It is Critical for the Gators to Get a Win Over Alabama Tonight

What happened in the second half against South Carolina back on Saturday is a recurring theme that is the difference between the Gators playing to win the SEC regular season atitle in these last two games and battling for a decent seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Gators held a 10-point lead in the second half against the Gamecocks, but there was a 4-minute stretch in which eight fouls and four turnovers shifted the momentum completely South Carolina’s way.

The Gators are 20-9 overall, 10-6 in SEC play. Had they held onto double-digit second half leads against the Gamecocks, Alabama and Texas A&M, they could be 13-3 right now, dead even with Tennessee in the SEC standings with two games to go. Instead, the Gators need to win the last two starting tonight against Alabama at the O-Dome (7 p.m., ESPN) to get off those dreaded seven through 10 lines in the NCAA Tournament brackets. Right now, the Gators are projected as a No. 8 by both Joe Lunardi (ESPN) and Jerry Palm (CBS), the two most well-known bracketologists. Winner of the 8-9 game gets the region’s No. 1 seed in the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament. The 7-10 winner gets the No. 2.

“We're striving to be the best team we can possibly be,” Florida coach Todd Golden said Monday. “And, we've obviously made big strides over the last couple of months and went from a team that people didn't know what we could be and now we're safely in the tournament playing for seeding. We’ve won nine out of our last 12, and all three of those losses we had double-digit leads. So we're very close to playing really, really, really good ball.”

Much of the losses at South Carolina and Texas A&M has to do with Florida’s struggles against zone defenses. The Gators blew a 10-point second half lead against Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Turnovers, bad decisions and an inability to close out 3-point shooters late in the game like they did in the first when Bama went 2-18 had everything to do with the loss to Alabama. The Gators blew a 20-point lead to LSU only to win in overtime at the O-Dome. There was another overtime win, this one over Georgia, when the Gators saw a 21-point lead dissipate.

In the three road losses to South Carolina, Texas A&M and Alabama, turnovers and too many second half fouls were an issue. During that 4-minute stretch when the game changed against South Carolina, the Gamecocks shot 13 free throws. They shot 21 in the second half.

“We can’t let teams get to the line 22 times in a half,” Golden said. “That’s been a little bit of our issue in our losses on the road; play pretty well in the first half and then in the second half, we send them to the line, the game just sways and they’re able to set up their defense and their zone. So coming away from it, there is always going to be ways to improve, but we’re very good offensively. We still scored 1.13 points per possession on the road against a really good defense. So, overall, I’m fine with that. We just have to do a better job in the second half of defending, especially away from home.”

Alabama scores 90.9 points to lead the nation. At 84.4, the Gators rank 12th. Tonight’s game figures to be an up-and-down the court affair, but after the way South Carolina, Texas A&M and LSU caused such problems with a 1-3-1 zone, the Gators can figure they’ll see some of that, too. Alabama is a top 10 team in both the NCAA Net Rankings and the KenPom analytics, so beating the Crimson Tide could help the Gators enormously for tournament seeding.

Alabama came back on the Gators once. If the Gators get a lead tonight, holding it may determine where the Gators play at tournament time.

“I would love to say I want to get up by 10, 15 or 20 and never allow it to be a game,” Golden said. “If we were doing that consistently we’d be a top-five team in the country. We’re just not quite there yet.”

Beating Alabama won’t vault the Gators into the top five, but it will show the country what they’re capable of doing, especially the NCAA Tournament committee.  

Anticipated starting lineups

FLORIDA (20-9, 10-6 SEC): 6-10 Tyrese Samuel (13.5 points, 7.8 rebounds); 7-1 Micah Handlogten (6.2 points, 7.5 rebounds); 6-4 Will Richard (11.0 points, 3.8 rebounds); 6-2 Walter Clayton Jr. (16.9 points, 3.7 rebounds); 6-4 Zyon Pullin (15.4 points, 3.8 rebounds; 5.0 assists)

ALABAMA (20-9, 12-4 SEC): 6-11 Grant Nelson (11.9 points, 5.5 rebounds); 6-11 Jarin Stevenson (5.3 points, 2.7 rebounds); 6-6 Rylan Griffin (11.4 points, 3.7 rebounds); 6-3 Aaron Estrada (13.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.5 assists); 6-1 Mark Sears (20.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists)

Associated Press top 25: 1. Houston 26-3; 2. UConn 26-3; 3. Purdue 26-3; 4. Tennessee 23-6; 5. Arizona 23-6; 6. Iowa State 23-6; 7. North Carolina 23-6; 8. Marquette 22-7; 9. Duke 23-6; 10. Creighton 22-8; 11. Baylor 21-8; 12. Illinois 22-7; 13.  Auburn 22-7; 14. Kansas 21-8; 15. Kentucky 21-8; 16. Alabama 20-9; 17. South Carolina 24-5; 18. Washington State 23-7; 19. Gonzaga 24-6; 20. BYU 21-8; 21. San Diego State 22-7; 22. Utah State 24-5; 23. Saint Mary’s 24-7; 24. South Florida 22-5; 25. Dayton 22-6

Coaches top 25: 1. Houston 26-3; 2. UConn 26-3; 3. Purdue 26-3; 4. Tennessee 23-6; 5. Arizona 23-6; 6. Iowa State 23-6; 7. North Carolina 23-6; 8. Duke 23-6; 9. Marquette 22-7; 10. Creighton 22-8; 11. Baylor 21-8; 12. Illinois 22-7; 13. Kentucky 21-8; 14. Auburn 22-7; 15. Kansas 21-8; 16. South Carolina 24-5; 17. Alabama 20-9; 18. Gonzaga 24-6; 19. San Diego State 22-7; 20. Washington State 23-7; 21. Saint Mary’s 24-7; 22. Utah State 24-5; 23. BYU 21-8; 24. South Florida 22-5; 25. FLORIDA 20-9

SEC Basketball

Tuesday’s games: No. 14 Alabama (20-9, 12-4 SEC) at No. 24 FLORIDA (20-9, 10-6 SEC); No. 11 Auburn (22-7, 11-5 SEC) at Missouri (8-21, 0-16 SEC); Ole Miss (20-9, 7-9 SEC) at Georgia (15-14, 5-11 SEC)

Wednesday’s games: No. 4 Tennessee (23-6, 13-3 SEC) at No. 18 South Carolina (24-5, 12-4 SEC); Vanderbilt (8-21, 3-13 SEC) at No. 16 Kentucky (21-8, 11-5 SEC); Mississippi State (19-10, 8-8 SEC) at Texas A&M (16-13, 7-9 SEC); LSU (16-13, 8-8 SEC) at Arkansas (14-15, 5-11 SEC)

UF BASEBALL: Caglianone SEC Pitcher of the Week

Jac Caglianone is hitting a cool .489. Against Miami he hit an opposite field homer to beat the shift Friday night and delivered a moonshot into the second level of the parking deck way past the right field fence Sunday. On the mound, he was absolute beast mode with six shutout innings in which he allowed three hits and struck out 11. Those six innings earned Cags the SEC Pitcher of the Week, first time he’s ever earned that.

Florida-FAU rescheduled: With bad weather expected for Tuesday night, Florida’s game with Florida Atlantic has been rescheduled for April 30. The Gators will be home Wednesday against UCF.

D1Baseball top 25: 1. Wake Forest 10-1; 2. Arkansas 9-2; 3. LSU 11-1; 4. FLORIDA 8-3; 5. TCU 12-0; 6. Oregon State 11-1; 7. Texas A&M 11-0; 8. Tennessee 11-1; 9. Vanderbilt 10-3; 10. Clemson 9-1; 11. East Carolina 7-4; 12. Duke 10-1; 13. Virginia 10-1; 14. North Carolina State 9-2; 15. Alabama 11-1; 16. North Carolina 10-2; 17. Texas Tech 9-2; 18. Coastal Carolina 9-2; 19. Auburn 9-2; 20. Dallas Baptist 10-1; 21. South Carolina 8-3; 22. Campbell 8-3; 23. UC-Irvine 9-0; 24. Texas 7-4; 25. UC-Santa Barbara 5-5

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

USA Today Coaches top 25: 1. Wake Forest 10-1; 2. LSU 11-1; 3. Arkansas 9-2; 4. TCU 12-0; 5. Oregon State 11-1; 6. Texas A&M 11-0; 7. FLORIDA 8-3; 8. Tennessee 11-1; 9. Clemson 9-1; 10. Vanderbilt 10-3; 11. Duke 10-1; 12. Virginia 10-1; 13. Alabama 11-1; 14. North Carolina 10-2; 15. North Carolina State 9-2; 16. East Carolina 7-4; 17. Texas Tech 9-2; 18. Coastal Carolina 9-2; 19. Dallas Baptist 10-1; 20. Auburn 9-2; 21. South Carolina 8-3; 22. Texas 7-4; 23. UC-Irvine 9-0; 24. Campbell 8-3; 25. Florida Stae 10-0

UF TRACK AND FIELD: Gator women No. 2; men No. 4

USTFCCCA women’s top 25: 1. Arkansas; 2. FLORIDA; 3. Texas; 4. Oklahoma STae; 5. Oregon; 6. Southern California; 7. Ole Miss; 8. Texas Tech; 9. LSU; 10. Georgia; 11. Stanford; 12. Alabama; 13. Texas A&M; 14. Notre Dame; 15. Washington; 16. Illinois; 17. BYU; 18. Harvard; 19. Tennessee; 20. Providence; 21. South Carolina; 22. Baylor; 23. Clemson; 24. Minnesota; 25. Oklahoma

USTFCCCA men’s top 25: 1. Arkansas; 2. Texas Tech; 3. Northern Arizona; 4. FLORIDA; 5. Washington; 6. Southern California; 7. Texas; 8. Nebraska; 9. Alabama; 10. Houston; 12. North Carolina; 13. Kentucky; 14. Georgia; 15. South Carolina; 16. Stanford; 17. Oklahoma State; 18. Texas A&M; 19. Florida State; 20. Kansas; 21. Iowa; 22. Illinois; 23. Penn State; 24. Harvard; 25. Ole Miss

UF GYMNASTICS: Gators move up to No. 4

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

UF SOFTBALL: Otis, Rothrock earn SEC honors

Outfielder Korbe Otis earned SEC Player of the Week honors and pitcher Keagan Rothrock was named SEC Freshman of the Week. Otis went 9-11 as the Gators (19-3) won four of five games at the Judi Garman Classic. Rothrock pitched a 2-hitter to beat UCLA and a no-hitter to beat Cal State-Fullerton at the Garman Classic, extending her string of shutout innings to 29-2/3.

UF LACROSSE: Gators remain No. 11

ILWomen/IWLCA top 25: 1. Northwestern 5-1; 2. James Madison 6-0; 3. Boston College 6-1; 4. Notre Dame 5-1; 5. Syracuse 3-2; 6. Michigan 6-0; 7. Loyola 4-; 8. North Carolina 4-2; 9. Maryland 4-1; 10. Denver 3-2; 11. FLORIDA 3-2; 12. Stony Brook 4-0; 13. Virginia 5-1; 14. Penn 4-0; 15. Johns Hopkins 5-2; 16. Navy 5-0; 17. Southern California 4-2; 18. Yale 4-0; 19. Colorado 4-2; 20. Clemson 4-1; 21. Princeton 2-2; 22. Rutgers 5-1; 23. Richmond 4-1; 24. Harvard 4-0; 25. Brown 3-1

UF GOLF:

Bushnell/Golfweek top 25: 1. Auburn; 2. North Carolina; 3. Vanderbilt; 4. Arizona State; 5. Washington; 6. Ole Miss; 7. Tennessee9; 8. Arizona; 9. Oklahoma; 10. Arkansas; 11. Georgia Tech; 12. Virginia; 13. Florida State; 14. Texas Tech; 15. FLORIDA; 16. East Tennessee State; 17. Illinois; 18. California; 19. New Mexico; 20. Texas; 21. Alabama; 22. Mississippi State; 23. Duke; 24. North Florida; 25. Oregon

ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: The Dartmouth men’s basketball team will vote today on forming a union. That would mean the players are employees and would also end this notion that the Ivy League is the last bastion of pure amateurism in college sports. Dartmouth, of course, is fighting the National Labor Relations Board tooth and nail, but whether Dartmouth wins of loses, this is one more sure sign that the NCAA has outlived its usefulness.

In the months ahead, serious discussions will take place that will determine what will happen not only with college football and basketball, the two cash cows that keep the lights on at every Division I school, but with every sport they sponsor. If the athletes are employees, how much will they be paid is an obvious question but more importantly, where will the money come from. We know the Southeastern Conference and Big Ten won’t have to struggle to come up with the cash, but they represent 34 of the more than 130 Division I football schools. There are 362 schools that play Division I basketball.

How many can survive paying the athletes? How many schools will cut sports because they can’t afford to pay everybody?

The NCAA wants Congress to solve the problems or else adapt Charlie Baker’s proposal, which makes you wonder if he was dropped on his head too many times when he was an infant. The NCAA got college sports into this mess and if you believe the organization is capable of coming up with a solution, then you are a special kind of stupid.

There is only so much time for someone to come up with a plan to start a new organization that eliminates the NCAA once and for all.