Gators at Georgia: Can't afford to take Bulldogs for granted

Alijah Martin blows by a Georgia defender in 30-point UF win back in January (Photo by Chris Spears)

The Georgia Bulldogs are on the clock, which makes them a very dangerous opponent for 3rd-ranked Florida (24-3, 11-3 SEC) tonight at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens (7 p.m., SEC Network).

With only four regular season games remaining, Georgia finds itself sitting squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble. The Bulldogs (16-11, 4-10 SEC) are in the first four out group of both Joe Lunardi (ESPN) and Jerry Palm (CBS Sports). They are No. 41 in the NCAA Net Rankings but only 1-7 in games against Quad 1 opponents.

To put it mildly, the Bulldogs are in desperation mode. They need wins to get back into the NCAA Tournament picture. After Florida, the final three games are at Texas, at South Carolina and home against Vanderbilt. Three wins might get the job done. Two would be dicey.

The Gators can’t afford to take Georgia lightly even with a 30-point blowout win over the Bulldogs back in January. With a No. 1 seed on the line, the Gators can’t afford to take their foot off the gas pedal, something they did in the final 6:49 of the first half against LSU back on Saturday when they blew a 14-point lead and trailed the Tigers by six at halftime.  

“I don't think we were aggressive enough offensively getting to our spots and getting the kind of shots that allowed us to build the lead,” Florida coach Todd Golden said Monday. “It goes together with defense, where I don't think we were as physical or dictating the action as well as we need to do. We only turned them over one time in the first half. I thought that was a big issue for us. Second half, we played very well. We outscored them by 20 in that half. We turned them over six times. We got out in transition and started finding easier baskets that way.”

Florida outscored LSU 48-28 in the second half, playing the kind of basketball you expect of a highly ranked team. LSU committed to slowing down the Florida perimeter game so the Gators pounded the ball inside where Rueben Chinyelu had 19 points and 13 rebounds and Tommy Haugh had 16 points and 10 rebounds. Micah Handlogten came off the bench to grab six rebounds.

The Gators will be almost all the way back to full strength tonight as Alex Condon is expected to play after missing all but 30 seconds of the last four games with a sprained ankle. With Condon back, the Gators will be back to a 4-man rotation in the paint and will be a nightmare at both ends of the court.  There isn’t a team in the SEC that can compete with Florida’s combination of size, skill and depth, all of which will be even better when Sam Alexis is able to return, perhaps Saturday when the Gators host No. 11 Texas A&M.

Tonight, the full focus has to be on a seventh straight win. The Gators have to put their foot on Georgia’s throats early and then stomp. Repeatedly.

“Georgia's very good,” Golden said. “Our league can do it to you, where you get to stretch, where you're two out of your last 10, and you're like, watching them, like, dang, these guys are good – when watching them on film.”

Anticipated starting lineups

No. 3 FLORIDA (24-3, 11-3 SEC): Thomas Haugh (6-9, 205, SO); Rueben Chinyelu (6-10, 255, SO); Will Richard (6-4, 206, SR); Alijah Martin (6-2, 195, GR); Walter Clayton Jr. (6-2, 195, SO)

Georgia (16-11, 4-10 SEC): Asa Newell (6-11, 220, FR); RJ Godfrey (6-8, 230, JR); Dylan James (6-9, 210, SO); Blue Cain (6-5, 195, SO); Silas Demary (6-5, 195, SO)

SEC Basketball

Today’s games

No. 3 FLORIDA (24-3, 11-3 SEC) at Georgia (16-11, 4-10 SEC)

No. 24 Mississippi State (19-8, 7-7 SEC) at No. 6 Alabama (22-5, 11-3 SEC)

No. 5 Tennessee (22-5, 9-5 SEC) at LSU (14-13, 3-11 SEC)

South Carolina (11-16, 1-13 SEC) at No. 14 Missouri (20-7, 9-5 SEC)

Wednesday’s games

Ole Miss (19-8, 8-6 SEC) at No. 1 Auburn (25-2, 13-1 SEC)

Vanderbilt (18-9, 6-8 SEC) at No. 12 Texas A&M (20-7, 9-5 SEC)

No. 17 Kentucky (18-9, 7-7 SEC) at Oklahoma (17-10, 4-10 SEC)

Texas (16-11, 5-9 SEC) at Arkansas (16-11, 5-9 SEC)

Saturday’s games

No. 7 Texas A&M (20-7, 9-5 SEC) at No. 2 FLORIDA (24-3, 10-3 SEC)

No. 1 Auburn (25-2, 13-1 SEC) at No. 17 Kentucky (18-9, 9-5 SEC)

No. 6 Alabama (22-5, 11-3 SEC) at No. 6 Tennessee (22-5, 9-5 SEC)

No. 14 Missouri (20-7, 9-5 SEC) at Vanderbilt (18-9, 6-8 SEC)

LSU (14-13, 3-11 SEC) at No. 24 Mississippi State (19-8, 7-7 SEC)

Oklahoma (17-10, 4-10 SEC) at Ole Miss (19-8, 8-6 SEC)

Georgia (16-11, 4-10 SEC) at Texas (16-11, 5-9 SEC)

Arkansas (16-11, 5-9 SEC) at South Carolina (11-16, 1-13 SEC)

Coaches top 25: 1. Auburn 25-2; 2. Duke 24-3; 3. FLORIDA 24-3; 4. Houston 23-4; 5. Tennessee 22-5; 6. Alabama 22-5; 7. St. John’s 24-4; 8. Michigan State 22-5; 9. Iowa State 21-6; 10. Texas Tech 21-6; 11. Texas A&M 20-7; 12. Wisconsin 21-6; 13. Michigan 20-6; 14. Clemson

Associated Press top 25: 1. Auburn 25-2; 2. Duke 24-3; 3. FLORIDA 24-3; 4. Houston 23-4; 5. Tennessee 22-5; 6. Alabama 22-5; 7. St. John’s 24-4; 8. Michigan State 22-5; 9. Iowa State 21-6; 10. Texas Tech 21-6; 11. Wisconsin 21-6; 12. Texas A&M 20-7; 13. Clemson 22-5; 14. Missouri 20-7; 15. Michigan 20-6; 16. Maryland 21-6; 17. Kentucky 18-9; 18. Memphis 22-5; 19. Louisville 21-6; 20. Purdue 19-9; 21. Marquette 20-7; 22. Arizona 18-9; 23. Saint Mary’s 25-4; 24. Mississippi State 19-8; 25. BYU 19-8

UF BASEBALL: LAWSON SEC CO-FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK

First baseman Brendan Lawson, whose four games produced a grand slam, nine RBI, a double and a stolen base, was named Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week. In the Gators (7-0) three-game sweep of Dayton, Lawson went 5-10 at the plate with eight RBI. For the season he is hitting .333.

The Gators moved up in both the D1Baseball and Baseball America polls, to No. 8 at D1Baseball, to No. 6 at Baseball America.

The Gators will send Billy Barlow (0-0, 0.00 ERA) to the mound tonight when they travel to DeLand to face Stetson (6:30 p.m., ESPN+). The Gators will be home Wednesday night when they face North Florida (6:30 p.m., SEC Network+).

Florida pitchers rank fifth in the country in ERA (1.42). The Gators are No. 1 in strikeout-to-walk ratio (7.31-1) and strikeouts per nine innings (15). Pierce Coppola is ninth in strikeouts with 20 in 10 innings pitched.

D1Baseball top 25: 1. Texas A&M 5-1; 2. LSU 6-1; 3. Tennessee 7-0; 4. Arkansas 6-1; 5. North Carolina 6-0; 6. Georgia 8-1; 7. Florida State 7-0; 8. FLORIDA 7-0; 9. Oregon State 5-2; 10. Virginia 3-3; 11. Oregon 6-2; 12. Wake Forest 7-1; 13. Clemson 6-1; 14. Vanderbilt 7-1; 15. Texas 5-1; 16. Oklahoma 6-0; 17. Duke 4-3; 18. Mississippi State 6-1; 19. Dallas Baptist 6-1; 20. UC-Santa Barbara 6-1; 21. Troy 6-1; 22. Southern Miss 7-1; 23. Cincinnati 4-2; 24. Ole Miss 6-1; 25. TCU 5-2

Baseball America top 25: 1. Texas A&M 5-1; 2. Tennessee 7-0; 3. LSU 6-1; 4. Arkansas 6-1; 5. Florida State 7-0; 6. FLORIDA 7-0; 7. Clemson 6-1; 8. Virginia 3-3; 9. North Carolina 6-0; 10. Georgia 8-1; 11. Oregon State 5-2; 12. Texas 5-1; 13. Vanderbilt 7-1; 14. Wake Forest 7-1; 15. Mississippi State 6-1; 16. Oklahoma State 2-3; 17. Duke 4-3; 18. Dallas Baptist 6-1; 19. Oregon 6-2; 20. UC-Irvine 4-3; 21. UC-Santa Barbara 6-1; 22. North Carolina State 3-4; 23. Kentucky 4-1; 24. TCU 5-2; 25. Alabama 8-0

UF SOFTBALL: GATORS REMAIN NO. 3

Following their 5-0 run through the opposition in the Sun Devil Classic, the Gators remain No. 3 in the Softball America top 25 poll, trailing Texas and Oklahoma. The Southeastern Conference is represented by 12 of the top 25 teams.

The Gators lead the SEC and rank third nationally in batting average (.393). The Gators are No. 1 nationally in hits, No. 2 in home runs (34), slugging percentage (.702) and scoring (9.26 runs per game). Freshman Taylor Shumaker is No. 1 in the country in RBI (33), tied for the lead in home runs (10) and tied for fourth in hits (27). Kendra Falby is tied for No. 1 in stolen bases (19) and is No. 3 in hits (28).

The Gators will face Florida Gulf Coast Wednesday evening (6:30 p.m.) at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.  The Gators will host Samford, Troy, Western Michigan and Florida A&M this weekend in the Florida Invitational.

Softball America top 25: 1. Texas 15-1; 2. Oklahoma 12-0; 3. FLORIDA 18-1; 4. UCLA 14-2; 5. Texas A&M 15-1; 6. LSU 14-0; 7. Arizona 15-2; 8. Duke 13-3; 9. Florida State 11-3; 10. Arkansas 14-1; 11. Tennessee 13-3; 12. Georgia 14-0; 13. Oregon 15-1; 14. Texas Tech 14-3; 15. Oklahoma State 7-4; 16. Nebraska 12-4; 17. South Carolina 15-0; 18. San Diego State 12-3; 19. Auburn 14-1; 20. Mississippi State 13-2; 21. Liberty 12-3; 22. Alabama 10-6; 23. Virginia Tech 12-3; 24. Stanford 12-2; 25. Florida Atlantic 15-2

UF LACROSSE: GATORS REMAIN NO. 6

The Gators remained No. 6 in the latest Inside Lacrosse poll. The Gators will be home Saturday against No. 18 James Madison.

Inside Lacrosse top 25: 1. Boston College 5-0; 2. North Carolina 4-0; 3. Northwestern 4-1; 4. Yale 3-0; 5. Syracuse 3-1; 6. FLORIDA 3-1; 7. Michigan 3-1; 8. Stanford 4-0; 9. Maryland 2-1; 10. Virginia 2-1; 11. Johns Hopkins 2-2; 12. Clemson 4-0; 13. Princeton 1-1; 14. Stony Brook 3-0; 15. Loyola 2-2; 16. Penn 1-1; 17. Notre Dame 2-2; 18. James Madison 2-1; 19. Duke 2-2; 20. Ohio State 3-0; 21. Army 3-0; 22. Navy 3-1; 23. UConn 3-1; 24. Harvard 2-1; 25. Southern California 4-1

UF GYMNASTICS: GATORS FALL TO NO. 6

Injuries to Anya Pilgrim and Sloane Blakely cost Florida a chance to be competitive against No. 1 Oklahoma last Saturday, causing the Gators to drop all the way to No. 6 in the lastest Womens Gymnastics poll. The Gators still have the No. 1 team score of the season, 198.125, in a win over Georgia. Only four teams have broken the 198 barrier all season.

The Gators are No. 4 in vault, No. 8 in bars, No. 6 in balance beam with the highest score in the country (49.700) and seventh in floor. Leanne Wong ranks fifth nationally in all-around,  in vault and tied for third in bars. Selena Harris-Miranda is fourth in vault.

The Gators will be home Friday to face No. 8 Missouri at the O-Dome (5:45 p.m., SEC Network).

WCGA top 25: 1. Oklahoma; 2. LSU; 3. UCLA; 4. Utah; 5. California; 6. FLORIDA; 7. Michigan State; 8. Missouri; 9. Georgia; 10. Kentucky; 11. Auburn; 12. Oregon State; 13. Minnesota; 14. Stanford; 15. Michigan; 16. Arkansas; 17. Alabama; 18. North Carolina State; 19. Denver; 20. Arizona; 21. Nebraska; 22. Ohio State; 23. North Carolina; 24. Illinois; 25. Penn State