As for Saturday, if Wildcats coach John Calipari gets his way, there will be no need for seats at Rupp Arena during crunch time.

"For this game, I'm talking to our fans," Calipari said Friday morning on ESPN's "SportsCenter." "The last eight minutes, no one sits down. Carry us home the last eight minutes. If you have to stand with a cane, if you have to hold someone next to you, everyone stands. Upper deck, lower deck, on the floor, everyone takes us home."

The challenge is a big one for both teams. The Gators hold a two-game lead over the Wildcats in the league standings, but have lost six of their last seven vs. UK. On top of that, Kentucky is 81-2 at home under Calipari. But if Florida wins here, the SEC’s regular-season title will be all but assured with a three-game lead over Kentucky with six games to play.

In analzying the opponent, Gators coach Billy Donovan said of the Wildcats, "Probably top the bottom, the most talented team in the country."

While the Wildcats may have the most talent, one can argue that the Gators have the nation's closest-knit team. Four of Florida's top-seven players are seniors, including three starters in point guard Scottie Wilbekin and forwards Casey Prather and Patric Young. Donovan loves the chemistry they've worked hard to build.

Meanwhile, Calipari continues to fight to get his freshmen-laden team into buying into team concepts instead of me ones.

"You're talking about a veteran team that understands how to win, terrific players," Calipari said of the Gators. "The challenge we have of getting young guys to play. It's the same kind of challenge they have to buy into each other and do what they're doing. They're a terrific team."

Game time comes at 9 p.m. ET, with ESPN’s “College GameDay” on site leading up to the game.


EMBIID OUT VS. TCU


Kansas freshman center Joel Embiid will not play in Saturday's game vs. TCU because of back and knee injuries, the Kansas City Star reported.

The 7-footer sprained his knee against TCU on Jan. 25, and has been dealing with back pain for a while. While he hasn't missed any games, his playing time has decreased over the team's past four games. He played only 18 minutes in an overtime loss to Kansas State on Monday night.

Embiid has not practiced since Monday, but coach Bill Self told the Star that he's hopeful Embiid will be able to practice on Sunday.


FORD PROVIDES SMART UPDATE


We haven’t heard anything from Marcus Smart since last Sunday’s press conference that announced the star Oklahoma State point guard would be suspended three games for pushing a fan in the stands at Texas Tech, but on Friday, Cowboys coach Travis Ford brought us up to speed on how Smart is doing on the "Dan Patrick Show."

“He's doing good,” Ford told Sports Illustrated writer Seth Davis, who was filling in as guest host for Patrick. “He had one of his best practices of the year (Thursday). He's very regretful for what happened. We've talked a lot about it. … He's handling it well. He's trying to learn from the whole situation and just trying to get better.”

Ford has taken criticism, including from Sporting News’ Mike DeCourcy, about being unaware of what Smart did when his momentum carried him behind the basket and into the stands.

However, Ford reiterated to Davis that he never knew the full extent of what Smart did until after the game, and neither did Texas Tech coach Tubby Smith, who was on the end closer to where the shoving incident occurred.

“Hindsight sure, probably could've done things possibly different,” Ford said on Friday. “That just wasn't the case.”

Oklahoma State (16-8, 4-7 Big 12), which has lost five consecutive games and six of its last seven, plays in-state rival Oklahoma in Stillwater Saturday. After starting the year as Sporting News' No. 10 preseason team, the Cowboys are now in danger of missing the NCAA Tournament.


TROUBLE WITH THE LAW AT IU


Indiana sophomore forward Hanner Mosquera-Perea was arrested early Friday and booked into the Monroe (Ind.) County Jail on a charge of operating while intoxicated, Indianapolis TV station WXIN and the Indianapolis Star reported.

IU responded Friday night by suspending Mosquera-Perea indefinitely.

Hoosiers coach Tom Crean announced the suspension in a prepared statement:

"I had a chance to speak with Hanner before we left for Purdue. The first things I told him were that we loved him and wanted to support him.  We are disappointed in him but also disappointed for him. He knows he made some terrible choices which have turned into big mistakes. Hanner has let his family, loved ones and our program down and he knows that with choices come consequences. The law will handle some as will we. He will not be with us at Purdue and we will continue to work with him on a daily basis and will be withheld from competition Indefinitely."

Mosquera-Perea, who has played in all of the Hoosiers’ 24 games this season, was pulled over about 4:45 a.m. Friday. Police say his blood-alcohol level was 0.15, nearly twice the legal limit. Mosquera-Perea is averaging 2.9 points and 2.3 rebounds in 8 minutes of action.

Indiana is 2-5 in its last seven games, with its latest loss coming at home Wednesday vs. Penn State. The Hoosiers’ next game is Saturday at Purdue.


THE HEAT IS ON


It goes without saying that this has been a rough winter for much of the country. Syracuse, N.Y., is certainly not immune.

In fact, Carrier Dome employees have been working feverishly — literally — to keep the Carrier Dome's roof from collapsing.

They do that by cranking the building's heat up to 90 degrees when fans aren't around.

Syracuse's women's basketball team played on Thursday night right before winter storm Pax dropped seven inches of snow on the arena's 6.5 acre roof.

The inside temperature was slightly higher than normal, in the mid-to-high 70s.

"Right after the game we went to full heat," the dome's managing director, Pete Sala, told Syracuse.com. "We try to get to 90, 92 in the building."

The heat prevents heavier snow from piling up on top of the roof, which could collapse Metrodome-style if it bears too much weight.

When the building is unoccupied, the temperatures hover around 50 degrees to save energy costs, but even that has been a challenge this winter.

"It's been a tough winter for us," Sala said. "When it's as cold as it was, below zero and wind chills of 27 below, it's tough to warm that concrete up."

"What worked in our favor last night is there was not a lot of wind and the temperature was consistently above 20."

Contibutors: Roger Kuznia, Kami Mattioli, The Associated Press