Gators can't afford to take South Carolina lightly tonight

Boogie Fland finishes off a dunk against Auburn (Photo by Chris Spears)

With 11 Southeastern Conference games remaining in the regular season and a Sunday showdown at the O-Dome with Alabama looming, it is time for 19^th-ranked Florida (14-6, 5-2 SEC) to start playing up to its potential. All six of Florida’s losses were winnable games, but the Gators failed to seal the deal by missing open shots, free throws and failure to come up with critical stops at crunch time.

That has to change if the Gators are going to prove the national analysts right, that they are the best team in the SEC. A good time to start would be tonight against South Carolina (11-9, 2-5 SEC) in Columbia (9 p.m., Colonial Life Arena, SEC Network).  

The Gamecocks’ only wins in SEC play are against bottom feeders LSU and Oklahoma, but among their five losses in league play are white knucklers against Georgia and Auburn. Of South Carolina’s 11 wins, 10 are at Colonial Life Arena. Of Florida’s six losses, five are away from the friendly confines of the O-Dome. Counting tonight’s game, the Gators will play six of the remaining SEC games on the road.

So, now is a very good time for the Gators to start putting it all together. They’ve shown flashes of offensive brilliance such as the recent stretch of four SEC games in which they scored 90 or more points, but in games last week against LSU and Auburn the offense had its share of struggles.

Although the Gators are the 12^th best team in the country in defensive efficiency per the kenpom.com analytics, they played their worst defensive half of the season back on Saturday when they fell behind 43-28 to Auburn. In that game, the Tigers outrebounded Florida 19-13 in the first half and went on to outscore the Gators in the paint, 38-28.

The Gators know they’re capable of going toe-to-toe with the best teams in the country, but that was in the non-conference portion of the schedule. They won’t see another non-conference opponent until the NCAA Tournament in March so it is time to take care of business in the SEC.

This is perhaps the biggest game of the season for South Carolina, whose coach (Lamont Paris) is feeling the heat from boosters and fans who see a third losing season in the last four looming. Paris knows he’s coaching for his job, so beating the Gators would cool the tension somewhat.

That means the Gators have to anticipate South Carolina’s best effort of the season. It is a game Florida should win handily if everybody shows up ready to play. It is also a game the Gators could lose if they can’t make shots, turn the ball over and allow the smaller Gamecocks to hold their own on the boards and in the paint.

Anticipated starting lineups

No. 19 FLORIDA (14-6, 5-2 SEC): Alex Condon (6-11, 236, JR); Rueben Chinyelu (6-11, 265, JR); Tommy Haugh (6-9, 215, JR); Xaivian Lee (6-4, 185, SR); Boogie Fland (6-3, 185, SO)

South Carolina (11-9, 2-5 SEC): Elijah Strong (6-8, 250, JR); Mike Sharavjamts (6-9, 195, SR); Myles Stute (6-7, 221, GR); Kobe Knox (6-5, 200, RSR); Meechie Johnson (6-2, 192, SR)

SEC in Joe Lunardi/ESPN Bracketology

WEST: 1. Arizona; 2. Michigan State; 3. Gonzaga; 4. Vanderbilt (Other SEC teams: 8. Georgia; 11. Texas, play-in game)

SOUTH: 1. UConn; 2. Nebraska; 3. Houston; 4. BYU (SEC teams: 5. Alabama; 7. Auburn)

EAST: 1. Duke; 2. Illinois; 3. Texas Tech; 4. Kansas (SEC teams: 5. Arkansas; 6. Tennessee)

MIDWEST: 1. Michigan; 2. Iowa State; 3. Purdue; 4. FLORIDA (Other SEC teams: 7. Kentucky; 8. Texas A&M)

SEC in kenpom.com national rankings: 11. FLORIDA 14-6; 12. Vanderbilt 18-3; 18. Alabama 14-6; 20. Tennessee 13-6; 22. Arkansas 16-5; 26. Auburn 13-7; 31. Texas A&M 16-4; 32. Kentucky 14-7; 35. Georgia 16-4; 36. Texas 12-8; 43. LSU 13-7; 59. Missouri 14-7; 62. Oklahoma 11-10; 73. Ole Miss 11-9; 76. South Carolina 11-9; 94. Mississippi State 10-10

Tuesday’s scores

No. 15 Arkansas (16-5, 6-2 SEC) 83, Oklahoma (11-10, 1-7 SEC) 79: Arkansas rallied from down 13 in the first half to hand Oklahoma its seventh straight loss. Darius Acuff Jr. led the Razorbacks with 21 points and nine assists without a turnover. Arkansas hit only 2-17 from the 3-point line. Nijel Pack led Oklahoma with 22.

No. 18 Vanderbilt (18-3,5-3 SEC) 80, Kentucky (14-7, 5-3 SEC) 55: Vanderbilt compensated for the loss of Duke Miles – out for awhile with a knee injury – with Devin McGlockton and Chandler Bing playing their best games of the season. McGlockton hit three 3-pointers, scored 11 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, while Bing came off the bench to score 11 while hitting a pair of twos and contributing two steals and two blocked shots. Meanwhile Vandy’s defensive pressure made it a miserable game for the Wildcats, who hit 19-59 overall from the field and just 6-24 on threes. Tyler Tanner had 19 points, four rebounds, five assists and four steals to lead the Commodores. Otega Oweh with 20 and Denzel Aberdeen with 15 led Kentucky, which got only eight points out of its front court.

No. 23 Alabama (14-6, 4-3 SEC) 90, Missouri (14-7, 4-4 SEC) 64: Missouri was its own worst enemy in Tuscaloosa. The Tigers hit only 4-21 from the 3-point line, 8-23 from the foul line and they turned the ball over 13 times. Alabama was led by Latrell Wrightsell with 21 and Labaron Philon Jr., who had 18 points, four rebounds, six assists and two steals. Charles Bediako had 14 points and six rebounds for Alabama.

 Wednesday’s games

No. 19 FLORIDA (14-6, 5-2 SEC) at South Carolina (11-9, 2-5 SEC)

Tennessee (13-6, 3-3 SEC) at Georgia (16-4, 4-3 SEC)

Texas (12-8, 3-4 SEC) at Auburn (13-7, 4-3 SEC)

Mississippi State (10-10, 2-5 SEC) at LSU (13-7, 1-6 SEC)

Saturday’s games

Texas A&M (16-4, 6-1 SEC) at Georgia (16-4, 4-3 SEC)

Texas (12-8, 3-4 SEC) at Oklahoma (11-10, 1-7 SEC)

Mississippi State (10-10, 2-5 SEC) at Missouri (14-7, 4-4 SEC)

LSU (13-7, 1-6 SEC) at South Carolina (11-9, 2-5 SEC)

Kentucky (14-7, 5-3 SEC) at No. 15 Arkansas (16-5, 6-2 SEC)

No. 18 Vanderbilt (18-3, 5-3 SEC) at Ole Miss (11-9, 3-4 SEC)

Tennessee (13-6, 3-3 SEC) at Auburn (13-7, 4-3 SEC)

Sunday’s game

No. 23 Alabama (14-6, 4-3 SEC) at No. 19 FLORIDA (14-6, 5-2 SEC)