It's back to basics as Gators prepare for SEC Tournament

Photo credit SEC tournament

It isn’t exactly boot camp, but it is back to basics week for the Florida Gators as they prep for their encounter in the second round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament with the winner of Wednesday night’s 11//14 matchup between Georgia (16-15, 6-12 SEC) and Missouri (8-23, 0-18 SEC). It’s not that Florida’s 79-78 loss to Vanderbilt back on Saturday set off alarm bells, but Todd Golden saw enough issues with rebounding and ball handling to demand the extra work.

“I think, obviously, we didn't play well enough and a lot of that, like I said after the game, was things we can control,” Golden said Tuesday before the Gators got in their final practice in Gainesville before heading to Nashville for the tournament. “Tricky at the same time because we shot 51 [percent] from the field and we held them to 35 from the field so there were some things that we did very well but the rebounding and the ball handling was really discouraging.”

Uncharacteristically, the Gators turned the ball over 16 times against Vanderbilt, the most in a game since 14 against Texas A&M, also a game the Gators lost by a single point. Although the Gators held a distinct size advantage over the Commodores, they were outrebounded 41-35. More concerning was Vanderbilt’s 20 offensive rebounds. The Gators came into the game leading the nation in rebounding, second in the SEC in offensive rebounds, yet it was Vandy that held a 20-6 advantage on the offensive backboards.

Golden considers ball handling and rebounding things the Gators can control, so that has been the emphasis in practice the last two days.

“The way I'm kind of thinking about it, the ball handling, we've been really good all year,” Golden said. “I kind of feel like that was a little bit of aberration. I don't expect that to continue. The rebounding has been a little bit trendy going the wrong way and so I think, for us, the biggest thing this week is going back and focusing on the things that don't require talent and to us, that's the rebounding and the ball handling.”

Vanderbilt was an SEC bottom feeder, a team the Gators beat by a comfortable 13 points when they played at the O-Dome a couple of weeks earlier. This was a game Florida could have and should have won comfortably except the Gators were clearly outhustled by the Commodores.

Now comes the winner of Georgia and Missouri Thursday night. The Gators were a combined 4-0 against them in the regular season, but what happened against Vanderbilt should serve as a wakeup call that it’s the SEC and even the teams at the bottom are talented enough and capable enough to play with any team in the league.

“I think this SEC season has shown us what we can do,” point guard Zyon Pullin said. “It’s also shown that the games we don't show up what can happen? That’s something we’ve learned from, which is good. We need to keep a level mind. I think we're super confident. We know what this team can do. We’ve shown it. So here's no doubt in our minds what we can do.”

What can the Gators do? This is the one-and-done portion of the schedule. There are no do-overs at the SEC Tournament and once into the NCAA field of 68, lose and the season is over. In Nashville, the Gators will be playing for seeding in the NCAA Tournament. With 21 regular season wins and 11 in SEC play, the Gators are mortal locks for the tournament. Of Florida’s 10 losses, six (Virginia, Baylor, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and South Carolina) are to teams that will be playing in the tournament. The losses to Virginia, Baylor Kentucky, Alabama and South Carolina are by a combined 20 points. The Gators got their doors blown off twice, both times on the road at Ole Miss (by 18) and Tennessee (by 19).

Florida’s combination of wins against NCAA mortal locks and close call losses to tournament-bound teams have bracketologists Joe Lunardi (ESPN) and Jerry Palm (CBS Sports) projecting the Gators as a No. 7 seed. A win Thursday night against the Georgia-Missouri winner will solidify the Gators as a No. 7. Anything higher will probably require a combination of Florida advancing beyond Alabama in the quarter-finals or some unexpected losses to teams projected with higher seeds.

Golden believes the Gators are capable of heating up and going on a run in Nashville that could carry over into the NCAA Tournament. But, that depends on the team that blew out Auburn and Alabama and beat Kentucky at Rupp shows up. If it’s the team that essentially gave away a very winnable game to Vanderbilt, then the offseason will begin rather quickly.

“I think we can use this as a good learning lesson to remind ourselves that we came off a great game against Alabama and we won by 16 or 18 or whatever it was,” Golden said. “I think human nature took over a little bit and not just our players, our whole program was like, 'Hey, we're pretty good,' and maybe we got ahead of ourselves a little bit. But this should be a good reminder and kind of a centering for us like, 'Hey, we have the capacity to be really good but if we don't play hard and we don't do those things that have made us what we are all year, then we can be average.' Obviously disappointed with it but I do feel like we can use it the right way this week and think we started to yesterday."

Samuel makes 2nd team Associated Press All-SEC

Seton Hall transfer Tyrese Samuel was the lone Gator to make the Associated Press All-SEC team. Samuel averages 13.8 points and 7.5 rebounds per game while leading the Southeastern Conference in field goal percentage (56.4 percent).

Neither Pullin, who made first team All-SEC chosen by the coaches, nor Walter Clayton Jr., a second team selection by the coaches was voted on to either the first or second teams. It’s the first time a first team selection by the coaches wasn’t named to either the first or second team All-SEC by the coaches.

To say Todd Golden was miffed by the oversight would be the understatement of the week.

“I don’t know who votes, so I’m not sure,” Golden said. “I think that was a little bit of an oversight. I think it’s pretty clear to everybody who has followed the league that he’s one of the five best players in the league this year. The good thing, ZP is really mature and I don’t think he would care one bit about it. I don’t think it’s going to bother him or upset him. I think he knows what he’s capable of and our program appreciates what he’s brought to the table. He was recognized by the league, which I think is the most important thing for us.” 

Associated Press All-SEC

First team: Antonio Reeves, Kentucky; Mark Sears, Alabama; Dalton Knecht, Tennessee; Johni Broome, Auburn; Tolu Smith, Mississippi State; Jonas Aidoo, Tennessee

Second team: Wade Taylor IV, Texas A&M; Reed Sheppard, Kentucky; Zakai Ziegler, Tennessee; Jaylin Williams, Auburn; Tyrese Samuel, Florida

Coach of the Year: Lamont Paris, South Carolina; Player of the Year: Dalton Knecht, Tennessee; Newcomer of the Year: Dalton Knecht, Tennessee

SEC Tournament

Wednesday’s gamesGame one: No. 12 Arkansas (15-16, 6-12 SEC) vs. No. 13 Vanderbilt (9-22, 4-14 SEC)Game two: No. 11 Georgia (16-15, 6-12 SEC) vs. No. 14 Missouri (8-23, 0-18 SEC)

Thursday’s games

Game three: No. 9 Mississippi State (19-12, 8-10 SEC) vs. No. 8 LSU (17-14, 9-9 SEC)Game four: Winner game one vs. No. 5 South Carolina (25-6, 13-5 SEC)Game five: No. 10 Ole Miss (20-11, 7-11 SEC) vs. No. 7 Texas A&M (18-13, 9-9 SEC)Game six: Winner game two vs. No. 6 FLORIDA (21-10, 11-7 SEC)

Friday’s games

Game 7: Winner game 3 vs. No. 1 Tennessee (24-7, 14-4 SEC)Game 8: Winner game 4 vs. No. 4 Auburn (24-7, 13-5 SEC)Game 9: Winner game 5 vs. No. 2 Kentucky (23-8, 13-5 SEC)Game 10: Winner game 6 vs. No. 3 Alabama (21-10, 13-5 SEC)