College basketball preview: No. 18 Florida Gators vs. South Alabama

Tonight

No. 18 Florida vs. South Alabama

When/where: 7; O'Connell Center, Gainesville

TV/radio: BHSN; 620-AM

Records: South Alabama 8-4; Florida 8-2

Notable: After opening 8-0, the Gators have lost back-to-back games. Florida held Richmond to one field goal in the final 10 minutes but lost in the Orange Bowl Classic. … The Gators' injury issues continue. Add C Vernon Macklin (glute pull) to the list that includes Chandler Parsons (torn leg muscle), Erik Murphy (shoulder) and Kenny Kadji (back). … Coach Billy Donovan said he recognizes the Gators are entering a tough part of the early season. "Any time you are at this point in the season … where you are coming out of final exams, people go home for the holidays, it's been a long stretch, people are banged up," he said. "Those kind of injuries that we have right now are similar to a lot of teams and what they go through. But there's no question they have a lot more depth than we do right now." … Athletic South Alabama returns one starter but has a big win in the SEC over Arkansas.

Antonya English, Times staff writer