Golden has the Gators Closing in on Top 25

A few thoughts to jump start your Monday morning:

Photo Credit - Chris Spears

The nitpickers will look at Florida’s 88-82 win over Georgia Saturday and find way too much fault, overlooking the fact that any road win in the Southeastern Conference is to be treasured. Sure, Georgia is a team in a tailspin and the Gators are a team on the rise, but the Southeastern Conference is so tough that even the bottom feeders can be formidable, especially on their own court.

Florida got the win and that’s all that matters, improving to 18-7 overall, 8-4 in the SEC. Florida has already won two more games than last year and is within one win of last year's SEC total. With six games to go in the regular season – three at home, three on the road – as long as the Gators avoid going in the tank, they’ll make the NCAA Tournament. Win three or four more prior to the SEC Tournament and they’ll probably find themselves on the six or seven line when the brackets are revealed on Selection Sunday four weekends from now.  

This has been a season of measurable growth for Todd Golden and the Gators, who lost three games in the non-conference portion of the schedule in large part because of a three-game NCAA-imposed suspension of point guard Zyon Pullin and an ankle injury to 7-1 Micah Handlogten. With Pullin in the lineup, it’s unlikely the Gators would have lost by three to Virginia. Handlogten’s presence could have turned losses to Baylor (by four) and Wake Forest (on the road) into wins.

The Gators got off to a rocky 1-3 start when the SEC portion of the schedule kicked in but they’re 7-1 since then, the only loss in Knoxville to a Tennessee team that could be ranked as high as No. 4 when the Associated Press rankings come out at midday. The  Gators will probably find themselves just outside the top 25 when the polls are released.

What has changed for the Gators since mid-January can be summed up with one word: Experience. It takes time for teams to mesh. It’s one thing to develop chemistry off the court and in practice, something altogether different for that chemistry to begin to blend in once the games begin for real. To understand why it took awhile for the nine players in Golden's rotation on gameday to figure things out, just take a look at where they came from. Florida’s five starters – Tyrese Samuel (Seton Hall), Micah Handlogten (Marshall), Will Richard (Belmont), Walter Clayton Jr. (Iona) and Zyon Pullin (Cal-Riverside) – all began their careers somewhere else. First man off the bench Riley Kugel originally signed with Mississippi State but when Ben Howland was fired he got a release from his LOI and signed with the Gators. Denzel Aberdeen hardly played as a freshman last season. Alex Condon and Thomas Haugh, the two bigs who back up Samuel and Handlogten, are freshmen.

It took until mid-January for this team to begin its ascent. Now that they've built that on the court chemistry, the Gators are that team NOBODY wants to play.

Good examples of how Golden has brought this team along are road games at Kentucky and Georgia. Six weeks ago, hostile, boisterous crowds might have given the Gators the jitters, but Florida beat Kentucky by three in overtime and Georgia by six at Stegman on Saturday.

Another good example was the final five minutes against Georgia when Golden had the confidence to leave his freshman bigs in the game and veterans Samuel and Handlogten on the bench. Both Thomas Haugh and Alex Condon came up with difference making plays when it was white knuckles time. Haugh and Condon combined for 27 points, 10 rebounds, one assist, two blocked shots and a steal in their combined 45 minutes on the floor. Samuel and Handlogten played a combined 34 minutes, scoring nine points and grabbing six rebounds between them. That wouldn’t have happened six weeks ago.

Golden will be the first to tell you the Gators still haven’t arrived. Where they are and where they can be are two different things, but this is a team that hasn’t plateaued. The Gators make progress every game, yet every game they show there are areas in which they are capable of improving.

The Gators will face one of their bigger tests Wednesday night when they travel to Tuscaloosa to face Alabama, which leads the SEC with a 10-2 record, not to mention is tied for the national lead in scoring at 90.7 points per game.

SEC Basketball

No. 15 Alabama (18-7, 10-2 SEC): Alabama has scored 100 or more points in a game eight times this season, six times in the friendly confines of Coleman Coliseum. The Crimson Tide averages 11.8 made 3-pointers per game.  

Arkansas (12-13, 3-9 SEC): The Razorbacks have lost six of their last eight games. It’s hard to imagine that this is a team that beat Duke earlier in the year.

No. 13 Auburn (20-6, 9-4 SEC): The Tigers win this week’s Saddam Hussein Award after their SCUDfest against Kentucky. Auburn was 17-55 from the field overall and 4-22 from the 3-point line in the loss to Kentucky ... Jaylin Williams will miss some games after injuring his knee against UK, but he will be back before the end of the season.

FLORIDA (18-7, 8-4 SEC): The Gators are only two games off first place in the SEC. If they can find a way to go 4-2 the rest of the way they could get the double bye at the SEC Tournament.

Georgia (14-11, 4-8 SEC): Wednesday’s game with Vanderbilt is critical for the Bulldogs, who have lost six in a row. The NIT is about as good as it will get for Georgia and it’s going to take at least four more wins.

No. 22 Kentucky (18-7, 8-4 SEC): Kentucky’s Final Four talent finally played a game at a Final Four level in stomping Auburn. The Wildcats did it with smothering defense and without best player Tre Mitchell, who has back and shoulder issues.

Mississippi State (17-8, 6-6 SEC): The Bulldogs who were at one point mired in a 1-5 SEC slump, have won their last three games to get back into the NCAA Tournament picture.

Missouri (8-17, 0-12 SEC): The Tigers are six games away from running the SEC table in reverse.

Ole Miss (19-6, 6-6 SEC): The Rebels are 14-1 at home, 3-5 on the road. They need a 4-2 finish on a schedule that has three homers and three roadies remaining.

No. 11 South Carolina (21-5, 9-4 SEC): Has the bubble burst for the Gamecocks? After making it all the way up to the No. 11 ranking nationally, South Carolina was blown out by Auburn on the road and then stunned by LSU at home.

No. 8 Tennessee (19-6, 9-3 SEC): The Vols close out the regular season with No. 13 Auburn, at No. 15 Alabama, at No. 11 South Carolina and No. 22 Kentucky. That might be the toughest four-game stretch to close a season as there is in the country.

Texas A&M (15-10, 6-6 SEC): The Aggies went 0-2 last week. The Vanderbilt loss was shocking. In losing to Alabama by 25 in Tuscaloosa, it was obvious the Aggies left their defense back in College Station.

Vanderbilt (7-18, 2-10 SEC): Just when the Commodores looked like they’re coming alive by beating Texas A&M, they were jolted back into reality by Tennessee, which delivered a 35-point knockout blow Saturday.

Tuesday’s games: No. 8 Tennessee (19-6, 9-3 SEC) at Missouri (8-17, 0-12 SEC); Arkansas (12-13, 3-9 SEC) at Texas A&M (15-10, 6-6 SEC)

Wednesday’s games: FLORIDA (18-7, 8-4 SEC) at No. 15 Alabama (18-7, 10-2 SEC); No. 22 Kentucky (18-7, 8-4 SEC) at LSU (13-12, 5-7 SEC); Ole Miss (19-6, 6-6 SEC) at Mississippi State (17-8, 6-6 SEC); Georgia (14-11, 4-8 SEC) at Vanderbilt (7-18, 2-10 SEC)

SEC in NCAA NET Rankings: 5. Alabama; 6. Tennessee; 7. Auburn; 21. Kentucky; 29. FLORIDA; 37. Mississippi State; 46. Texas A&M; 57. South Carolina; 64. Ole Miss; 88. LSU; 96. Georgia; 135. Arkansas; 147. Missouri; 218. Vanderbilt

SEC in KenPom analytics: 5. Tennessee; 6. Auburn; 7. Alabama; 21. Kentucky; 26. FLORIDA; 36. Mississippi State; 43. Texas A&M; 57. South Carolina; 62. Ole Miss; 78. LSU; 87. Georgia; 123. Arkansas; 147. Missouri; 201. Vanderbilt

UF BASEBALL: Gators face North Florida, Columbia this week

Rain forced cancellation of the final two games of their weekend set with St. John’s so the Gators will regroup with five games this week. Florida (0-1) will face North Florida in Jacksonville Tuesday, then return to Condron Family Ballpark for a second game with the Ospreys on Wednesday. The Gators will play host to Columbia of the Ivy League for three games starting Friday.

UF SOFTBALL: Gators will host Oklahoma State tonight

Weather cancelled Saturday and Sunday action in the Bubly Invitational  for the Gators (8-1) and prevented 6th-ranked Oklahoma State from completing play in the Shriner’s Children’s Clearwater Invitational. So Florida coach Tim Walton and his former assistant Kenny Gajewski, the Oklahoma State coach, got together to arrange a Monday night showdown at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium (6 p.m.).  

The Gators come into the contest on a seven game winning streak after taking out Georgia Southern and Loyola in the two games they did get to play Friday in the Bubly Invitational. Through their first nine games, the Gators are hitting .364 as a team, led by Kendra Falby (.543, 7 RBI), Skylar Wallace (.538, 3 HR, 12 RBI, 7-7 stolen bases) and Jocelyn Erickson (.433, 1 HR, 16 RBI). Gator pitchers have an 0.37 ERA led by Ava Brown (4-0, 0.39 ERA) and Keagan Rothrock (3-1, 0.68 ERA).

COUNTDOWN TO FIRING DAY, BASKETBALL EDITION

Extinct Species List

Tony Stubblefield, DePaul: The juicy rumor is Oklahoma’s Porter Moser, the former Loyola coach, will return to his Chicago roots.

Chris Holtman, Ohio State: Florida Atlantic’s Dusty May is at the top of the replacement list.

Endangered Species List

Andy Enfield, Southern Cal: The luster has worn off. The Trojans stink.

Jerod Hasse, Stanford: Eight years, one time to the NIT. It’s make the NCAA or be gone.

Juwan Howard, Michigan: Does he get a sympathy year because he had heart surgery?

Kenny Payne, Louisville: Patience has run out at a place where they expect to be top 10 every year.

Wayne Tinkle, Oregon State: Goner. We know that because the AD gave him a vote of confidence.

Bobby Hurley, Arizona State: A 45-point loss to archrival Arizona doesn’t settle well with the alums.

Jerry Stackhouse, Vanderbilt:

COLLEGE FOOTBALL STUFF

In Texas they say only God and the Longhorns have more money than the Aggies. The Longhorns must think they’re on to something big with the move to the SEC because they just gave Steve Sarkisian a raise to $10 million a year.

George Kliavkoff, who oversaw the destruction of the Pac-12 Conference, whose roots trace back more than 100 years, has been pink-slipped. His last day on the job will be February 29.

ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: The College Football Playoff Board of Managers will meet this week to resolve some of the issues as the playoff expands from four to 12 teams. The biggest problem involves the format, which was agreed to 6-6 back when there was a Power Five – the champs from each of the power conferences plus one from the Group of Five and six at-large teams fill out the bracket.

The demise of the Pac-12 is the dilemma facing the managers. Washington State and Oregon State, by contract with the NCAA, are still a power conference but they won’t play a conference schedule or a championship game at least until they negotiate a merger with the Mountain West. Meanwhile, the Pac-2 won’t work. So four power conferences leaves two automatic bids. The Group of Five will certain make a strong case that they deserve two bids. The four power conferences will lobby for a 5-7 format which would all but guarantee only the most highly ranked Group of Five conference champ would get in.

Nobody will be satisfied no matter if it’s a 6-6 or a 5-7. Probably the only practical solution would be to expand the playoff to 16 teams with the nine conference champs automatic and seven at-large teams.