Florida UConn NCAA Tournament
The UConn Huskies were the last team to defeat Florida thanks to a thrilling 65-64 win back on December 2. Getty Images

Although the Florida Gators and Connecticut Huskies have already met once during the 2013-2014 campaign, their upcoming showdown in the Final Four certainly holds more weight than the previous showdown, even if it was one of the best games of the season. Upending the top-ranked Gators in Storrs 65-64 back on December 2, head coach Kevin Ollie and company watched as superstar talent Shabazz Napier dropped 26 points on a Florida team many have already pegged as National Champions. Dropping a buzzer beating jumper as time expired, the senior guard sent Huskie nation into a frenzy but his heroics could have also awakened the talented Gators.

Since the December loss, Florida and head coach Billy Donovan have gone on to win 30-straight games. With wins over Kansas, Memphis and Kentucky during the regular season along with NCAA Tournament triumphs against Pittsburgh, UCLA and Dayton, the No. 1-seeded Gators are poised for another trip to the NCAA Championship Game, contests they won in 2006 and 2007. Excited about the opportunity to move further in the event, Billy Donovan says he’s comfortable with his team’s mentality because they’ve played on big stages in the past.

“The NCAA has given each team an opportunity to get used to the venue,” he said at the recent Final Four press conference regarding Arlington’s AT&T Stadium. “My guys played here last year but everybody is dealing with the same thing and we’ve all been given the opportunity to experience the unique setting. But I think when you get to this point in the season, you have to have everything. Connecticut has a strong back court and front court but you have to be a complete team at this point and that’s what we need to understand heading into this game.”

While Donovan and the Gators continue to devise ways to slow the dominance of UConn stars Shabazz Napier (18.1ppg, 5.9rpg, 4.9apg), DeAndre Daniels (13.0ppg, 5.9rpg) and Ryan Boatright (12.0ppg, 3.4rpg, 3.4apg), Kevin Ollie and company will be looking to maintain their confident attitude, especially since they’ll be meeting a team that hasn’t lost in over four months. Standout talents including Casey Prather (13.8ppg), Scottie Wilbekin (13.4ppg) and Patric Young (10.8ppg, 6.2rpg) pose obvious threats to UConn but with the right mentality, Ollie believes his team can play with anyone in the country.

“It’s just having a championship mentality,” Ollie said “It’s playing together, unselfish, playing as five and not just one. Sometimes you get to this stage and you want to go off and be an individual. But that’s not going to work. In down times, what you do is you bond together as brothers. And you hold that fist up. And that FIST for us is ‘Fight.’ It’s our ‘Identity’; that’s the ‘I.’ And the ‘S’ is ‘Stay,’ and then the ‘T’ is ‘Together.”

FINAL FOUR – No. 1 Florida vs. No. 7 UConn: DATE, TIME & VIEWING INFO

DATE: Saturday, April 5

TIME: 6:09pm, ET

VENUE: AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas

TV COVERAGE: TBS

LIVE STREAM: CLICK HERE

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