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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida and Florida State womens basketball teams meet for the 76th time on Thursday, but this marks the first time both teams have been ranked going into their Sunshine State showdown.They had some dominant teams in our early years and weve been able to become a top 10 program in the last few years here, Florida State coach Sue Semrau said. There were a lot of times early where Florida was ranked and we werent.To face each other ranked makes the game even more special.The game is also another example of the strength of the states Division I teams the past two seasons. Florida has four schools in this weeks Top 25 with No. 7 Florida State leading the way. Florida is ranked 23rd while Miami is 14th and South Florida 22nd.Semrau said she looked at Florida, who was coached at the time by Carol Ross when she was hired by the Seminoles 20 years ago, as one of the examples of how to build a successful program.One of the things she taught me a lot about was scheduling because that is one area a coach can control, Semrau said. Its something we take seriously. We want to play a lot of great teams early.The Gators were able to use last years 82-72 victory as the springboard to a 22-9 season and second NCAA Tournament berth in three seasons.Ronni Williams, who had 21 points and 10 rebounds in that game, is once again one of Floridas top players. The senior forward has three double-doubles this season while averaging 15.4 points and 8.5 rebounds.That was a game where we came out very confident and aggressive. We did a great job modeling our game on that the rest of the season, Williams said.Eleanna Christinaki, a sophomore forward who can also play both guard spots, leads Florida in scoring (18.6 points per game) and already has four 20-point games this season.The Gators are 6-2 despite playing their first 12 games on the road due to renovations to the OConnell Center. Amanda Butler, a former UF player who is in her 10th season as coach, has been pleased with the results considering the circumstances.Weve experienced a lot of adversity early which has been a good test for us, she said. This will be another good one because Florida State is definitely the best team we have faced so far.The Seminoles (8-1) have won seven straight since their 78-76 loss to top-ranked UConn on Nov. 14. Senior guard Leticia Romero, who missed that game due to a hamstring injury, is averaging 12.9 points since returning and is 11 of 19 on 3-pointers.Romero said after Sundays win over Western Carolina that Florida State has been looking forward to Thursdays game for a long time.Considering last year we lost to them, I feel like this is a great chance for us to redeem ourselves, said junior forward Shakayla Thomas, who leads FSU in scoring (14.7 points per game). We have a great team this year with a whole bunch of depth. Im excited.---More AP college basketball at http://collegebasketball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25---Follow Joe Reedy on Twitter at www.twitter.com/joereedy Vita Vea Buccaneers Jersey . Burke is expected to miss two to three months after breaking a finger in the teams third preseason game. Tinsley, a 10-year veteran, spent the last two seasons in Utah, where the point guard averaged 3. Mike Evans Buccaneers Jersey . 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Charli Collier, a 6-foot-5 center and the No. 7 prospect in the espnW HoopGurlz Super 60 for the 2018 class, has verbally committed to Connecticut.After an overwhelming amount of interest from great programs across the country, I narrowed my choices down to Texas [and] Southern California before deciding on Connecticut, the junior at Barbers Hill (Mont Belvieu, Texas) said. Coach [Geno] Auriemma and his staff are amazing people. Spending time with them and the team, seeing the chemistry that is there indicated to me that this was it.Coach Auriemma gave me goals before each game I played and then would check back with me to see if I met those goals. No other coach did that. He told me he could make me a better player. He is a special coach.Special coach meets special player.With superior size and off-the-charts agility, Collier has the ability to consistently finish plays in the block or stretch the defender to the arc. Collier, who was ranked the No. 1 prospect in the nation as a sophomore, seems to be on a mission to regain that spot, dominating opponents early this season. Last year as a sophomore, Collier started in all 35 games and averaged 224.dddddddddddd6 points and 9.8 rebounds per game.She won a bronze medal during the summer with Team USA at the FIBA U17 world championships in Zaragoza, Spain, averaging 5.7 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.Collier, who had reopened her recruitment after committing to Texas in eighth grade, intends to major in broadcast journalism in Storrs.This is the first commitment in the class of 2018 for the Huskies, who are on a 79-game winning streak and play Tennessee-Chattanooga on Tuesday. Earlier this month, Connecticut celebrated the No. 2 2017 class in the country after getting signatures from No. 1 Megan Walker, No. 14 Mikayla Coombs, No. 29 Lexi Gordon and No. 37 Andra Espinoza-Hunter.In addition to her immense talent, Collier will take a promise to Storrs, one she made to herself after the death of her dad, Elliott Don Collier, who passed away in April after a battle with cancer.I feel I owe it to him to be successful and be legendary in this life, Collier said this spring. He has inspired me and impacted me so much. ' ' '