How much will Loyd's absence hurt BYU against Florida?

Florida head coach Billy Donovan says he expects Kenny Boynton to be ready to take on Jimmer Fredette, the country’s number one scorer, in the Gators Sweet 16 Matchup with BYU on Thursday night.

Boynton injured his ankle in Florida’s Southeast Region victory over UCLA last Saturday and sat out practice on Monday, but Donovan feels he is ready to take on what could be the toughest defensive assignment for a guard in the country.

"We fully expect him to play," Donovan said. "He definitely has some discomfort, but it's not discomfort that's going to prevent him from playing. I'll find out more (this week) as he starts moving and really playing. The biggest thing now is what kind of pain is he going to have. He's walking. He's not on crutches. He doesn't have a lot of discomfort.”

The 6-2 Boynton guarded Fredette last year in BYU’s 99-92 double overtime victory over the Gators in an NCAA Tournament first round game. Fredette scored 37 points, but struggled (for him) until Boynton fouled out in the final three minutes of overtime and then hit two big treys. He shot 13 for 26 overall and was 3 for 8 from beyond the arc.

The guy that really hurt Florida was Michael Loyd Jr. who scored a career high 26 points and was 7 for 10 from the field, 3 for 5 from 3-point land and 9 for 10 from the charity stripe.

Loyd, a 6-1 guard, transferred to Division II Midwestern State in Texas in a move that the now junior said had to do with his differences with the Mormon run school.

Loyd is the second leading scorer for Midwestern, which is the NCAA Division II Elite Eight, averaging 12.7 points per game and is shooting 40 percent on treys (67-169).