Tommy Haugh drives through contact against Vanderbilt (Photo by Chris Spears) That same UConn team, the one who back in December eked out a 77-73 win over the Gators in what amounted to a Madison Square Garden home game, gave Florida what amounted to a mulligan Saturday afternoon in the championship game of the Big East Tournament. A No. 1 seed was there for the taking. All UConn had to do was knock off St. John’s to win the tournament, but just as the Gators did in their SEC

Pick a spot — any spot — and Vandy was better at it: tougher to the rim, quicker to loose balls, calmer at the line, and embarrassingly comfy from three.

Todd Golden goes at it with KB Burnett and Pat Adams (Photo by Chris Spears) “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.” – Murphy’s Law   NASHVILLE, Tennessee – It is entirely possible that Murphy was an optimist or at least that’s what it seemed after the first half of the Southeastern Conference Tournament semifinal with Vanderbilt at Bridgestone Arena.   Down 47-32, the Gators still had an entire half to get back into the same groove that carried them into this game with t

Florida's Xaivian Lee is draped by Vanderbilt's Chandler Bing during Saturday's 91-74 loss in Nashville. (Photo by Chris Spears) What did not work for Kentucky, worked beautifully for Vanderbilt in a 91-74 thrashing. By Carlton Reese GatorBaitMedia.com NASHVILLE — The Vanderbilt Commodores showed up at Bridgestone Arena Saturday for a fight while the Florida Gators had come prepared for a scrimmage. The Vanderbilt game plan was nothing new – the Kentucky Wildcats tried it on

Senior Selena Harris-Miranda picked up her second consecutive perfect score on Beam and the Gators continued to stick routine after routine.

Xaivian Lee scores on a first half layup (Photo by Chris Spears) NASHVILLE, Tennessee – The three-ring circus that doubled as Florida’s 71-63 win over Kentucky in the Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinals was put into philosophical perspective by SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year Rueben Chinyelu.   Asking and answering his own questions, Chinyelu said, “Was it ugly? Yes, of course. Was it beautiful? Winning is always beautiful even when it’s ugly.”   When the Gators

Alex Condon flushes one during Florida's 71-63 quarterfinal victory over Kentucky. Photo by Chris Spears. By Carlton Reese GatorBaitMedia.com   NASHVILLE—What are we to make of Friday’s quarterfinal 71-63 Gator victory over the Kentucky Wildcats? What was likely Florida’s poorest all-around performance in over six weeks is, at the same time, both disconcerting and encouraging. Any time a team shoots 38 percent from the field and just 3-for-20 from 3-point range while committi

The Gators swept the feisty Missouri team in Gainesville to start their SEC schedule. Taylor Shumaker took over the lead for the Gators in batting average now sitting at an even .500.

Rueben Chinyelu leads the nation in rebounding (Photo by Chris Spears) “Bad things, Man!” – Dennis Hopper in a 1980s Nike commercial   NASHVILLE, Tennessee – That’s what happens to opponents when the Florida Gators arrive at the arena in the mood to put a world class hurting on an opponent. Bad things, Man.   In laying waste to the rest of the Southeastern Conference to win the regular season championship, the 4 th -ranked and top-seeded Gators (25-6) won 13 of their 16 leagu

Is another NCAA title run in the works for the Gators? (Photo by Chris Spears) NASHVILLE, Tennessee – Road tripping to the Southeastern Conference Basketball Tournament. Half the fun is getting here.   It was about 7:45 when I left the continental United States. The once-thriving outlet mall at Lake Park, Georgia is 95 percent empty. I know it’s empty because there used to be a Polo store there and my car didn’t automatically take a right turn to get off I-75. South Georgia s

Then again, football problems are the easy ones. The real challenge sometimes comes at home.

"Money don't matter 2 night It sure didn't matter yesterday Just when u think u've got more than enough That's when it all up and flies..