The Florida Gators have opened the season with three-straight home victories and will look to continue their winning ways as they welcome the Savannah State Tigers to the Stephen C. O'Connell Center in Gainesville on Tuesday night.
The team is ranked seventh in the nation and the Gators are off to their best start since the 2009 season when the team won its first eight games.
Florida has already proven themselves against a tough opponent, dispatching No. 22 Wisconsin 74-56 on Wednesday and are coming off an emphatic 66-45 victory over Middle Tennessee on Sunday.
The Gators allowed the game to stay close through the first half, but eventually ran away with the game and earned a 20-point victory. Florida was sparked by the play of guard Kenny Boynton, who scored the final 13 points of the game.
The senior put up 20 points in the victory and is the leading scorer on the Gators with 17.3 points per game. Boynton is hitting over 50 percent of his shots this year and scored a team-high 22 points in the opening victory over Alabama State.
Against Middle Tennessee, the Gators were "outrebounded for the first time" this season, according to the Associated Press.
"This is one of the most physical teams I've played against in a long time," Boynton said, according to the Associated Press. "In the end, we're going to benefit from playing them."
One of the keys to Sunday's victory was holding Middle Tennessee to just 27 percent shooting in the second half. The Gators outscored the Blue Raiders 37-19 in the second half, including a 14-2 run to start. Florida only allowed 2-10 three-point attempts and gave up just 11 points on free throws.
Florida has started the season shooting the ball very well, ranking 24th in the nation and 1st in the SEC in field goal percentage. Although the team is ranked only 103rd in points per game, it hasn't stopped the Gators from winning.
The defense has been stellar for the Gators through three games, allowing just 45 points per game, including only 35 in the opening win against Alabama State. The team has also been good defending on the perimeter, allowing just 29 percent shooting.
Although Savannah State is from the weaker Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, Florida head coach Billy Donovan knows how dangerous the team can be.
"They've been playing very, very good basketball. They've been in a lot of really close games," Florida coach Billy Donovan said to the Associated Press. "They had a chance to beat Middle Tennessee State, which is obviously a good team. They almost beat UCF. This is a team that while they've come up a little short, they've been right there."
Florida and Savannah State have played once before in 2006, which resulted in an easy 113-67 victory for the Gators. Many things have changed for the Tigers since then.
That team was coming off an 0-28 season, while this year the Tigers have all five starters back from last year's squad that went 21-12 and won the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference's regular-season title. Savannah State also returns senior Rashad Hassan, who was named MEAC preseason player of the year.
Hassan has been one of the most impressive players on the Tigers, leading the team in scoring with 16 points, while shooting 69.4 percent from the field. He helped rally the team back from a double-digit deficit against Central Florida on Sunday, but the Tigers lost 53-50.
The Tigers had won two straight before Sunday's loss. The team's only other defeat this season was a 58-55 loss against Middle Tennessee State that followed their opening victory over Trinity.
Hassan and junior Jyles Smith will have the primary focus of the Gators on Tuesday. Smith is leading the team in rebounding and was solid against Trinity in the opening win, scoring eight points and grabbing 11 rebounds while also making three blocks.
Florida is on a four game win streak dating back to last season and has yet to play on the road.
According to the Associated Press, "Florida is 23-0 all-time against MEAC teams and has earned 21 of those wins in Donovan's tenure."
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