Billy Donovan facing a friend in Butler's Brad Stevens

NEW ORLEANS—Florida's Billy Donovan is constantly seeking advice from other coaches, talking about the game and looking for ways to get better.

So when he got a call earlier this season from a young coach wanting to talk basketball, he was glad to help. After a run to the national championship game last year, Butler found itself in a three-game losing streak and 34-year-old coach Brad Stevens called Donovan.

The Bulldogs (26-9) have since righted the ship, winning their past 12 heading into Saturday's Elite 8 matchup with Donovan's Gators (29-7).

"I'm not going to share our scouting report with Brad tonight," Donovan quipped on Friday, "but when you're talking about things like that, I think you've got to give.

"I've always felt like my responsibility as a coach is to share. If I have experiences that I've gone through, been through, and in some way can help somebody else, I think that's my responsibility."

Donovan said the two have built a friendship since Florida beat Butler in the Sweet 16 in 2007. Stevens said he's attended Florida's coaching clinic in August in three of the past four years, adding that he respects Donovan for his desire to improve.

After Florida's last run to the national championship game, the Gators struggled. With Butler losing three in a row for the first time in Stevens' four seasons, he turned to a friend.

"You're just two coaches on the phone talking for 30 minutes or 45 minutes about — and just sharing stories and sharing ideas," Stevens said, "and you're just looking for anything at that moment in time to flip a switch."

Now, a trip to the Final Four is on the line for Donovan and Stevens.

After beating BYU in the Sweet 16 to advance, the Gators face another team this weekend at a size disadvantage.

Andrew Smith, Butler's 6-foot-11 sophomore center, injured his knee in the Bulldogs' Sweet 16 win over Wisconsin on Thursday. Stevens said he wouldn't practice on Friday, but is expected to play against Florida.

That leaves 6-foot-8 senior Matt Howard (16.7 ppg, 8.7 rpg) to fight for rebounds with Chandler Parsons, Alex Tyus, Patric Young and Vernon Macklin.

"You gotta be willing to stop him from getting to the board cause he's really relentless," Young said, "and I saw on film he'll do whatever it takes to get to the paint."

After slowing down Jimmer Fredette on Thursday, Florida must also contain guard Shelvin Mack — a defensive assignment that falls again on guard Kenny Boynton. Mack, a 215-pound guard, averages 15.6 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.

If they can do that, Florida has a chance to advance to its first Final Four since winning back-to-back national titles in 2006 and 2007. For the current players, this level of success is new.

While they disagreed on whether Butler's run last year would give the Bulldogs an edge, they all agreed that they like their odds with Donovan.

"Out of all of us, he's the only one who's been in these situations and moving forward," said guard Erving Walker, "and we just trust him and the whole coaching staff has done a great job with the one-day preps and we feel like the coach has got us ready to go [Saturday]."