Florida Gators vs No. 1 Michigan State Spartans
The Florida Gators just aren’t the same team without Billy Donovan as head coach. Mike White’s teams will continue to grow as long as he’s the coach for the SEC power, but this year, despite a 6-2 record through eight games, just doesn’t have the feel of a real threat to make it to the Final Four.
Florida will play its second straight game on the road against a ranked opponent, coming off a loss to No. 17 Miami earlier this week, 66-55. Senior forward Dorian Finney-Smith might cause problems for Michigan State in the post, though, as he is averaging a team-high 14.0 points and 8.6 rebounds per game.
The Gators might be the best rebounding team Michigan State has faced this season as Finney-Smith, John Egbunu and Devin Robinson all average over seven boards per game.
This is going to be a big game for the Spartans not only because they will be facing one of the top teams in the SEC, but because they’re honoring the 2000 National Championship team at the Breslin Center. Who did Michigan State beat for the title that year? None other than the Billy Donovan’s Florida Gators — too bad he can’t be there.
Everyone knows by now that Denzel Valentine is one of the best players in the country and a threat to record a triple-double on any given night. He’s going to be a guy to watch as he’s averaging 18.8 points, 8.9 rebounds and 7.7 rebounds per game. Denzel is looking like the second coming of Draymond Green.
Details for Saturday’s Florida vs Michigan State game are below:
Date: Saturday, Dec. 12
Start Time: 6:00 p.m. ET
Location: East Lansing, MI
Stadium: Breslin Center
TV Info: ESPN 2
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Radio: For Florida radio affiliates, click here. For Michigan State radio affiliates, click here.
Add us as a preferred source on Google