Florida's Billy Donovan brought back-to-back National Championships to Gainsville in the last three years.

But after a short flirt with the NBA, Donovan's return to the Gators has been one of rebuilding. Florida went 8-8 in the Southeastern Conference last season and are off to a 8-6 start this year but have lost two straight including Sunday's 79-75 setback to Tennessee at home.

The Gators and Donovan will attempt to shake off the loss in Starkville on Wednesday when they travel to Mississippi State.

"It's a quick turnaround for us going from Sunday to playing on the road Wednesday," Donovan said. "They are a very unique team in the fact they have such a great shot blocker and great player in (Jarvis) Varnado and a phenomenal shooting team that plays four guards. They've got a great deal of quickness and speed. They are a unique team in many ways and will be a great challenge for us on Wednesday."

The Bulldogs have also seen their share of struggles as of late dropping three straight games and five of their last six and are even at 7-7 in the league. MSU has lived and died by the 3-point shot this season but have struggled behind the arc in each of their five losses in February.

"I almost think that shooting sometimes is like a hitter in baseball," Donovan said. "There are going to be points and times in the season where is going to be ups and downs shooting the ball or hitting the ball. A lot of those games for Mississippi State, on the road at Kentucky and some of the places that they've played, have shot the ball well. They become very, very difficult to play against."

Donovan feels that the Bulldogs could get hot and start making those shots at any time with the skilled perimeter players that they have on the roster.



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