Florida basketball caught lightning in a bottle when the Gators hired Marshall head coach Billy Donovan following the 1995-96. That move had a seismic shift on SEC hoops.
In 19 seasons, Donovan won 71.5 percent of his games while roaming the sidelines and made the O’Connell Center one of the toughest places to play in the country behind a rowdy student section. The Gators brought home two national championships, three 30-plus win seasons, and multiple SEC titles both in the regular season and in the postseason.
For nearly two decades, the Kentucky vs. Florida rivalry was the preemminent rivalry in the SEC.