The Florida Gator men’s Basketball team (1-1) will look to defend its home court when taking on the Louisiana Monroe Warhawks (2-0) in the O’Connell Center tonight.
Gator forward Chris Walker will be eligible to play tonight after missing the first two games of the season to suspension.
“I’ve seen a growth in him,where he’s kind of gotten back down to reality of I need to get better,” said Donovan about Walker. “I need to improve, I need to figure out a way to help our team. So, I mean my thing for him (tonight) is to just go out there and have both feet in the circle and to do the things that we need him to do to help us be a better team.”
Florida’s Dorian Finney-Smith remains hampered by a a pair of hairline fractures, but he will be available to play if Donovan sees fit.
The Gators lost to Miami on Monday after winning their last 33 in the O-Dome. Florida led by as many as 15 points in the second half before falling 69-67 to the Canes.
“We’ve got to have enough discipline and focus to play that (way) for 40 minutes,” Donovan said. “And to me, it’s been two games in a row right now where we’ve come out of the locker room and had a dip in intensity.”
Eli Carter (14.5 ppg) and Jon Horford (14 ppg), who scored a career-high 17 points against Miami, will look to continue their strong starts to the season. The Warhawks will be led tonight by senior forward Tylor Ongwae (17 ppg, 7 rpg), the reigning Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week.
Tip-off tonight is set for 8 p.m., and you can listen in on Country 103.7 the Gator starting at 7:25 for coverage.
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