Championship and his AAU Team Breakdown to back-to-back junior national championships in 2007 and 2008. Shipman (Miramar, FL) played prep ball at Monsignor Edward Pace and was named the MVP of the Class 4A Championships in 2006-07 and 2007-08. Florida’s “Mr. Basketball” in 2008, he was also named Gatorade Player of the Year and was a three-time All-State selection.

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