The 4th-ranked Gators (7-3) couldn’t recover after digging a 5-0 hole in the first two innings Saturday afternoon, falling 10-6 to Miami in game two of their weekend series at Mark Light Field in Coral Gables. The Gators will send Jac Caglianone to the mound today to try to win the weekend (1 p.m., ACC Network+). Florida freshman Liam Peterson (1-1) gave up a 3-run homer to Jason Torres in the bottom of the first and a 2-run homer to Edgardo Villegas in the second to stake Miami to a big lead it never relinquished. Once past the first two innings, Peterson settled down and shut down all nine batters he faced in innings three through five. “He just looked out of sorts from the beginning,” Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “I had to take a visit in the first. The pace was really slow. It didn't look anything like the other times he had pitched this year. The positive is he came back and put three zeroes on the board after that.” The Gators closed the gap to 5-3 in the fifth when Dale Thomas hit his second home run of the season over the wall in left center. The Gators had runners on second and third when Luke Heyman took a called third strike to end the threat without further damage. The Hurricanes scored four in the seventh off Luke McNellie to stretch the lead to 9-6. A three-run homer by Daniel Cuvet was the big blow of the inning. “Obviously, the seventh inning kind of got away from us,” O’Sullivan said. “We hit the leadoff man in the bottom half of the order. It was just unfortunate because I did feel that if it stayed where it was we would have a chance there at the end." Florida countered with three runs in the eighth on a two-run double by Tyler Shelnut and a sacrifice fly by Thomas but it was a case of too little too late. UF SOFTBALL: Michigan snaps Florida’s 11-game winning streak The 13th-ranked Gators (19-3) had their 11-game winning streak snapped by Michigan, 10-2, in a 5-inning run-rule loss in the final game of the Judi Garman Classic in Fullerton, California. Michigan jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first off freshman Ava Brown and then added six in the third to put the game away. A pair of Michigan errors in the top of the fifth gave the Gators their only two runs of the game. Heading into the game, the Gators had outscored four opponents in the tournament by a 37-0 margin. In the previous 21 games, the Gators allowed only 12 runs total. The Gators are idle until next Saturday when they open Southeastern Conference play with a three-game series at 10th-ranked Alabama. UF WOMEN’S GOLF: Third place finish at Gator Invitational The Gators posted their fifth top-three finish of the season at the Gator Invitational finishing third, 20 shots off the pace of Arizona, which finished at 8-under for the 3-day event. Florida’s 12-over 3-day total of 852 was four shots off the pace of second place Clemson. Florida’s Maisie Filler shot a final round -4 (66) to finish in a tie for third at 3-under 207. This was the fifth consecutive top 10 finish for Filler, the No. 1 ranked women’s player in the country. Next up for the Gators is the Briar’s Creek Invitational, March 11-12.

Luke Heyman, Cade Kurland and Jac Caglianone hit solo home runs and the bullpen combo of Ryan Slater and Brandon Neely pitched 4-1/3 scoreless innings of relief Friday night as 4th-ranked Florida (7-2) took game one of its weekend series with Miami, 7-3, at Mark Light Field. Heyman homered to dead center field with one out in the top of the fifth to give the Gators a 4-2 lead but the Hurricanes put two on with two out in the bottom half, which ended the day for starter Cade Fisher. Slater had a rough beginning, hitting the first batter he faced followed by a 4-pitch bases loaded walk to cut the UF lead to 4-3. Undaunted, Slater came back to freeze Lucas Costello for a called third strike on a 2-2 count to end the threat. Kurland, who was the DH in his first game back from injury, led off the Florida half of the seventh with a home run to left field, first home run of the season. Caglianone followed with a beat-the-shift opposite field home run to left for a 6-3 lead. Kurland and Caglianone got back-to-back singles in the top of the ninth, Kurland on a single into the left center field gap and Caglianone on a beat-the-shift squibber to the left side of the infield. One out later, Colby Shelton hit a sacrifice fly to right field to drive home Kurland with an insurance run. Getting Kurland back in the lineup was a huge boost for the Gators. "He had a really good night at the plate,” Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “It wasn't really a decision that we made until after batting practice, just to make sure he was all right. We don't want to put him in the lineup if he doesn't feel like he can go. Three hits. Jac behind him with three hits. They certainly had really good nights at the plate." Once he got the final out in the fifth, Slater was untouchable. He set down the Hurricanes 1-2-3 in innings six, seven and eight before turning the game over to Neely. Neely allowed a single and a two-out double but induced Blake Cyr to ground out second to first to end the game. Freshman Liam Peterson (1-0, 0.00 ERA) will get the start this afternoon in game two of the weekend series (3 p.m., ACC Network). UF SOFTBALL: Gators beat UCLA on spectacular walk-off double play The 13th-ranked Gators walked off a 1-0 win over 18th-ranked UCLA at the Judi Garman Classic in Fullerton, California when center fielder Kendra Falby’s throw to Jocelyn Erickson at the plate nailed pinch-runner Lauren Hatch to complete a spectacular game-ending double play. In the second game of the evening, the Gators trounced DePaul 12-0 in a 5-inning game called by the run-rule. The Gators, who have won 11 consecutive games and haven’t allowed a run since the third inning against Colgate nine games ago, face Michigan today in their final game in the tournament. The Gators open SEC play next week when they travel to Alabama. Skylar Wallace hit her sixth home run in the bottom of the first to give the Gators the only run they needed against UCLA. Freshman Keagan Rothrock (8-2, 0.67 ERA) went the distance, giving up only two hits while walking two and striking out five. Rothrock gave up a 1-out single in the top of the second and didn’t allow another hit until Megan Grant led off the seventh with a double to left field. A fly ball out moved pinch-runner Hatch to third but Savannah Pola’s fly ball to center was turned into a Falby-to-Erickson double play. Game two marked Florida’s 10th win by run-rule since the Gators took a 3-0 loss to Oklahoma State. Ava Brown (8-0, 0.16 ERA) got the win, allowing three hits in four innings. Olivia Miller gave up a single in the fifth. Florida got all the runs it actually needed with one swing of the bat in the bottom of the first when Erickson hit a 3-run homer down the left field line. Later in the game Erickson hit a run-scoring single for her fourth RBI of the night. The Gators got solo home runs from Korbe Otis and Brown and a 3-run homer from Baylee Goddard in the second. It was the fifth home run of the season for Erickson who already has 38 RBI. The home runs by Otis and Brown were their fifth and Goddard’s homer was her fourth. The Gators have scored 206 runs in 21 games to lead the country. The Gators have outscored opponents 206-12 this season. The Gators rank second in the country with a team batting average of .395. Florida pitchers lead the country with 14 shutouts. Florida’s team 0.51 ERA leads the nation. The Gators have committed only five errors in 21 games. They rank third in the nation in fielding. UF MEN’S TENNIS: Gators knock off No. 12 Texas A&M The unranked Gators (5-4, 1-0 SEC) opened Southeastern Conference play Friday afternoon with a 4-0 win over 12th-ranked Texas A&M (9-3, 0-1 SEC). The Gators won the doubles point and then got singles wins by Jeremy Jin, Adhithya Ganesan, and Aidan Kin to close out the Aggies. The Gators will be in action once again Sunday when 25th-ranked LSU (11-1, 9-3 SEC) visits Gainesville for a 12 noon match at the Ring Tennis Center. UF WOMEN’S GOLF: Gators in third at Gators Invitational When play was suspended due to darkness Friday evening, the 10th-ranked Gators were in third place at 6-over par, 15 shots behind Arizona (-9). Florida’s golfers were on holes 11-13 on the course when play was suspended. Play will resume at 8 a.m. at the Mark Bostick Golf Course today. Paula Francisco, even par through 13 holes and tied for ninth, was the Florida leader when the day ended Friday while Jackie Lucerna (+1 through 11) was tied for 11th and Maisie Filler, who has won three tournaments so far, is in a tie for 16th at 2-over par.

“So you’re telling me there’s a chance?” – Jim Carrey as Lloyd Christmas in the movie “Dumb and Dumber”

A few thoughts to jump start your Friday morning.

Senior night arrived a few days early for Tyrese Samuel and Zyon Pullin. Florida’s grad transfers will get their O-Dome night to remember complete with hugs and standing ovations next week against Alabama, but they came through against Missouri Wednesday night when the Gators were in dire need of a spectacular effort. The Gators (20-8, 10-5 SEC) were wobbly and threatening to do the unfathomable, which is to bring an end to Missouri’s 0-for-14 run in Southeastern Conference play, when Samuel and Pullin went beast mode in the final 7:16. The two combined to score 23 of Florida’s final 25 points, turning a 58-56 clutch your chest panic attack into an 83-74 exhale of a win that among other things keeps the Gators in the hunt for the coveted double bye at the Southeastern Conference Tournament. It was out of necessity that Samuel and Pullin took the game over. Leading scorer Walter Clayton Jr. was on the bench, having picked up a fifth foul on a technical with 14:08 left in the game, leaving the Gators without their volume scorer and backup ball handler. From all outward appearances, Clayton did nothing to merit getting teed up, but the officials saw it otherwise. “They said he used bad language towards the [Missouri] bench,” Florida coach Todd Golden said with a stone face. “I'm not going to comment on that.” The Gators were up by nine (51-42) when Clayton was lit up with the tech that ended his night, causing a momentum shift. What followed was a rash of whistles that went against Florida, helping Missouri to chip away at the foul line. It was a foul call on a 3-point attempt by Nick Honor that gave the Tigers three free throws that closed the gap to 55-54 with 9:36 left in the game. Referee Vladimir Voyard-Todal signalled Pullin got Honor on the arm. The replay, shown on the big center court video board, seemed to indicate otherwise. The O-Dome crowd did its best to raise the roof voicing its displeasure. Between outrage with the zebra and concern that the Gators were on the verge of letting another big lead slip away, anxiety in the O-Dome was thick enough that a chainsaw couldn’t have cut through it. The combination of Missouri momentum and Clayton sitting on the bench was unnerving. The Gators were in a real funk, desperately in need of someone, anyone to grab them by the lapels and slap them back to consciousness. That’s when Pullin and Samuel did what veterans who have been there and done that before do, which is lead. The first step in the right direction was a 3-pointer by Pullin with 7:16 to go that extended the lead to 61-56, beginning a basket-trading frenzy that kept the Gators uncomfortably ahead. The Tigers closed to within one once again, this time on a 3-pointer from 7-5 center Connor Vanover with 5:30 left that cut the margin to 66-65. They could have sold Tums at the concession stand at that point. It was reflux time at the O-Dome but as uncomfortable as the crowd was, both Pullin and Samuel weren’t dismayed. “We’ve been in situations like this, you know, even worse situations, so it was just staying together,” Pullin said. In that final 7:16 he scored nine of his 21 points for the game. Samuel, who had a career-best 28 points to go with 10 rebounds, scored 14 in the closing minutes. “I think we played great down the stretch,” Samuel said. “We didn’t panic, like I said, poise was key. We didn’t panic, I had all the confidence that we still were going to win the game. I knew ‘cause the shots weren’t falling for us in the beginning, but at the end they started to fall, so, I knew it was probably going to get that dub at the end.” After the Vanover 3-pointer, the Gators outscored Missouri 17-9 to close things out. The only break from the Samuel-Pullin scoring show was a dunk by Micah Handlogten with 2:58 remaining, fittingly on a pass from Samuel. During that final 7:16 run, the Gators hit 11-13 from the field. By no means was this a masterpiece of a win although all wins, particularly at this time of the season look beautiful when they’re in the books. No two wins are ever alike, but this one was different because Clayton, who has been money in close games all year, was unable to contribute for the last 14 minutes. So, Samuel, who transferred to Florida from Seton Hall, and Pullin, who came to UF from UC-Riverside, picked up the slack. Samuel was unstoppable on the inside. Pullin handled the Missouri full court press flawlessly and got the Gators into a flow against a 1-3-1 zone that had caused some second half problems. Minus Clayton and with Will Richard having a rough night from the outside (1-8 on 3-pointers), Florida struggled offensively with Vanover on the back end of the 1-3-1. When Pullin hit that three it loosened up the zone a bit. Samuel moved to the high post where he could put the ball on the deck, drive to the rim and use either hand to get the ball in the basket over Vanover, who had a 7-inch height advantage. “There's only so many different things you can draw up against the zone,” Golden said. “You got to have some feel, you got to have some good decision making and be a basketball player. I felt like that showed big time for him in those moments just with his tight catches and then his tight moves and tight space being able to put it in with either hand, and and-1 finishes, that don't I can't remember who he punched it on.” This is the time of the season when the grind of an 18-game SEC schedule takes its toll, separating the good teams from the average, the average from the bad. The better teams have players who embrace the pressure of tight games. That’s what Samuel and Pullin did. “Obviously, Tyrese was a grown man tonight,” Golden said. “He did an incredible job, 28 points, 10 rebounds. ZP was great as well. Two seniors really stepped up tonight and we found a way.” The win kept the Gators within two games of Southeastern Conference leaders Tennessee and Alabama and with a mathematical chance to win the SEC regular season championship. The Gators are a game behind third place South Carolina, their Saturday opponent in Columbia. Florida is in a three-way tie for the fourth and final bye at the SEC Tournament. Getting to 20 wins in the regular season, 10 in SEC play is a big deal since it all but assures the Gators will make the NCAA Tournament field. Reaching 20 and 10 is also a sign of how much progress Florida has made in Golden’s less than two full seasons on the job. Not bad for a team that was picked middle-of the-pack by both the SEC and national medias before the season began. “I would have hoped to make the tournament this year, but you go and look at the coaches in this league that have had a lot of success,” Golden said. “It takes awhile to get good. I think Bruce's [Pearl] first tournament team [at Auburn] was year four. I think Rick Barnes’ first tournament team[at Tennessee] was year three. Nate’s [Oats] was year two [at Alabama]. “Cal [John Calipari] was year one [at Kentucky]. I think Buzz [Williams] was four or five [at Texas A&M. “It’s really hard, especially with how good the league is at the top with Tennessee, Alabama, Auburn, Kentucky. Like, it's not that easy to break into that mix, especially considering every single one of those programs that I just mentioned, their coach has been there for a long time and they have very sustained programs and sustained success. So for us to be in that equation, yeah, I think we're a little ahead of where we quote unquote should be in year two.” Game notes: Before he departed the game, Clayton had 13 points, three rebounds, five assists, a blocked shot and two steals … Handlogten had one of his best games of the season with 12 points, 12 rebounds and two assists. Handlogten hit 6-8 shots from the field … Samuel, who leads the Southeastern Conference in field goal percentage, hit 12-16 shots from the field … Pullin was 4-5 from the 3-point line … Missouri’s Nick Honor had scored 18 points with 9:36 left in the game. Golden put Riley Kugel on him the rest of the way and Kugel not only held him scoreless but allowed only one shot from the field (miss on a corner three) and didn’t foul him (Honor was 8-8 from the foul line) … The Gators scored 15 points off 11 Missouri turnovers and 42 points in the paint … Florida held Missouri to 4-23 from the 3-point line. In the last three games, the Gators have held opponents to 17-77 (22 percent) on their 3-pointers. SEC BASKETBALL Wednesday’s scores: No. 24 FLORIDA (20-8, 10-5 SEC) 83, Missouri (8-20, 0-15 SEC) 74; No. 4 Tennessee (22-6, 12-3 SEC) 92, No. 11 Auburn (21-7, 10-5 SEC) 84; No. 14 Alabama (20-8, 12-3 SEC) 103, Ole Miss (19-9, 6-9 SEC) 88; No. 18 South Carolina (23-5, 11-4 SEC) 70, Texas A&M (15-13, 6-9 SEC) 68 Saturday’s games: No. 24 FLORIDA (20-9, 10-5 SEC) at No. 18 South Carolina (23-5, 11-4 SEC); No. 4 Tennessee (22-6, 12-3 SEC) at No. 14 Alabama (20-8, 12-3 SEC); Mississippi State (19-9, 8-7 SEC) at No. 11 Auburn (21-7, 10-5 SEC); Arkansas (14-14, 5-10 SEC) at No. 16 Kentucky (20-8, 10-5 SEC); Ole Miss (19-9, 6-9 SEC) at Missouri (8-20, 0-15 SEC); LSU (15-13, 7-8 SEC) at Vanderbilt (8-20, 3-12 SEC); Texas A&M (15-13, 6-9 SEC) at Georgia (15-13, 5-10 SEC) UF BASEBALL: Gators whack Bethune-Cookman, 9-2 The 4th-ranked Gators launched three home runs Wednesday night at Condron Family Ballpark, taking out Bethune-Cookman, 9-2. Colby Shelton hit his third homer of the year, a 3-run shot over the right field fence, in the bottom of the first. Tyler Shelnut’s third homer of the year was a 2-run job to center field in the bottom of the third. Jac Caglianone hit a 3-run homer down the right field line in the bottom of the eighth, his second of the season. The Gators sent five pitchers to the mound with freshman lefty Robert Satin picking up his first career win, allowing one hit while walking two and striking out four in three innings after relieving starter Fisher Jameson. Florida pitchers gave up six hits and struck out 10 but they walked eight and hit two batters. “I gotta look at the ball-to-strike ratio,” Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “It’s gotta be close to 50/50. A lot of deep counts tonight. We walked eight, hit two, so we had 10 [free] batters and to be able to do that and to only give up two runs is hard to do.” The Gators (6-2) will travel to Coral Gables for the annual 3-game series with Miami at Mark Light Stadium.

It’s Missouri and nobody, but nobody wants to be the team that ends the Tigers’ quest for a perfect Southeastern Conference season in reverse. The Tigers are 0-14 in SEC play, but they have made life difficult for most every team they’ve played. Just ask South Carolina and Tennessee, both of whom came away with a win but feeling like they had been in a steel cage death match with The Four Horsemen. For Florida’s 24th-ranked Gators (19-8, 9-5 SEC), on a quest of their own to get into the NCAA Tournament, the memory of a 79-67 win over Missouri in Columbia a few weeks ago shouldn’t be forgotten tonight in the rematch at the O-Dome (6:30 p.m., SEC Network). That game in January was a back-and-forth affair until just after the under-8 minute media timeout when a 3-pointer by Riley Kugel gave the Gators some breathing room. Since that game the Gators have become one of the hotter teams in the Southeastern Conference while Mizzou’s season has continued to go south. In admitting the Gators will have to be prepared to play well to beat Missouri, Florida coach Todd Golden said that while the Gators are good, they aren’t at the point where they can take for granted any Southeastern Conference opponent. “Every team in this league is really good,” Golden said Tuesday. “Obviously, they haven’t had a lot of success in terms of wins and losses, but a week ago [they’re] playing Tennessee, a top 10 team in the country, and they’re within a bucket or two with like a minute or two to go in the game. So I think it would be really, really silly for us, as a program, to feel like Missouri walking in here is an easy game. “We’re not there yet. We’re obviously having a good year, but we’re by no means at a place where we can just show up and get on the court and be okay. I’m going to do everything I can to make sure our guys don’t do that. I don’t think they will. We have a lot of respect for Missouri. We don’t fear them, but we have respect for them and we’re going to make sure we prepare the right way to go out and compete against them. But I’ll be super, super disappointed if we’re talking on Friday and our team wasn’t ready to play.” The Gators started the SEC portion of their schedule 1-3 when they faced Missouri the first time. That win righted Florida’s ship and sparked a run in which the Gators have won eight of the last ten games. From a team that looked like it would struggle to finish with a winning record in conference play, the Gators are now assured of no worse than break even in the SEC. The Gators are just two games behind league co-leaders Tennessee and Alabama, so they are still mathematically alive for the SEC championship. With four regular season games to go, the a game away from the all-important 20/10 mark (20 regular season, 10 SEC wins) that all but assures every SEC team a punched ticket to the NCAA Tournament. Florida is also on track for the best season since 2017 when the Gators went 24-6 in the regular season, 14-4 in SEC play. That team made it to the Elite Eight game in the NCAA Tournament. Tournament bids are more than two weeks away so for now the most important thing the Gators can do is take care of Missouri. Tyrese Samuel, who played in the NCAA Tournament two times in four years at Seton Hall before transferring to Florida, knows what is at stake with Mizzou since it gets the Gators to the 20/10 threshold. “It’s really important I think once you get 20 wins you kind of solidify yourself as far as the tournament,” Samuel said Tuesday. “That’s one thing but I just think that getting those 20 wins shows that we kind of started out kind of slow, kind of like in the middle at first but now we show that we’re a good team and we can pack up wins especially late in the season.” Anticipated starting lineups FLORIDA (19-8, 9-5 SEC): 6-10 Tyrese Samuel (13 points, 7.8 rebounds); 7-1 Micah Handlogten (6.2 points, 7.4 rebounds); 6-4 Will Richard (11.7 points, 3.8 rebounds); 6-2 Walter Clayton Jr. (16.9 points, 3.8 rebounds); 6-4 Zyon Pullin (15 points, 3.9 rebounds, 4.9 assists) MISSOURI (8-19, 0-14 SEC): 7-0 Jordan Butler (2.1 points, 1.9 rebounds); 6-6 Noah Carter (11.7 points, 5.2 rebounds); 6-5 Tamar Bates (13.6 points, 2.8 rebounds); 6-3 Sean East II (17 points, 3.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists); 5-10 Nick Hunter (10.9 points, 1.9 rebounds) SEC BASKETBALL Tuesday’s scores: No. 16 Kentucky (20-8, 10-5 SEC) 91, Mississippi State (19-9, 8-7 SEC) 89; LSU (15-13, 7-8 SEC) 67, Georgia (15-13, 5-10 SEC) 66; Vanderbilt (8-20, 3-12 SEC) 85, Arkansas (14-14, 5-10 SEC) 82 Wednesday’s games: Missouri (8-19, 0-14 SEC) at No. 24 FLORIDA (19-8, 9-5 SEC); No, 14 Auburn (21-6, 10-4 SEC) at No. 5 Tennessee (21-6, 11-3 SEC); NO. 13 Alabama (19-8, 11-3 SEC) at Ole Miss (19-8, 6-8 SEC); No. 20 South Carolina (22-5, 10-4 SEC) at Texas A&M (15-12, 6-8 SEC) UF BASEBALL: Stetson takes down Gators, 7-4 Stetson (5-3) scored five runs in the bottom of the first inning and went on to take down 4th-ranked Florida (5-2), 7-4, in DeLand Tuesday night. It was the first career start for freshman Luke McNellie, who couldn’t get through the first inning. McNellie faced nine batters, giving up four hits, a walk and two hit batters before Ryan Slater came on to put out the fire. The Gators scored all four of their runs in the third on a 2-run homer by Luke Heyman and a 2-run homer by Ty Evans. Stetson added two insurance runs in the eighth off Florida closer Brandon Neely. Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan was disappointed with the Gators’ performance, starting with the top of the first inning when Michael Robertson led off the game with a double and advanced to third on a passed ball, but was left stranded. “We ended up having Mikey (Robertson) at third with nobody out and with the top of the order coming up, and we weren't able to push him across. That kind of set the tone. We had back-to-back strikeouts there to end the first and then we did not get the start that we thought from Luke (McNeillie). Maybe it was his first start on the road and that type of thing. Obviously, he's going to be much better than that moving forward. We got off to a tough start and honestly, three of our first five innings we had plenty of opportunities to score, not just the first. We had Armando (Albert) at second with nobody out and the top of the order coming up. We hit a weak fly ball to left that didn't move him. We don't score that inning. We missed a sign on a steal. We got hit by a pitch to start the inning and we miss a sign. Next guy walks. First and second, nobody out it should have been there. Three of the first five innings were not very good. We struck out more times tonight than we probably should have. We struck out 11 times. It felt like we were not getting off really good swings on 2-0, 2-1, 3-1 counts the entire night. We didn't hit with runners in scoring position. It was a collective group ... Hopefully, it's a learning experience for them about being on the road. It just was not a good night." The Gators return home tonight to face Bethune-Cookman (6:30 p.m., SEC Network+). UF GYMNASTICS: Wong, Pilgrim earn SEC honors Leanne Wong, whose perfect 10 gave the 5th-ranked Gators a win over 2nd-ranked LSU, was named Southeastern Conference Gymnast of the Week. Wong’s 39.875 all-around score is the highest in the nation so far this season. Anya Pilgrim, who scored a 39.650 all-around against LSU, was named SEC Freshman of the Week for the third straight week and the fourth time this season. Pilgrim’s all-around score is the highest of any freshman in the country this season. Of the top 12 all-around scores by freshmen this year, six belong to Pilgrim. The Gators (10-1, 5-1 SEC) have clinched at least a tie for the SEC championship. They can win the title outright Friday night when they travel to Lexington to face 6th-ranked Kentucky. UF SOFTBALL: Gators move up to No. 13 The Gators moved up one spot to No. 13 in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches top 25 poll. The Gators, who have won seven straight games, will play Cal State-Fullerton and Long Beach State Thursday in Palm Springs, California in the annual Judy Garmin Classic. The Gators will face UCLA and DePaul on Friday and Michigan on Saturday. USA Today/NFCA Coaches top 25: 1. Oklahoma 14-0; 2. Texas 12-1; 3. Oklahoma State 13-2; 4. LSU 13-0; 5. Georgia 12-1; 6. Washington 12-2; 7. Duke 13-1; 8. Clemson 11-2; 9. Tennessee 8-4; 10. Alabama 16-0; 11. Stanford 10-4; 12. Florida State 11-3; 13. FLORIDA 15-2; 14. Missouri 13-2; 15. Arkansas 13-3; 16. Kentucky 11-2; 17. Texas A&M 14-1; 18. UCLA 7-5; 19. Arizona 16-1; 20. California 15-1; 21. Baylor 8-3; 22. South Carolina 13-2; 23. Virginia Tech 12-3-1; 24. Mississippi State 11-3; 25. Oregon 9-7 ESPN/USA Softball top 25: 1. Oklahoma 14-0; 2. Texas 12-1; 3. Georgia 12-1; 4. Washington 12-2; 5. LSU 13-0; 6. (TIE) Duke 13-1 and Oklahoma State 13-2; 8. Tennessee 8-4; 9. Clemson 11-2; 10. Stanford 10-4; 11. Alabama 16-0; 12. Florida State 11-3; 13. Missouri 13-2; 14. Kentucky 11-2; 15. FLORIDA 15-2; 16. Arkansas 13-3; 17. Baylor 8-3; 18. Texas A&M 14-1; 19. UCLA 7-5; 20. Virginia Tech 12-3-1; 21. Arizona 16-1; 22. South Carolina 13-2; 23. Mississippi State 11-3; 24. California 15-1; 25. Auburn 7-2-1 D1Softball top 25: 1. Oklahoma 14-0; 2. Texas 12-1; 3. LSU 13-0; 4. Georgia 12-1; 5. Duke 13-1; 6. Oklahoma State 13-2; 7. Stanford 10-4; 8. Washington 12-2; 9. Tennessee 8-4; 10. Baylor 8-3; 11. Clemson 11-2; 12. Alabama 16-0; 13. Florida State 11-3; 14. Kentucky 11-2; 15. Missouri 13-2; 16. Arkansas 13-3; 17. Arizona; 18. (TIE) FLORIDA 15-2 and Virginia Tech 12-3-1; 20. UCLA 7-5; 21. (TIE) Texas A&M 14-1 and Mississippi State 11-3; 23. South Carolina 13-2; 24. California 15-1; 25. Boston University 13-1 UF MEN’S GOLF: Gilligan wins Southern Highlands Tournament Ian Gilligan, who won second team All-America honors last season at Long Beach State, won his first tournament as a Gator, taking the Southern Highlands Tournament with an 8-under par 208. The Gators finished fourth in the tournament with a 3-day total of 868, 4-over par and 12 strokes off the pace of tournament champion Oklahoma. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: It seems obvious that Billy Napier is planning a revamp of his offense this fall. First, he named tight ends coach Russ Callaway the co-offensive coordinator. Tuesday, he hired former Central Michigan head coach Dan Enos, who has served as an offensive coordinator at Miami, Arkansas and Maryland as well as quarterbacks coach for Nick Saban at Alabama. Enos was hired in an analyst role, but he could play a significant role in designing an offense of the future that will center around 5-star freshman quarterback DJ Lagway. Lagway won’t be the starter in 2024, but he’s expected to have a significant role while backing up Graham Mertz. The quarterback during the four years Enos was head coach at Central Michigan (2006-09) was Dan Lefevour, who accounted for 149 touchdowns (102 passing, 47 rushing). Lefevour threw for 12,905 yards and ran for 2,948 yards. Lefevour’s best year was 2007 when he threw for 3,652 yards and 27 touchdowns and ran for 1,122 and 19 more TDs.

Former Arkansas offensive coordinator Dan Enos is joining the staff at Florida, but not in an on-field coaching role. Instead, he will be focusing on advanced scouting and assisting with head coach projects, as first confirmed by Jacob Rudner of 247.

Russ Callaway, who served as Florida's tight ends coach in 2023, is gearing up for an expanded role in the upcoming season by stepping into the position of co-offensive coordinator.

A few thoughts to jump start your Tuesday morning: “I feel like we’ve got really good synergy out there on the floor and you know it starts with ZP, who generally is pretty good with the ball 6-to-1 today, six assists to one turnover,” Todd Golden said Saturday after the Gators had racked up their 19th win over the season, 77-64, over Vanderbilt, a game in which Zyon Pullin only scored two points, but made his presence known just the same. Florida was +25 when Pullin was directing the team from the point. Reggie Jackson once described himself as “the straw that stirs the drink” when talking about the New York Yankees in the 1970s. The same could be said about Pullin’s value to Florida basketball. As well as Golden has recruited to bring in the transfers who have turned the 24th-ranked Gators into a legitimate threat to get to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament, the guy who truly makes it all work is Pullin and the analytics prove it. Bart Torvik rates Pullin the third best player in the Southeastern Conference and the No. 20 player overall in the entire country. For the season, Pullin averages 15 points, 3.9 rebounds and 4.95 assists per game. He leads the SEC and ranks third nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (119 assists, 29 turnovers, 4.1-to-1). For the first time all season against Vandy, Pullin didn’t reach double figures, but he didn’t have to. He was too busy making the ball move (17 assists on 28 made shots). That’s exactly what the Gators needed to win this game handily and why they’re averaging 84.8 points per game. The Gators average 84.8 per game, eighth in the country and the first time they’ve scored more than 80 a game since the 2001-02 season. At his pace they will eclipse the school record 84.2 averaged by the 1986-87 team. Golden has surrounded Pullin with some weapons like scoring machine Walter Clayton Jr. and four bigs who know how to go get the ball, but what makes the Gators capable of getting deep in the NCAA Tournament is Pullin. After the Vandy win, Golden said, “I'm just not sure how many point guards out there in America you’d rather have right now.” SEC Basketball Tuesday’s games: No. 17 Kentucky (19-8, 9-5 SEC) at Mississippi State (19-8, 8-6 SEC); Georgia (15-12, 5-9 SEC) at LSU (14-13, 6-8 SEC); Vanderbilt (7-20, 2-12, SEC) at Arkansas (14-13, 5-9 SEC) Wednesday’s games: Missouri (8-19, 0-14 SEC) at No. 24 FLORIDA (19-8, 9-5 SEC); No, 14 Auburn (21-6, 10-4 SEC) at No. 5 Tennessee (21-6, 11-3 SEC); NO. 13 Alabama (19-8, 11-3 SEC) at Ole Miss (19-8, 6-8 SEC); No. 20 South Carolina (22-5, 10-4 SEC) at Texas A&M (15-12, 6-8 SEC) Associated Press top 25: 1. Houston 24-3; 2. Purdue 25-3; 3. UConn 25-3; 4. Tennessee 21-6; 5. Marquette 21-6; 6. Arizona 21-6; 7. Kansas 21-6; 8. Iowa State 21-6; 9. North Carolina 21-6; 10. Duke 21-6; 11. Auburn 21-6; 12. Creighton 20-8; 13. Illinois 20-7; 14. Alabama 19-8; 15. Baylor 19-8; 16. Kentucky 19-8; 17. Saint Mary’s 23-6; 18. South Carolina 22-5; 19. Washington State 21-7; 20. San Diego State 21-7; 21. Dayton 21-5; 22. Utah State 22-5; 23. Gonzaga 22-6; 24. FLORIDA 19-8; 25. South Florida 21-5 Coaches top 25: 1. Houston 24-3; 2. UConn 25-3; 3. Purdue 25-3; 4. Tennessee 21-6; 5. Marquette 21-6; 6. Iowa State 21-6; 7. Arizona 21-6; 8. North Carolina 21-6; 9. Kansas 21-6; 10. Duke 21-6; 11. Auburn 21-6; 12. Creighton 20-8; 13. Alabama 19-8; 14. Baylor 19-8; 15. Kentucky 19-8; 16. Illinois 20-7; 17. Saint Mary’s 23-6; 18. South Carolina 22-5; 19. San Diego State 21-7; 20. Dayton 21-5; 21. Washington State 21-7; 22. Gonzaga 22-6; 23. Utah State 22-5; 24. FLORIDA 19-8; 25. South Florida 21-5 UF BASEBALL: Gators remain No. 4 After a 5-0 week that included a 34-run scoring barrage in three games against Columbia, the Gators will travel to DeLand to face Stetson (4-3) tonight (6:30 p.m., ESPN+). The Gators will send freshman Luke McNellie (1-0, 0.00 ERA) to face the Hatters. The Gators will return home Wednesday to face Bethune-Cookman. Peterson SEC Freshman of the Week: Liam Peterson, who pitched seven shutout innings and earned his first collegiate win last week, was selected SEC Freshman of the Week. D1Baseball top 25: 1. Wake Forest 6-1; 2. Arkansas 5-2; 3. LSU 7-1; 4. FLORIDA 5-1; 5. TCU 7-0; 6. Oregon State 7-1; 7. Texas A&M 7-0; 8. Tennessee 7-1; 9. Vanderbilt 5-3; 10. Clemson 6-1; 11. East Carolina 5-2; 12. Duke 7-0; 13. Virginia 7-0; 14. North Carolina State 4-2; 15. Texas 6-1; 16. Alabama 8-0; 17. North Carolina 5-2; 18. Texas Tech 6-2; 19. South Carolina 7-1; 20. Indiana 6-1; 21. Campbell 6-1; 22. Coastal Carolina 5-2; 23. Auburn 6-1; 24. UC-Santa Barbara 3-3; 25. Dallas Baptist 7-0 Baseball America top 25: 1. Wake Forest 6-1; 2. LSU 7-1; 3. Arkansas 5-2; 4. Oregon State 7-1; 5. FLORIDA 5-1; 6. TCU 7-0; 7. Tennessee 7-1; 8. Virginia 7-0; 9. Vanderbilt 5-3; 10. Clemson 6-1; 11. Texas A&M 7-0; 12. South Carolina 7-1; 13. Duke 7-0; 14. Texas 6-1; 15. East Carolina 5-2; 16. Texas Tech 6-2; 17. North Carolina 5-2; 18. North Carolina State 4-2; 19. Auburn 6-1; 20. UC-Irvine 6-0; 21. Indiana 6-1; 22. Coastal Carolina 5-2; 23. Dallas Baptist 7-0; 24. Alabama 8-0; 25. Campbell 6-1 USA Today Coaches top 25: 1. Wake Forest 6-1; 2. LSU 7-1; 3. TCU 7-0; 4. FLORIDA 5-1; 5. Arkansas 5-2; 6. Oregon State 7-1; 7. Texas A&M 7-0; 8. Tennessee 7-1; 9. Virginia 7-0; 10. Duke 7-0; 11. Clemson 6-1; 12. East Carolina 5-2; 13. Texas 6-1; 14. Vanderbilt 5-3; 15. Alabama 8-0; 16. South Carolina 7-1; 17. North Carolina 5-2; 18. North Carolina State 4-2; 19. Texas Tech 6-2; 20. Coastal Carolina 5-2; 21. Indiana 6-1; 22. Auburn 6-1; 23. Campbell 6-1; 24. Dallas Baptist 7-0; 25. UC-Irvine 6-0 UF GYMNASTICS: Gators remain No. 5 nationally Florida is the only team in the country that has improved its score every single week but even that and a season-high 198.150 in the win over LSU couldn’t move the Gators up in the Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association poll. It’s based on season averages so in this poll, scores do matter, the bigger the better. When the Gators take the floor Friday night against No. 6 Kentucky, it will be to clinch the Southeastern Conference title outright. The Gators (10-1, 5-1 SEC) are guaranteed at least a share of the title. Kentucky (7-3, 4-2 SEC) and LSU are tied for second place. WCGA top 25: 1. Oklahoma; 2. LSU; 3. California; 4. Utah; 5. FLORIDA; 6. Kentucky; 7. Michigan; 8. Michigan State; 9. Alabama; 10. UCLA; 11. Denver; 12. Arkansas; 13. Missouri; 14. Auburn; 15. Ohio State; 16. Minnesota; 17. Oregon State; 18. Arizona State; 19. Arizona; 20. Georgia; 21. North Carolina State; 22. Penn State; 23. Illinois; 24. Stanford; 25. Ball State UF LACROSSE: Gators move up to No. 11 Florida’s 13-12 overtime win over then 5th-ranked Maryland moved the Gators up to No. 11 in the weekly top 25 poll. Florida (1-2) hosts Jacksonville Wednesday afternoon at Donald Dizney Stadium before departing for a west coast road trip with games against Arizona State, UC-Davis and San Diego State. For their efforts in the win over Maryland, Paisley Egan and Georgia Hoey were honored by the American Athletic Conference. Egan, the AAC Midfielder of the Week, scored four goals including the one that sent the game into overtime with 20.9 seconds to go. Hoey, who recorded seven saves, was named AAC Goalkeeper of the Week. Inside Lacrosse/WCLA top 25: 1. Boston College 5-0; 2. James Madison 5-0; 3. Northwestern 3-1; 4. Syracuse 2-2; 5. Notre Dame 4-1; 6. Michigan 4-0; 7. North Carolina 4-1; 8. Loyola; 9. Maryland 3-1; 10. Denver 3-1; 11. FLORIDA 1-2; 12. Stony Brook 3-0; 13. Penn 2-0; 14. Virginia 4-1; 15. Johns Hopkins 3-2; 16. Southern California 3-1; 17. Navy 4-0; 18. Clemson 4-0; 19. Colorado 3-1; 20. Richmond 4-0; 21. Yale 3-0; 22. Rutgers 4-0; 23. Princeton 1-1; 24. Brown 3-0; 25. Penn State 2-2 UF SOFTBALL: Ava Brown SEC Freshman of the Week Ava Brown got it done in the circle and at the plate last week as the Gators (15-2) won seven of eight. Brown pitched 11 scoreless innings while improving her record to 6-0 with a microscopic 0.22 ERA. At the plate, she went 6-14 with seven RBI. Brown is hitting .344 with two homers and 10 RBI while dividing her time between first base and pitching. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Watch Caitlyn Clark shoot a step-back 3-pointer and you might swear nobody in the world, male or female can shoot like that. Watch her thread the needle with a perfect pass on the fast break and you might think Iowa’s star of stars sees the court better than anyone in the country. She is easily the most entertaining women’s basketball player of all time and you could argue she’s better than Cheryl Miller or Diana Taurasi. Miller and Taurasi had better supporting casts, too. She has scored 3,617 points in her Iowa career, 50 away from the 3,677 Pete Maravich scored in his college career. She’s good. No question about it. In her 128-game Iowa career, she is averaging 28.3 points, 7.1 rebounds and 8.1 assists per game. She hits 38 percent of her threes and 85.6 percent of her free throws. What Caitlyn Clark has done to elevate interest in the women’s game is almost unfathomable. An entire generation of young girls are wearing out the goal in their driveway or back yard, hoping that if they practice enough, one day they can be another Caitlyn Clark. Based on what people write about her, if those same girls grow up to be high character young women like Caitlyn Clark then they will truly be able to say they have accomplished something valuable in life. Basketball will come and go. Character lasts a lifetime. Calling Caitlyn Clark the female Pete Maravich is fair, but Pete will always be the greatest scorer. Pete scored his 3,667 points in 83 games. Freshmen were ineligible in Pete’s day but he averaged 40 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists per game leading LSU’s freshmen to an undefeated season. In his three years of varsity basketball at LSU, the Tigers weren’t very talented with the exception of Pete and a hulking forward named Al “Apple” Sanders his senior year. LSU went 49-34 in the games Pete played. He AVERAGED 44.2 per game in an era of no shot clock and without the benefit of a 3-point shot. He scored at least 40 points 56 times, more than 50 in 28 and this was with everybody on the other team knowing he was the LSU offense. Had there been a 3-point shot in his era, some experts who have studied the film of every game Pete ever played say he would have averaged a minimum of nine more points per game. He averaged 5.2 assists per game during his college career. The late Mike Pratt, a Kentucky All-American during the same era, told me that Pete would have averaged 10-11 assists per game if his teammates had simply made 40 percent of their shots when Pete delivered the pass. Pete had a 64-point game against Kentucky as a senior. He lit up Alabama for 69 that year. This isn’t an attempt to compare Caitlyn Clark with Pete Maravich. That’s like apples and oranges. She is special, deserves every accolade and she’s worth the price of admission. Catch her on television. You’ll be impressed. Remember what you see. Savor it. You’re fortunate to live in an era when there is basketball on so many channels nearly every night. I wish there had been this many channels and networks in Pete’s era. People see the points he scored, but as someone who was fortunate enough to know him through my friend Lou Bello, college referee extraordinaire and Pete’s high school history teacher at Broughton High School in Raleigh, it was the creativity dribbling and passing the ball that he loved best. Caitlyn will score more points and people will remember that, but no one, and I mean no one, will ever handle the ball like Pete Maravich.

A few thoughts to jump start your Monday morning: If you were holding your breath over the NCAA investigation regarding Florida’s involvement in the Jaden Rashada NIL fiasco, then a federal judge has granted you permission to exhale. Nothing is going to happen to the Gators or for anyone else who has run afoul of the NCAA for all that matters. A federal judge in Tennessee issued a temporary restraining order against the NCAA, preventing the organization from pursuing its investigation against Tennessee. Did the Vols cheat? In all probability, yes. Does it matter now? No, and the reason it doesn’t is if the NCAA elects to appeal this ruling, they’ll get skunked again in court. They always do, so why would anything change now? Since the NCAA is now barred from enforcing its own rules, however ridiculous those rules may be, the wild west show that has taken over college sports can and will continue. What we have now is free agency without restrictions which means schools with big boosters or collectives that have raised record amounts of money can go out and buy any player they choose. In the immortal words of Pogo, “We have met the enemy. They is us.” Common sense tells us it is time for a new organization that kicks the NCAA to the curb and it can’t happen soon enough. This won’t be easy because a new organization has to be run on a strict business model with rules that are easy to follow yet strictly enforced. Standing in the way of that will be presidents of NCAA member institutions and their long-held I’m okay, you’re okay socialistic model of doing things. They have to realize once and for all that their idea of how things should be run gave us the NCAA and the NCAA doesn’t work. Period. End of story. UF HOOPS: The goal now is a top four finish in the SEC Although the Gators (19-8, 9-5 SEC) are still within striking distance of a regular season SEC championship, the more realistic and important goal is to win enough of the last four games to finish in the top four. A top four finish assures a double bye at the SEC Tournament, which begins March 13 in Nashville. The Gators have won enough games that playing on Wednesday is out of the question, but fifth or thereafter means they’ll play on Thursday. Winning the SEC Tournament is a grind no matter where you start, but there is a huge difference in playing three consecutive days, which is what you have to do with the double bye, compared to four straight for teams that finish fifth through 10th. The Gators are hot, having won eight or their last 10 games, and they’re nine deep, but even teams with four capable bigs and offensive threats on the perimeter like Zyon Pullin, Walter Clayton Jr. and Will Richard have been known to stumble in game-a-day situations. There are six teams – Tennessee and Alabama both 11-3, Auburn and South Carolina both 10-4, and Kentucky and Florida both 9-5 – in a two-week fight for the top four teams and the double bye. SEC BASKETBALL No. 13 Alabama (19-8, 11-3 SEC): How will the Crimson Tide react to the blowout loss to Kentucky? They’ll be favored to beat Ole Miss this week even though it’s a roadie, but then they get Tennessee and a roadie with the Gators, both losable games. The NCAA is guaranteed. A top four seed hangs in the balance. Arkansas (14-13, 5-9 SEC): The Razorbacks were on everybody’s preseason top 10. Now it will take a strong finish to get to the NIT. No. 14 Auburn (21-6, 10-4 SEC): Auburn plays at Tennessee and home against Mississippi State this week. Win those two and the Tigers will have a real shot at winning the SEC outright since the last two games are at Missouri and home against Georgia. No. 24 FLORIDA (19-8, 9-5 SEC): The Gators are all but assured of making the NCAA Tournament. Probably the biggest question moving forward is the status of Riley Kugel, Florida’s most talented and explosive player. For reasons Todd Golden hasn’t addressed, Kugel has played only four minutes combined in the last two games. A Riley Kugel with his head screwed on right is a necessity for the Gators to finish strong in the regular season and then do well at tournament time. Georgia (15-12, 5-9 SEC): The Bulldogs have lost seven of their last eight. Getting in the NIT would be an accomplishment. No. 17 Kentucky (19-8, 9-5 SEC): When the Wildcats play the way they did in blowing out Alabama, they’re scary good. Can John Calipari get UK playing that well the rest of the way with roadies at Mississippi State and Tennessee sandwiching home games with Arkansas and Vanderbilt? LSU (14-13, 6-8 SEC): The last four games are very winnable, but even if the Tigers finish on a roll, they’ll still need to win one or two games in the SEC Tournament, otherwise it’s the NIT. Mississippi State (18-9, 8-6 SEC): The Bulldogs are a hot team with five straight wins. Three of the last four are against ranked teams: Kentucky, at Auburn and South Carolina. One win should get the Bulldogs in the NCAA Tournament, but two would eliminate the anxiety. Missouri (8-19, 0-14 SEC): The only question remaining in Mizzou’s season is will the. Tigers avoid an oh-fer in the SEC. The home game with Ole Miss on Saturday seems to be their best shot at an SEC win. Ole Miss (19-8, 6-8 SEC): Ole Miss is playing itself out of NCAA Tournament contention. Ole Miss can regain some of its lost mojo if it can spring the upset on Alabama in Oxford Tuesday. No. 20 South Carolina (22-5, 10-4 SEC): The Gamecocks are as good as in the NCAA Tournament, but they’ll need to pick up a win or two for anything higher than a No. 8. This week, they’re at Texas A&M and host Florida. The last two are Tennessee and at Mississippi State. Texas A&M (15-12, 6-8 SEC): The Aggies are playing themselves into the NIT. They’ve lost four in a row and need to win three of the next four plus maybe a game in the SEC Tournament to get in the big dance. No. 5 Tennessee (21-6, 11-3 SEC): The Vols have won their last five. The last four are all against ranked teams: Auburn, at Alabama, at South Carolina and home against Kentucky. A 4-0 finish could assure Tennessee of no worse than a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Vanderbilt (7-20, 2-12 SEC): Word around Nashville is Jerry Stackhouse is dead man walking no matter what happens the rest of the season. SEC in NCAA Net Rankings: 5. Tennessee; 6. Alabama; 7. Auburn; 19. Kentucky; 28. Mississippi State; 31. FLORIDA; 47. South Carolina; 58. Texas A&M; 76. Ole Miss; 90. LSU; 98. Georgia; 119. Arkansas; 148. Missouri; 229. Vanderbilt SEC in KenPom analytics: 5. Auburn; 6. Tennessee; 7. Alabama; 17. Kentucky; 27. FLORIDA; 28. Mississippi State; 48. South Carolina; 57. Texas A&M; 74. Ole Miss; 83. Georgia; 89. LSU; 116. Arkansas; 146. Missouri; 202. Vanderbilt SEC in Bart Torvik analytics: 4. Auburn; 6. Tennessee; 8. Alabama; 18. Kentucky; 20. FLORIDA; 27. Mississippi State; 41. South Carolina; 64. Ole Miss; 66. Texas A&M; 71. Georgia; 78. LSU; 115. Arkansas; 135. Missouri; 210. Vanderbilt Tuesday’s games: No. 17 Kentucky (19-8, 9-5 SEC) at Mississippi State (19-8, 8-6 SEC); Georgia (15-12, 5-9 SEC) at LSU (14-13, 6-8 SEC); Vanderbilt (7-20, 2-12, SEC) at Arkansas (14-13, 5-9 SEC) Wednesday’s games: Missouri (8-19, 0-14 SEC) at No. 24 FLORIDA (19-8, 9-5 SEC); No, 14 Auburn (21-6, 10-4 SEC) at No. 5 Tennessee (21-6, 11-3 SEC); NO. 13 Alabama (19-8, 11-3 SEC) at Ole Miss (19-8, 6-8 SEC); No. 20 South Carolina (22-5, 10-4 SEC) at Texas A&M (15-12, 6-8 SEC) UF BASEBALL: Gators 5-1 after sweeping Columbia The 4th-ranked Gators stretched their winning streak to five games with their sweep of Ivy League Columbia over the weekend, a series in which UF outscored the visiting Lions, 34-14 (15-6, 7-3 and 12-5). Florida unloaded for seven home runs against Columbia pitching: Tyler Shelnut (2), Luke Heyman (1), Brody Donay (1), Dale Thomas (1), Ty Evans (1) and Colby Shelton (1). Jac Caglianone, who pitched the first three innings and struck out seven in Sunday’s 12-5 win over Columbia, had a 7-12 weekend at the plate that included 4-4 Saturday night. Cade Fisher (1-1) got the Friday night win, going five innings while striking out 10. Freshmen Luke McNellie and Alex Philpott got the Saturday and Sunday wins. The Gators tune up for next weekend’s series in Coral Gables with Miami (5-2) with midweek games at Stetson Tuesday night and Bethune-Cookman at home Wednesday. UF SOFTBALL: Now the schedule toughens up It was carnage at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium over the weekend as the 14th-ranked Gators (15-2) went 5-0, outscoring Colgate, Lafayette and Illinois-Chicago by a combined 66-1. The Gators got the second perfect game of the season from freshman Olivia Miller (3-0, 0.76 ERA) and a no-hitter from freshman Kegan Rothrock (6-2, 0.83 ERA). Freshman Ava Brown (6-0, 0.22 ERA) pitched a 2-hitter and went 3-7 at the plate with two RBI. Skylar Wallace went 7-12 with a home run and eight RBI to lead the Gators. Other standouts at the plate were Kendra Falby (8-16) Reagan Walsh (5-11, 3 HR, 10 RBI), Katie Kistler (4-10, 9 RBI), Jocelyn Erickson (8-16, 1 HR, 6 RBI), Ariel Kowalewski (7-11, 1 HR, 5 RBI) and Korbe Otis (4-11, 1 HR, 5 RBI). The schedule toughens up considerably for the Gators this weekend in Palm Springs, California where they will face Cal State-Fullerton (9-6), Long Beach State (1-13), UCLA (7-5), DePaul (3-11) and Michigan (10-4) in the Judy Garmin Classic.  The Gators will open the SEC portion of their schedule March 9-11 against Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Next home game will be against Stetson March 13. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Multiple outlets are reporting that Florida tight ends coach Russ Callaway is a signed contract away from being named co-offensive coordinator. That is a move that has been speculated ever since Billy Napier went cryptic about the offense in his National Signing Day press conference three weeks ago. The only questions that seem to be unresolved are how much input Callaway will have in the UF offense and whether or not he will be involved in the play calling. Callaway has an impressive background with links to the Air Raid philosophy. A two-time team captain and quarterback at Valdosta State, Callaway worked the defensive side of the ball as a grad assistant for Nick Saban and Kirby Smart at Alabama on national championship teams in 2011-12, then began coaching offense for the well-regarded Chris Hatcher at Murray State. Hatcher was a record-setting quarterback for Hal Mumme, on a staff that included Mike Leach and Dana Holgorsen. As the head coach at Valdosta State, Hatcher won a Division II national title. When Hatcher took the Samford job in 2015, Callaway came with him. He coached wide receivers and was Samford’s offensive coordinator from 2016-19, during which time Samford’s offenses were top five in Division IAA. Callaway worked for Ed Orgeron at LSU in 2020 and was with the New York Giants in 2021. With the promotion of Callaway from within, Napier still has to add another coach on the offensive side of his staff. There are options here. If Callaway is also promoted to coach the quarterbacks, a job that Napier has held while also coordinating the offense, then a new tight ends coach will need to be hired. If Callaway remains with tight ends, then the new coach will likely be a second offensive line coach to work with Rob Sale. That spot has been vacant a couple of weeks since Darnell Stapleton left for a job with the NFL Washington Commanders.

UF BASEBALL: 4th-ranked Gators take down Columbia, 7-3

Gators close in on 20 regular season wins, 10 in SEC play Okay, so Florida’s 77-64 win over Vanderbilt wasn’t anything close to the best game the Gators have played this season, but it didn’t have to be. At this stage of the 18-game grind that is the Southeastern Conference portion of the schedule, the only thing that matters is getting the win and moving on to whatever is next. In this case, next for the Gators (19-8, 9-5 SEC) is Missouri (8-19, 0-14 SEC), which seems to be doing its dead level best to run the SEC schedule in reverse. That game is Wednesday night and should the Gators come away with a win, they may have their guarantee they won’t be sweating bullets on Selection Sunday in three weeks. The combination of 20 wins in the regular season including 10 in SEC play is rather powerful. With four SEC games remaining, two at the O-Dome and two on the road, the Gators are in rather good shape for moving up in the NCAA Tournament brackets. Both Joe Lunardi (ESPN) and Jerry Palm (CBS), who are the kings of bracketology, have the Gators on the No. 8 line but that is subject to change if the Gators can finish strong in the final two weeks before the SEC Tournament in Nashville. The 20-10 formula is the likely guarantee of an NCAA bid. Every win beyond that makes the Gators a stronger seed. Florida’s win combined with Kentucky’s 117-95 win over Alabama tightened up the Southeastern Conference race and moved the Gators within two games of co-leaders Alabama (19-8, 11-3 SEC) and Tennessee (21-6, 11-3 SEC), within one of South Carolina (22-5, 10-4 SEC) and Auburn (21-6, 10-4 SEC). A top four finish in the regular season will give the Gators the double bye for the Southeastern Conference Tournament. The top four teams avoid playing day one and day two of the tournament. Saturday’s win over Vanderbilt could have been and probably should have been more of a blowout, but the Gators took charge from the opening minute and were never challenged. This is despite Zyon Pullin’s string of 22 straight games scoring in double figures ending plus, for the second straight game and perhaps reasons only Todd Golden and Riley Kugel know for sure, the most explosive player on the Florida roster was a virtual no show (three minutes, two points). The Gators were outrebounded for the second straight game, this time 39-38. Vandy shot and missed a bunch of jump shots that created long rebounds. To their credit, the Commodores did a far better job of scrambling for long rebounds that were 50-50 balls. “I’d say some of that’s on the guards,” Florida’s Walter Clayton Jr. said. “That’s the guards’ fault. The guards, we can do a better job blocking out.” By staying even with the Gators on the backboards and a rash of ticky tacky fouls against the Gators that created a constant parade to the free throw line by the Commodores in the second half, Vandy was able to trim nine points off a lead that swelled to as much as 22 in the second half. It was aggravating to see the free flowing game of the first half reduced to one whistle after another, but even with all the foul calls against them, the Gators were very good on defense. “I thought this was one of our better defensive efforts in awhile,” Golden said. “We held them to 35 percent from the field, didn’t shoot well from three. We fouled too much in the second half – sent them to the line 23 times – which was frustrating but in the big picture I thought we gave ourselves a really good chance by the way we locked in, and against a team like Vandy and the sets they run it’s more about concepts, understanding what your matchup against certain guys, what you are willing to give up, what you are not, and which guys are no threes allowed guys. I thought the guys are locked into the personnel today.” The Gators didn’t get many chances to get out and run and their 10 offensive rebounds were only converted into 13 points but the ball moved and there was no shortage of open shots. The Gators shot 46.7 percent overall from the field (28-60) and 9-24 (37.5 percent) from the 3-point line. The Gators finished with 17 assists on 28 made baskets. In the game’s opening minutes, the ball movement was spectacular as the Gators moved out to a 19-11 lead with 12:13 to go in the half. The lead expanded to 10 for the first time (23-13) on a Denzel Aberdeen free throw with 7:30 remaining. A layup by Pullin with 3:59 left doubled up the score (32-16). The Gators led 35-20 at the half. “I think we had nine assists and one turnover at one point to start the game and just that tone of unselfishness was set and I thought it carried on for the whole game,” Golden said. Although Pullin’s shot wasn’t dropping, he had six assists and only one turnover. This was a game he didn’t need to score because he was too busy directing traffic on the offensive end for the Gators while making sure the ball moved to open shooters. While Pullin was on the floor, the Gators had a 25-point advantage over the Commodores. “Listen, I'm just not sure how many point guards out there in America you’d rather have right now,” Golden said. “You know, the way he runs the game, runs the team, controls the game, just so good with the ball. You know, like when he turns it over, you're like, ‘Oh my gosh,’ you know what happened on that play you know when normal point guards get two or three in a game and you're okay with it.” Will Richard led the Gators with 21 points to with four rebounds and three assists. Richard went 5-9 from the 3-point line. Clayton scored 19 with three rebounds and two assists while Tyrese Samuel scored 15 on 7-9 shooting from the field. He also had six rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots. The Gators also got eight points and nine rebounds from Alex Condon and seven points and two rebounds from Thomas Haugh. Next up: Missouri (8-19, 0-14 SEC) SEC BASKETBALL Saturday’s scores: No. 24 FLORIDA (19-8, 9-5 SEC) 77, Vanderbilt (7-20, 2-12 SEC) 64; No. 17 Kentucky (19-8, 9-5 SEC) 117, No. 13 Alabama (19-8, 11-3 SEC) 95; No. 14 Auburn (21-6, 10-4 SEC) 97, Georgia (15-12, 5-9 SEC) 76; No. 20 South Carolina (22-5, 10-4 SEC) 72, Ole Miss (19-8, 6-8 SEC) 59; Mississippi State (19-8, 8-6 SEC) 87, LSU (14-13, 6-8 SEC) 67;  Arkansas (14-13, 5-9 SEC) 88, Missouri (8-19, 0-14 SEC) 73 Tuesday’s games: No. 17 Kentucky (19-8, 9-5 SEC) at Mississippi State (19-8, 8-6 SEC); Georgia (15-12, 5-9 SEC) at LSU (14-13, 6-8 SEC); Vanderbilt (7-20, 2-12, SEC) at Arkansas (14-13, 5-9 SEC) Wednesday’s games: Missouri (8-19, 0-14 SEC) at No. 24 FLORIDA (19-8, 9-5 SEC); No, 14 Auburn (21-6, 10-4 SEC) at No. 5 Tennessee (21-6, 11-3 SEC); NO. 13 Alabama (19-8, 11-3 SEC) at Ole Miss (19-8, 6-8 SEC); No. 20 South Carolina (22-5, 10-4 SEC) at Texas A&M (15-12, 6-8 SEC) SEC in KenPom analytics: 5. Auburn; 6. Tennessee; 8. Alabama; 18. Kentucky; 26. Mississippi State; 28. FLORIDA; 47. South Carolina; 57. Texas A&M; 74. Ole Miss; 83. Georgia; 89. LSU; 116. Arkansas; 147. Missouri; 202. Vanderbilt