THE FRESHMEN HAVE TO CONTINUE TO IMPROVE In Florida’s 84-66 win over Vanderbilt on Saturday, the Gators’ five freshmen (Scottie Lewis, Tre Mann, Omar Payne, Ques Glover and Jason Jitoboh) combined for 33 points, 14 rebounds, six assists, two steals and five blocked shots. Their greatest impact was in the first half when foul trouble sent Andrew Nembhard and Keyontae Johnson to the bench early with foul trouble. Because Kerry Blackshear Jr. had a foul and Mike White didn’t want him to pick up a second in the first half, there were times when the Gators had four freshmen on the court. The kids played grown-up basketball as UF took a 48-19 lead at the intermission. The second half wasn’t nearly as impressive as the first but in some respects that’s understandable. It’s hard to keep focus with a bunch of kids when you have what is essentially an insurmountable lead. What White saw against Vanderbilt was the kind of overall contribution that he’s going to need the rest of the way as the Gators (16-9, 8-4 SEC) try to earn a double bye at the SEC Tournament and play their way off the NCAA Tournament bubble. At his Monday press conference, White was asked if the freshmen are where they need to be at this point of the season. “It’s all relative depending on where you want to be,” White replied. “If we’re going to make a lot of noise at the end of the season, no. We’ve got a ways to go but am I pleased with the development of our freshmen? Yeah, somewhat pleased, certain guys more so than others but collectively, we’ve made a jump with those guys. The attitude has been pretty good. The worth ethic has been good. I think we’ve had more buy-in lately, more connectivity. A bit part of that are the freshmen and how they handle coming into a game and not reverting back to how they affected a game for their high school team or their AAU team. It’s I’ve got to play a role on this team, I can’t hurt us. I’ve got to get into the flow. I’ve got to take our shot. We’ve got to follow through on the scouting report. So, we’re growing.” The freshmen have to continue their growth tonight when a desperate (16-9, 4-8 SEC) Arkansas comes to town to face the Gators at the O-Dome (7 p.m., ESPNU). The Razorbacks have lost four in a row and seven of their last nine, going from a team expected to easily make the NCAA field to one that needs some wins in a hurry to prevent another trip to the NIT. This is a game the Gators can win if they play solid defense, particularly on Arkansas guards Mason Jones (20.8 points, 6.0 rebounds) and Jimmy Whitt Jr. (14.6 points, 4.8 rebounds). The Gators can’t fall in love with the three-ball as defending the deep shot is what the Razorbacks do better than anyone in the country, but if they move the ball, make the extra pass and use their size advantage on the interior, the Gators should win. Especially if the kids play like they did Saturday night. SEC BASKETBALL Tuesday’s games Arkansas (16-9, 4-8 SEC) at FLORIDA (16-9, 8-4 SEC), ESPNU Vanderbilt (9-16, 1-11 SEC) at Tennessee (14-11, 6-6 SEC), SEC Network Ole Miss (13-12, 4-8 SEC) at Missouri (12-13, 4-8 SEC), SEC Network #10 Kentucky (20-5, 10-2 SEC) at LSU (18-7, 9-3 SEC), ESPN Wednesday’s games #13 Auburn (22-3, 9-3 SEC) at Georgia (12-13, 2-10 SEC), ESPN2 Texas A&M (12-12, 6-6 SEC) at Alabama (14-11, 6-6 SEC), SEC Network South Carolina (16-9, 8-4 SEC) at Mississippi State (16-9, 7-5 SEC), SEC Network TUESDAY THOUGHTS ABOUT BILLY DONOVAN Of all the college basketball coaches in the last 30 years who decided to ply their trade to the pay for play ranks, Billy Donovan stands front and center as the most successful (60.5% wins, four playoffs in four years), remarkable since he’s lost three of the NBA’s biggest superstars to free agency or trades. With a boatload of first and second round draft picks coming his way as a result of shrewd trading by the Oklahoma City Thunder management, Donovan could easily become the only coach in history who won NCAA championships as well as a title in the NBA. There is a reason why Billy has been so successful. Al Horford pointed it out this past Saturday night prior to the University of Florida honoring Donovan by naming the O-Dome court after him. “What Coach Donovan has never done is make it about himself,” Horford said. “He has always made it about his players and the team. He can make you want to be part of something bigger than yourself.” By making it all about his players and the team, Billy was able to allow Joakim Noah to suck all the oxygen out of a room by his mere presence without hurting the concept of the team. Jo had to be Jo and Billy was able to let that happen while at the same time appealing to Noah’s sense of belonging. Noah wanted and needed to be a part of something even bigger than his enormous personality. Donovan’s concept of five guys on the floor playing as one made that possible. Jo could be Jo and still be the good teammate who didn’t care who scored or did what as long as the team won. If you want to know the real legacy of Billy Donovan the basketball coach, it’s about getting players to embrace the concept of being a part of something greater than themselves. Florida never outrecruited blueblood programs like Duke, North Carolina and Kansas but the Gators won championships with teams that believed they were the sum of all the parts. One final note: The starters for the 2006-07 back-to-back national champions were Noah, Horford, Corey Brewer, Taurean Green and Lee Humphrey. Brewer was a 5-star that Kentucky wasn’t interested in even though his home was two hours from Rupp Arena. An SEC head coach told Donovan he would be fortunate if Horford could contribute by his junior year. Other prominent coaches told him Noah would never make it. Taurean Green was Florida’s third choice for point guard in the 2004 class, getting his Florida offer after Jordan Farmar (UCLA) and Darius Washington (Memphis) chose someplace else. Lee Humphrey wasn’t even offered by Tennessee, just an hour from his hometown. GOOD QUOTES FOR MONDAY From Seth Davis of The Athletic, an unidentified SEC basketball coach speaking out about what he sees of the Florida Gators: “Their two freshmen, Scottie Lewis and Tre Mann, came in as McDonald’s All-Americans, but they haven’t lived up to that. Mann doesn’t impact the game, and he’s not very tough. They’re good college players, but they’re not the type who can come in and really impact the game in a huge way. They have limited depth. Kerry Blackshear is a good college player, but he’s not what people think. He’s not very athletic. He’s smart, but he’s not a shot blocker. He struggles with his back to the basket. You just have to try to take away his angles, because he’s not a guy who will jump over you and make shots. Mike White is a really good coach, but his talent was overrated.” From ESPN, Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner vents about how Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred didn’t go far enough in doling out the punishment to the Houston Astros for their sign-stealing scandal: “Now anyone who goes forward and cheats to win a World Series, they can live with themselves knowing that, ‘Oh, it’s OK … we’ll cheat in the World Series and bring the title back to L.A. Screw [manager] Dave Roberts and score [general manager] Andrew [Friedman]. It’s just those guys losing their jobs. I still get to be called a champion the rest of my life.’ So the precedent was set by him yesterday in this case.” MORE TUESDAY STUFF (1) John Beilein is the latest college coach who should have never ventured into the NBA. The former Michigan coach may be forced to resign this week by the Cleveland Cadavers, who are currently mired in last place in the NBA Eastern Division with the second worst record (14-40, only the Golden State Warriors are worse) in the entire league. Beilein is in the first year of a 5-year deal with the Cadavers so he’ll get the full buyout when the canning takes place. Because of his age (going on 67) many college athletic directors will be hesitant to hire him but Beilein is such a straight arrow that he might find a nice landing spot at a place like Arizona, Southern Cal, LSU, Kansas or Oregon where the NCAA shoe is about to drop like a 10-ton boulder. (2) Long-time NFL expert Peter King offers the following landing destinations that make the most sense for NFL free agent quarterbacks: (1) Tom Brady: remain with New England; (2) Drew Brees: remain with New Orleans; (3) Taysom Hill: remain with New Orleans as the successor to Brees; (4) Teddy Bridgewater: Tampa Bay; (5) Phillip Rivers: Indianapolis; (6) Ryan Tannehill: remain with Tennessee; (7) Cam Newton: Los Angeles Chargers. King also offered these predictions about draftable QBs: (1) Joe Burrow to Cincinnati; (2) Tua Tagovailoa to Miami unless the Dolphins trade the pick. (3) The Atlantic Coast Conference Monday backed a Big Ten proposal that will allow all undergraduates in any sport to transfer once without having to sit out. Currently, football, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball and hockey players have to sit a year unless they get a waiver but the new proposal will eliminate those restrictions. Under the proposal, a player making a second transfer would be required to sit out and there would be no waivers allowed. This is a much-needed proposal since it would eliminate the hypocrisy of coaches being able to come and go as they please while athletes are stuck where they are. It would also eliminate the hypocrisy in the waiver process where kids who can afford a good attorney (see Justin Fields; see Tate Martell) routinely beat the system. (4) Former Gator tight end Jordan Reed is expected to be released by the Washington Redskins this week. He suffered a concussion in an exhibition game against the Atlanta Falcons and never was cleared from the concussion protocol. He’s never played a full NFL season and has suffered several concussions. I know how players love the game and I realize there aren’t many jobs out there that pay the kind of money you make playing in the NFL, but there comes a time when you have to think about life beyond football and this is one of those times. RANDOM THOUGHTS: Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, on ESPN’s First Take with Stephen A. Smith, ripped into accusations by Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett that he only swung his helmet at helmet-less Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph after Rudolph used a racist slur. Tomlin pointed out that no one on the Browns or the Steelers has corroborated Garrett’s accusation … As if the Houston Astros need any more bad publicity with the continued fallout from the sign-stealing scandal, relief pitcher Francis Martes was suspended for 162 games for testing positive a second time for a performance enhancing substance. Martes tested positive for Boldenone, which is commonly used on horses … In the Rising Stars Challenge at the NBA All-Star Game in Chicago, Zion Williamson bent the rim with a hard dunk. Bending is pretty powerful, but pales in comparison to Wilt Chamberlain breaking a rim in half with a dunk back in the 1960s ... Mickey Wright died. In her incredible LPGA career, she won 82 tournaments including 13 majors. She was 85.

The night was about Billy Donovan. The new name gracing the corners of the court, the pregame buzz of excitement, the tribute videos, the halftime dedication—it was all for Donovan. But in this one moment, he stood back on the edge of the court, hands in his pockets and a huge grin split across his face as 28 of his former players convened at mid-court. On a night that was all about Billy Donovan, the under-12 timeout wasn’t and that was a testament to his legacy more than any other praise and adulation. "I think about from my first year all the way through to my 19th year and just the amount of people that helped me. My name is down there but a lot of people really, really helped me. And that's really to me what's so humbling, that everyone worked so hard,” said Donovan. The NBA All-Star break allowed Donovan—now the head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder—to return to Gainesville for the weekend. It’s also what allowed former players still in the league like Bradley Beal, Chris Chiozza and Mike Frazier to return. The 20+ other guys joined them and sat court side, cheering along with fans as the Gators defeated Vanderbilt 84-66 and giving a standing ovation for the coach that brought them all together. Related: The Gators rout Vandy on Donovan's special night The Stephen C. O’Connell Center will now feature Billy Donovan’s name on the floor, but it’s always been his court. His presence is lingering and palpable. It’s in the National Championship banners that hang in the rafters, the result of Donovan’s patience and coaching and ability to bring more out of a team than even they thought possible. It’s in the Gator logo where four seniors knelt in 2014 and gave it a kiss after he brought them together, developed them and had them stay for a final year to do something special. And on Saturday night, it was in the 28 players (and many more who were unable to attend) who share a common link—their love, admiration and respect for Billy Donovan. So in the spirit of Billy Donovan and the motivation behind so much of what he did, we turn this over to those players. This was the night through their eyes. Bradley Beal, rocking a vintage Gators sweater and hat mind you, sat in the middle of the players row and threw up the three sign every time a Gator hit from downtown...which happened 10 times (six alone from Noah Locke). He was only able to attend after being unjustly snubbed from the NBA All-Star game but it at least allowed him to spend some time celebrating his favorite coach with those that felt the same. “It’s an incredible honor for him. I told him earlier that I was a chocolate chip in part of his ultimate cookie, of all the guys you’ve had come through and all the success you had. It’s a blessing to be apart of that and a blessing to be here and share that moment with him. It was a father-son relationship we had. Everyday talks, constant communication even to this day we stay in constant communication even though he’s on a western conference team. He lured me in from day one. He never guaranteed me anything. He made me work for everything and he challenged me both on and off the floor and I thank him for that and that’s why I respect him so much and why I’m appreciative of him. A lot of the morals and values I have today are because of him. "We're all a great talent one way or another but we'd be lying if we said it wasn't because of Billy. So we're happy that we're a part of his family and that we're able to share this moment for him. “It’s tough to put into words [what he means to me]. He’s, I would say he’s the best coach I ever played for, for sure. He’s an even better guy. It’s definitely hard to put into words. I’m kind of gassing his head up but he’s unbelievable. He’s a true figure. He’s a role model in all aspects of life. He’s just perfect. “We talked a lot from him recruiting me and that whole process. A lot of people don’t know that I committed to him as a sophomore. We had a relationship from sophomore year all the way up until I came here. It was just unbelievable. He’s the reason I am who I am today.” Patric Young was one of the more vocal and encouraging leaders to come through Gainesville in the last decade. So it’s little surprise that as the horde of players waited to take the court, the former center stood out front and coached from the bench. “Come on Jason,” he encouraged as the freshman center sprinted to the basket on fast break play. Young has become more of a fixture around Gainesville after playing professionally in Europe for several years. He became a man in this arena, creating a tether that pulls him back. He has Billy Donovan to thank for that. “What Coach Donovan means to me, he’s just impacted my life so greatly as a man, as a player. Definitely leaving the program, you understand how good you have things. You take things for granted sometimes when you’re removed from them but I wouldn’t have changed—I wouldn’t change a single moment. Wish I would’ve grew up a little bit faster and the guy I was my senior year, I wish I could’ve walked in on campus and been that guy from day one but Coach Donovan, I just love the guy so much. He’s such a great father figure to me, just as a man, as a coach, just teaching me what it means to be the best I can be every single day.” Like Beal, Chris Chiozza only played one year for Donovan. “Cheese” finished his career in Gainesville under Mike White after Donovan took his job with the Thunder. At the under-8 timeout, White looked up and found Chiozza in his huddle. “I almost called a play for him. Go get it Cheese,” joked White. But the 2017 March Madness hero (we can call him a hero because that pull up floater to beat Wisconsin in overtime will live in forever and he got so much air on that run that he still hasn’t hit the ground) was there for Billy D. As players left the court following their timeout recognition, Donovan greeted and hugged each guy. The last guy was Chris Chiozza. “I love you Cheese,” said Donovan, holding on for a second longer to the Brooklyn Nets guard. “It means a lot,” commented Chiozza, “even with a guy like me who only played with him for one year, just the relationship I have with him and that he built with my parents and stuff, he's one of those guys, as soon as you meet him, you could tell he’s a genuine guy. He really builds a relationship with you outside of basketball and it’s one of those guys that you can have in your life as a lifetime friend, one of those guys, you’re gonna run through a wall for him and he’ll do the same for you every day. “It’s crazy to see how many people he had, how many great players and just how great of a program he helped build and how it prospered under him, so just coming back and seeing all these guys together, I don’t know if there’s ever been something like this where you walk in and you see 15 NBA guys in here and we come together, we talking like we just played on the same team as each other and most of us was years apart, it’s just through that relationship with coach Donovan and through that relationship that you have, that brotherhood you have just being a Florida alumni. It’s just like you have family forever here.” We’d be remiss to not mention Al and Jo. The room shifted the moment Joakim Noah came through the door. Attention naturally turned to the 6’11” former center as he greeted old friends and the coach for whom he won back-to-back championships. He sat near his best friend Al Horford and the two stayed locked in all night, cheering on their alma mater, hurling taunts towards officials following questionable calls and spending every available moment catching up with their coach. “So many good memories but just him really caring for his players and those times are the ones I remember most. It’s not necessarily what we did on the court but off the court,” recalled Horford. “He means a lot. He’s somebody very special to me, just proud of him and tonight we’re just celebrating him and all his accomplishments and everything he’s done for the University of Florida.” As the night drew to a close and all 28 of those former players finished signing autographs, taking pictures and shuffled off their home court, the current Gators team hung back, letting their predecessors have their moment. Finally, they were able to head towards their locker room. Graduate transfer Kerry Blackshear Jr.—the elder and leader for this 2019-2020 team—was the last to step off the court. Billy Donovan was waiting for him, in the shadows under the stands and able to catch KJ just before he stepped through the door. For a couple of minutes the two spoke, the legendary coach and the player who to that point knew him only by legend. “He just said that I’m a pretty good player,” grinned Blackshear, “so I appreciated that. And he just acknowledged that this team can go far, we just gotta take ownership and lead this group and that’s something I think’ll stick with me. “It was great. He was like one of the coaches I grew up like watching like in my living room, like shootin’ hoops with my brothers so it was great.” The night was about Billy Donovan. The new name gracing the corners of the court, the pregame buzz of excitement, the tribute videos, the halftime dedication—it was all for Donovan. But it came to a close with him encouraging and inspiring another player and in the process, the Florida Gators, which is really the most Donovan thing of all.

A VERY DONOVAN-LIKE WIN AT THE O-DOME It seems only fitting that on the night when the basketball court at the O-Dome was named after Billy Donovan that the Gators (16-9, 8-4 SEC) would give the sellout crowd a very Donovan-like performance in knocking off Vanderbilt, 84-66. With 28 former players including Al Horford, Joakim Noah, Brad Beal and Patric Young attending as well as former assistants Larry Shyatt and Donnie Jones, the Gators put together a second straight game in which the spacing and passing on offense was extraordinary. That opened the door for Noah Locke to continue his hot shooting streak, this time going 6-8 from the three-point line, a follow-up to last Wednesday’s 5-10 game against Texas A&M. In winning their second straight game to stay two games behind SEC leader Kentucky and a game behind second-place LSU and Auburn, the Gators hit 51.9% of their shots overall and 10-20 from the three-point line. The Gators held Vanderbilt to 38.8% shooting and only a late game flurry of threes with the game well out of hand made the score respectable. With Andrew Nembhard and Keyontae Johnson riding the pine with early foul trouble, the Gators streaked to a 48-19 first half lead, running the offense through Kerry Blackshear Jr. Whenever Vanderbilt tried to double up on Blackshear when he got the ball in the low blocks, he passed out to open shooters. Florida’s ball movement was exceptional because very few of the Gators’ shots were contested. Locke, especially, was the beneficiary. He’s hit 38-74 from the three-point line in Florida’s 12 conference games and he’s 43.7% for the season which is tied for 11th nationally. Next up for the Gators is a Tuesday night encounter at the O-Dome with a reeling but dangerous Arkansas (16-9, 4-8 SEC) team that has lost four in a row and seven of its last nine games. With six games remaining in the regular season, the Gators are playing for seeding at the SEC Tournament as well as for their NCAA Tournament lives. Currently, the Gators are tied with South Carolina for that top four spot in the SEC standings which would ensure a two-day bye in Nashville. Figure it will take a minimum of three wins to take the two-day bye away from South Carolina and a minimum of three wins plus maybe one in Nashville for UF to make the NCAA field. SEC BASKETBALL Tuesday’s games Arkansas (16-9, 4-8 SEC) at FLORIDA (16-9, 8-4 SEC), ESPNU Vanderbilt (9-16, 1-11 SEC) at Tennessee (14-11, 6-6 SEC), SEC Network Ole Miss (13-12, 4-8 SEC) at Missouri (12-13, 4-8 SEC), SEC Network #12 Kentucky (20-5, 10-2 SEC) at #25 LSU (18-7, 9-3 SEC), ESPN Wednesday’s games #11 Auburn (22-3, 9-3 SEC) at Georgia (12-13, 2-10 SEC), ESPN2 Texas A&M (12-12, 6-6 SEC) at Alabama (14-11, 6-6 SEC), SEC Network South Carolina (16-9, 8-4 SEC) at Mississippi State (16-9, 7-5 SEC), SEC Network GATORS OUTSCORE MARSHALL 34-10 IN THREE GAMES Kevin O’Sullivan has been saying he’s got some hitters. The Marshall Thundering Herd would probably agree after the Gators (3-0) swept their opening weekend series by outscoring the Herd, 34-10, with seven balls leaving the yard at McKethan Stadium. Florida took game one 9-2 and followed that up with a 10-0 win on Saturday. In both those wins, the Gators got outstanding pitching from starters Tommy Mace and Jack Leftwich to go with great work out of the bullpen. Sunday, the ball was flying as Brady Smith homered twice while Austin Langworthy and Cory Acton each added their first home runs of the season. In their Friday night win, Mace allowed eight hits and two runs while striking out six in six innings. Kris Armstrong hit a three-run homer and Josh Rivera hit a solo shot to back Mace. Saturday, Leftwich gave up three hits and struck out eight in six innings. He got all the support he needed in the fourth when Kendrick Calilao hit a two-run double. Sunday, Marshall jumped on the Gators for a 5-2 lead in the first two innings, but the Herd didn’t have the pitching to hold the Gators down. Smith hit a solo homer in the fourth and a three-run homer in the seventh as part of a five RBI game. Austin Langworthy had a two-run homer in the first and Cory Acton had a solo homer in the seventh. For the weekend Kirby McMullen hit .625 with three doubles and three RBI. Next up for the Gators is Jacksonville on the road Tuesday with the Dolphins coming to McKethan Stadium Wednesday evening. Other UF sports: Florida’s 8th-ranked softball team improved to 11-1 by winning all six games of the Bubly Invitational at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium by a combined 41-2. Charla Echols went 11-19 with a homer and nine RBI while leadoff hitter Hannah Adams went 9-17 with a homer and four RBI. Florida pitchers delivered four shutouts and gave up only one run in the other two games. Natalie Lugo is now 4-1 with an 0.81 ERA while Rylee Trlicek is 4-0 with a 1.18 ERA ... Florida’s 14th-ranked lacrosse team (2-0) scored a 15-14 win over #1 Maryland, ending the Terps’ 86-game home winning streak. Shannon Kavanaugh scored eight goals including the game-winner with 49 seconds remaining. MIND OVER MATTER ON A MONDAY (1) It’s a sign of the times that this is the final season the Gators play at McKethan Stadium before moving to their new palace of a ball yard on the west side of campus. At 95% of the schools that play baseball in NCAA Division I, McKethan would be considered the palace that the Gators will be moving into next season. Essentially, there isn’t all that much wrong with McKethan but if you’re going to compete with the rest of the SEC where you have extraordinary ball yards such as the ones at Mississippi State, Arkansas, LSU, South Carolina, Ole Miss, Alabama and Texas A&M, you better have a great place to play. Florida’s new ball yard will deliver on that and where The Mac stands today will be Florida’s long overdue football facility. (2) Whatever they are charging for admission to Florida gymnastics meets, Trinity Thomas is worth twice the price. Thomas scored her third 10 of the season – second on the balance beam – when the Gators absolutely poleaxed Auburn on the road Friday night, 197.875-194.750, which is like a football team winning by six or seven touchdowns. In addition to her perfect 10 on the beam, Thomas also won the bars, floor exercise and all-around at 39.775. Thomas ranks #1 nationally in the beam and floor exercise and she’s fifth in the all-around although her winning score against Auburn is the second highest of the season. The Gators, who have the highest team score in a meet this year (198.375) are ranked second nationally behind Oklahoma. (3) The more I see of Baylor (23-1), the more I’m convinced the Bears have what it takes to win the NCAA basketball championship. Baylor is easily the nation’s best defensive team, allowing only 58.4 points per game. Only Villanova (78) and Oklahoma State (70) have scored 70 points against Baylor. Mark Vital is such a lock down defender that he doesn’t even have to score to be Baylor’s most valuable player … The second best team in the country – at least the way they’re playing right now – is Kansas (22-3. After that, the best teams I’ve seen are Gonzaga (26-1), San Diego State (26-0), Maryland (21-4) and Dayton (26-2). (4) UEFA, which rules soccer in Europe, has fined Manchester City $32.5 million and banned the team from participating in the next two Champions League tournaments for what has been called “serious breaches” of spending rules. After seeing a tweet about the fine and ban, the Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant chain tweeted out “That’s how you punish a team that cheats.” The tweet didn’t mention the Houston Astros by name but it was perfectly clear that’s who was the intended recipient of the barb. After Houston fans erupted in anger, Buffalo Wild Wings caved by tweeting, “So last night was the Roast of Buffalo Wild Wings, courtesy of the City of Houston. And honestly, we deserved it. Well done H-Town for coming to your team’s defense, and we’re sorry about what we posted.” (5) After seeing what Mel Tucker got from Michigan State to bolt Colorado, I have to wonder how long the Pac-12 is going to be able to hold onto coaches like Mario Cristobal (Oregon) and Kyle Whittingham (Utah). Cristobal makes $2.6 million while Whittingham makes $3.3 million. Cristobal makes about $200,000 more than what Auburn pays defensive coordinator Kevin Steele. At $3.3 million, Whittingham would be the 13th highest paid head coach in the SEC. Cristobal went 12-2, won the Pac-12 and the Rose Bowl in his second season on the job. Whittingham has had two unbeaten seasons in his career. Put in better perspective, Eli Drinkwitz, whose only claim to fame is winning the Sun Belt Conference championship at Appalachian State in his only year as a head coach, is being paid $5.1 million by Missouri. The Pac-12s problem is money, as in not enough of it. The league distributes $30 million a year to its 12 members, almost $16 million less than the SEC and $20 million less than the Big Ten. GOOD QUOTES FOR MONDAY From Sports Illustrated legal analyst Michael McCann, there could be long term ramifications for Nike and for several NCAA basketball programs following the trial and conviction of lawyer Michael Avenatti: “While the trial was about Avenatti’s wrongdoing, Nike and its sponsored schools may have suffered collateral damage. This is particularly apparent with respect to testimony by [AAU basketball coach Gary] Franklin. While under oath and under penalty for perjury, Franklin acknowledged that he helped arrange for bribes to a number of amateur players or their family members. Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton (who played for Arizona), Denver Nuggets center Bol Bol (Oregon) and G League center Brandon McCoy (UNLV) were all implicated by Franklin. He also said he took these actions on behalf of Nike. It stands to reason that the NCAA will look into the alma maters of players mentioned during the Avenatti trial.” From Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports, the absurdity of Houston Astros owner Jim Crane blaming his manager and GM while claiming that stealing signals in 2017 didn’t impact the outcome of games: “Jim Crane thinks his players are idiots apparently. So dumb they didn’t even know that getting tipped off to what pitch was coming was against the rules of a game they’ve played their entire life. That’s kind of humiliating to hear from your boss, but whatever. These are the Houston Astros. Self-inflicted humiliation is what they truly do best.” RANDOM THOUGHTS: Alabama retired the basketball jersey of Wendell Hudson over the weekend. He was the first scholarship athlete in any sport at Alabama. He averaged 19.2 points and 12 rebounds per game and was the 1973 SEC Player of the Year … Michigan State’s new HBC Mel Tucker came after Kentucky D-line coach Vince Marrow but Marrow said no. Undaunted, Tucker tried again with a stronger monetary offer and Marrow again said no … How’s this for pressure? Shareef O’Neal will only have to pass by the statue of pops Shaquille O’Neal every time he walks by the Maravich Center now that he’s transferring from UCLA to LSU. Shareef is a 6-9, 220-pound power forward who played half a season at UCLA this year after taking a redshirt for open heart surgery in 2018-19 … Tony Fernandez, a 5-time all-star shortstop who had nine RBI to help the Toronto Blue Jays win the 1993 World Series, died of kidney failure. He was 57 years old.

Tim Walton says ‘it’s a new everything.’ And that includes the search for a new No. 1 pitcher. BY AINSLIE LEE GatorBait Columnist Victim of identity theft, Florida softball is doing some soul searching. Who are they? Who do they want to be? Graduation, the same pesky ceremony that rips Gator greats out of uniform each year, claimed two of the most identifiable female athletes to ever play in the orange and blue. Kelly Barnhill, who owns the UF record for most strikeouts with 1,208, leaves Florida with a sense of emptiness in the pitching circle. Meanwhile, an Amanda Lorenz shaped hole affixes itself in the batting lineup. The Gators likely miss Lorenz’s vocal leadership, as well. Barnhill and Lorenz were undoubtedly the faces of Tim Walton’s program. Now they’re gone. “You always feel the emptiness of having world-class players in your program every time you graduate one,” Walton said. “So to say we won’t feel that loss of the graduation of Amanda or Kelly would be an understatement.” Just as Tim Tebow left Gainesville in 2009, Barnhill and Lorenz’s departure leaves Florida softball searching for that “next man up” — or next woman up, if you will. And because there isn’t an immediate successor for two of Florida softball’s greatest talents, Tim Walton was forced to adapt to his surroundings. “It’s a new team, it’s a new mantra, it’s a new everything, really,” Walton said of Florida’s 2020 roster. Historically driven by hard-nosed defense and pitching excellence, this season is slated to be significantly different. For the first time since their 2008 campaign, the Gators don’t have a returning All-American pitcher on their roster. And less than two weeks before Florida’s opening game, Tim Walton had no answers as to who would be starting in the circle. “I don’t think we have a number one (pitcher), to be honest with you,” Walton said during Florida softball’s media day. “We had Natalie Lugo and Rylee Trlicek probably had the two best falls… we’re just going to go with what’s going, and (you) might see five pitchers in every game this season.” In Florida’s season opener against Illinois State on Friday night, Natalie Lugo was “what’s going” as she pitched a complete game. With a pitch count of 111, Lugo also dealt 11 Ks in the 4-1 victory over the Redbirds. However, in Saturday’s double-header, Florida was forced to illustrate the latter half of Walton’s preseason pitching prediction. After a tight 6-4 victory over Fresno State in game one on Saturday, Florida’s biggest test of the USF-Rawlings Invitational came in the second game. Set to face off against the No. 17-ranked Michigan Wolverines, Walton was forced to deploy four of his pitchers on the staff as the maize and blue had their way with Florida in an 11-2 trouncing. Things began to unravel early on for the Gators as Michigan went on a five-run two-out rally in the top of the first inning with Lugo in the circle. However, it was a pair of uncharacteristic errors in the field that really contributed to the dismal opening inning. Freshman Rylee Trlicek also saw plenty of action in opening weekend. Commended by Walton in the off season, Gator Nation was able to catch a glimpse of the Texan’s promise as she recorded her first no-hitter in the orange and blue. Becoming the first freshman to toss a no-hitter since Barnhill in 2016, Trlicek did so in speedy fashion. Needing just 67 pitches and five innings, the Gators were able to run-rule Georgia State 10-0 on day three of the USF-Rawlings Invitational. And while the pitching against Georgia State stood out, the runs didn’t score themselves. Knowing his defense might be lacking -- at least in comparison to what it has been in recent years -- Walton figured his team would have to compensate from inside the batter’s box. “I think this team has a chance to be a little more exciting,” Walton said during media day on Jan. 27. Referring to the “casual fan,” Walton knows that his typical stingy defense doesn’t make for the most entertaining softball. But rest assured offense-junkies, this year’s lineup brings tons of promise. While the Gators return a number of sluggers, a new face is set to (and already has) turned heads. Coming out of Michigan State byway of the transfer portal, Charla Echols, a sophomore third baseman has just the thing Walton and the Gators are looking for. “She has the red in her eyes that wants to kill you in the game that Amanda Lorenz had,” Walton said of Echols. “The closer we get to games, the more you’ll see Charla Echols smile. You’ll see the whiteness of her teeth out there and she’ll start to smile.” “And,” Walton begins with a brief pause. “She wants to kill you. That’s her mentality.” Echols’ scary mentality was put on display in opening weekend at the new-Gator debut with seven hits on 15 at-bats for an average of .467. The Georgia native scored a teammate on each of her hits and netted a two-bagger and two home runs in Tampa. In day three of the invitational, senior catcher Jordan Roberts appeared as though she was working her way out of a batting slump that got the best of her for the majority of last season. On Sunday, Roberts cranked a total of three home runs with two coming against Georgia State and one coming against USF. As a team, a total of nine balls were smacked over the wall, with the hits coming off of the bats of six different Gators. If the “casual fan,” as Walton refers to them, wanted “exciting,” this year’s Gator softball team just might be able to deliver. Though Florida softball might be considerably different in comparison to recent years, senior first baseman, Kendyl Lindaman, has the perfect message for players and fans, alike: “(Walton) Tells us all the time, it’ll be a different type of game,” Lindaman said. “But that doesn’t mean we’re out of the game.” Later in the week, after finishing 4-1 at the USF-Rawlings Invitational, Florida softball returned to Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium to host Team USA -- which included a handful of familiar faces for Walton. Returning to Gainesville for the exhibition game on Tuesday night, Michelle Moultrie (2009-12), Aubree Munro (2013-16) and Kelsey Stewart (2013-16) paid Walton an emotional visit at home plate before the start of the game. Team USA, which will head to Tokyo this summer (Walton will too, he revealed), punished the Gators early as they put up four runs in the top of the third. Meanwhile, pitching for the red, white and blue was former-Tennessee Volunteer Monica Abbott. The 34-year-old ace plucked away at Florida's batters one by one in her 13 strikeout outing. Finally, in the bottom of the sixth, with UCLA-grad Rachel Garcia in the circle for Team USA, the Gators got on the board with a two-run shot from Kendyl Lindaman. By the bottom of the seventh, the winning run would walk to the plate in Hannah Adams. In a full count with just one out to give, Adams flew out to right-centerfield to put the game away. Florida's 5-3 loss to Team USA won't contribute to its overall record, but it won't be forgotten anytime soon, either. Especially by Walton.

And about those five stars? He worked hard to earn them. BY KASSIDY HILL GatorBait Columnist Joe Goerge’s phone was ringing with calls from all across the country Because Joe Goerge had a connection, an inside track to hottest ticket on what has become college football’s free agent market. Wide receiver Justin Shorter -- the former 5-star and number one ranked player coming out of New Jersey -- was transferring from Penn State. And with the news Goerge, his high school coach, began fielding requests. “Every school, schools that don’t even recruit here — Oklahoma State, Texas — these teams are calling to me to see what I could do,” said Goerge. He laughs now at the seeming absurdity of the hoop-la … but he also understands. After all Joe Goerge had a front row seat to the making of Justin Shorter. As he recalls it for GatorBait Magazine, it was quite a show. “There was no doubt what kind of talent he had.” Shorter first came to Goerge’s attention when Justin was in 8th grade. He was primarily a baseball player at the time but dipped his toe into football — and promptly broke his ankle. But the glimpse was enough. When he began his freshman year, Goerge and staff immediately brought Shorter up to the JV team. As a sophomore, he was playing with the varsity team. His junior year he, “just kinda took off.” Over the next two years Shorter put together a stat sheet that boasted 81 receptions for 1,240 yards and 13 touchdowns. During that time he also had 51 rushes for 405 yards and five touchdowns. Then for good measure he tossed 80 yards on 3-5 with a touchdown. He never came off the field, explains Goerge, playing defense and special teams as well. In route to a state championship Shorter’s sophomore year and then again his senior year, South Brunswick’s game plan became simple yet lethal. “Anytime we needed something, it was the unwritten rule, anytime we get one-on-one coverage, we just tell the quarterback, throw the ball as far as you can,” because Justin had to be down there somewhere. “And there were times, senior year, we lost our quarterback in the semifinal playoff game and we had a wildcat package and on the first play, we had Justin obviously as the wildcat, and on the first play, he goes 65 yards for a touchdown. It’s a 14-7 game with two minutes to go and they’re moving the ball a little bit and he picks off a pass and goes 70 yards for a touchdown the other way to seal it. And for us, he never came off the field. Offense, defense, special teams, it did not matter.” At 6-4 and 213 in high school with the ability to show up anywhere on the field, offers poured in and with them came adulations, attention and potential for an egotistical prospect. Instead Goerge saw the state’s top recruit work even harder. The son of educators, Shorter saw the importance of continuously learning, improving on what you already knew. “For a guy that had all that publicity, all of that recognition, he constantly was working on the little — 1, 2, 3 get out of the break. He constantly grabbed quarterbacks — older, younger, senior — to say ‘hey can you throw? Can you throw Saturday morning, can you throw Friday night?’ And of course in today’s day and age with the kids, they tweet it and they film it and you see it all the time, 10 o’clock at night he’s up at the Rutgers bubble throwing balls with the Rutgers quarterback.” Shorter committed to Penn State and dislocated his kneecap as a freshman. The typically six-week recovery meant Shorter missed practice time and he eventually redshirted his freshman season, having appeared in only four games. During those games, he caught a grand total of three passes for 20 yards. His redshirt freshman campaign went statistically better, hauling in 12 passes for 137 yards. He did not score a touchdown. Penn State’s passing offense was 76th in FBS, averaging 221.3 yards per game through the air. They threw 26 passes of 25+ yards. None of those to Justin Shorter. “My only question in watching the games this year at Penn State that I could, watching the coaches I’d say ‘God they never lead Justin deep.’ He had a 4.43 laser time 40.” That’s something Goerge hopes is about to change. On November 26, following Penn State’s loss to No. 3 Ohio State, Shorter put his name in the transfer portal. On January 26, he committed to the Florida Gators. Recruiting rankings as of yet do not account for transfers, but there’s little doubt the Gators roster — which said goodbye to four senior wideouts — instantly got better. “He's a guy that's got tremendous size and athleticism,” commented head coach Dan Mullen on February’s National Signing Day. “He’s a mismatch at the outside, got great speed, good hands, good route runner, can be a mismatch. So I love that part of him, watching him on film, both from high school and at Penn State. “But then when you get around him and you get around him as a person and his family, great kid, high-character guy, hard worker, really fits what we are as a program, and that's what I'm really excited to get him here. I know he's really excited to get here and be a part of it, and I'm really excited to get him here.” Mullen’s penchant for jet sweeps could continue to flourish with Shorter according to Goerge. His speed means it’s an area his coaches often used him at South Brunswick. But it’s not where he shines the brightest. Florida favored the middle of the field in 2019, partly due to talent that could exploit the area. The Gators did still out-pace the Nittany Lions though, throwing 34 passes of 25+ yards. They threw for 15+ yards 94 times. Tre Grimes is a deep field threat but has proven more valuable with screens that allow him to break tackles and win in a foot race. Kadarius Toney is especially lethal in the middle of the field with open space. Tight end Kyle Pitts has become a chess piece that Mullen moves around based on matchups. But there hasn’t been a legitimate pure down field threat in this corps. Until now. “He’s a great big target whether he’s running the out routes, the dig routes, the curl routes,” notes Goerge. “He’s got phenomenal speed for a guy that big and physical. So yeah, I look forward, I think, to a nice, fresh start. It’s exciting for him.”

BY BUDDY MARTIN GATORBAIT EDITOR Sometimes I feel ignorant, other times I wonder if I know too much. How can this be? If I say “college football recruiting” and “cheating,” do they go together like peanut butter and jelly or Batman and Robin? How much cheating is real or rumor these days? Is it just an accepted practice that we wink at? And does anybody care anymore? When is the “truth” not the truth? That’s the problem today with lots of things, including politics. You know the old axiom: Looks like a duck, walks like a duck, must be a duck. Today’s response would be, “What duck?” We all think we know about college football and basketball programs buying or bribing players and there is no doubt that it has gone on before and continues to do so, but at what pace and what degree? And where? Let me be up front: There is no way I can crack the code on cheating in recruiting. Nor am I and going to try. But if we don’t talk about it, acknowledge it and stop embracing the hypocrisy of it, then we are doomed to keep repeating it. So at the very least we start here. “Everybody breaks the speed limit,” writes my friend Tom. “But only certain people get caught.” I love college sports, especially college football, and I don’t wish to discredit, dent it or destroy it. I don’t know for certain who the worst cheaters are in college football, but like you, I have heard stories from credible sources, and in some cases seen documented cases. But I’m not sure if it’s better or worse today under to neutered version of the NCAA, which many people already feel is a current sham of a governing agency and is pretty much an abject failure. On the other hand, it’s a little bit like being mayor of ungovernable New York City. It’s still the Big Apple in all its glory, warts and all. You gotta keep trying. I’m not interested in engaging the modern version of Woodward & Bernstein to do a blowout investigation of what we all already know to be a perplexing fact: Everybody cheats in college football and basketball recruiting, mostly with money and things that money can buy -- sometimes influence. For whatever reason it can’t be policed and most people have come to accept it or just look the other way. “It’s like some fans say, ‘All those coaches making all those millions? Why should I worry about a kid getting a car?’ said my friend Tony Barnhart, aka Mr. College Football. We rarely hear or read about the cheaters or cheating -- except as cheap gossip at a cocktail party or bar or the rumor mongers of the Internet. I’ve just never understood why we can’t just talk about it, even if we can’t fix it. So this week I started out on a journey, posting the following Facebook and Twitter messages: (I have received a modest written response on social media and the nightly streamed Buddy Martin Show.) SO WHO’S GOT THE SCOOP ON CHEATING IN CFB? Even though I’ve been around the game all my life, I still don’t know the answer to this: Is cheating just an accepted practice in college football? And if you say yes, can you prove it? Do you have first-hand knowledge of players receiving money or goods? We’ve all heard stories about new cars and cash and special favors, but what do we really know? Do you have proof? I’m not naïve enough to think it’s not a frequent practice with so much money flowing under and above the table. I’m on a mission to educate myself over the next year – not so much looking for scandal as I am trying to discern the process and how commonplace payoffs are today. Are there bagmen dressed up in three-piece suits? Where does the money come from, where does it go and who decides? How do head coaches have plausible deniability and keep their distance? If you have information, evidence or bonafide stories and evidence, share them with me here – or DM me. (Or email me GatorBaitEditor@gmail.com) I have been talking to former college and high school coaches, most of whom are reluctant to point the finger. I don’t need your innuendo or fabrication about your rival school. Share what you can, if you can, and be willing to point in a direction as I educate myself about: Cheating in College Football Recruiting: Fact or Fiction? I intend to keep asking and talking and writing about this topic in some fashion for the next year without obsessing over it. Maybe it will turn out, as Mr. CFB said, that it’s a case of hardly anybody caring about it. It would certainly appear that way when the FBI has already fingered two big name basketball coaches (Sean Miller of Arizona and Will Wade of LSU) have been exposed by the FBI and are still coaching. There’s a lot to not understand here. So a embark on a tour of curiosity. At this writing I’ve talked to about 10 people and I intend to keep talking, expanding that circle and the dialogue from it in the next year -- simply because it’s too important NOT to at least have a conversation about, even if it’s not an investigative piece with empirical evidence. So far I have chatted with a half dozen writers, two former college coaches, one high school coach and several broadcasters. In the coming weeks I will speak to two more former college coaches, one current one, two high profile journalists, and continue asking readers of GatorBait and listeners to The Buddy Martin Show about it. One former major college coach who has been a critic of the system now says he believes there is often a lot of smoke but not so much fire. Assistant coaches under pressure who lose prized recruits will sometimes accuse rivals of buying players “just to have an excuse to cover their asses,” he says. As for the idle chatter, “a lot of them talk about it, but when you try and pin them down they have no proof.” Yet one prominent college football writer who has covered the game for four decades says he has known first-hand of players being paid off, but that the NCAA won’t come after the schools unless it’s egregious. “EVERY body cheats to one degree or another,” he said. “And I mean EVERY one. Some more than others.” Take the high profile case of Cam Newton, who was about to be kicked out of Florida for owning a stolen computer, went away to JUCO and came back to shop his wares in the SEC. His father reportedly put Cam on the open market, asking Mississippi State a certain sum for Cam’s talents. Pete Thamel, then of the New York Times, wrote a story about it quoting the person who said he was brokering the deal: “The star Auburn quarterback Cam Newton will likely face greater N.C.A.A. scrutiny after a series of allegations by Kenny Rogers, a recruiter with financial ties to an N.F.L. agent, that could affect Newton’s eligibility Rogers said Thursday on ESPN Radio in Dallas that Cecil Newton Sr., Newton’s father, wanted “anywhere between $100,000 and $180,000” for his son to sign with Mississippi State, which would be a violation of N.C.A.A. rules. Rogers said he called a Mississippi State booster to attempt to broker the deal.” Of course Newton wound up at Auburn where they won a national championship. And the next logical question was “how much”? “How much ever it was, it was worth every penny,” said a former coach recruiter at Auburn (not during the Cam era, however), FSU, Ole Miss and several other schools. “And they got a bargain.” There are two kinds of cheaters, said another source: “Caught and uncaught.” The “bagman” is sometimes connected to a rich booster. The cash transaction, say my sources, is usually done by an assistant coach, who funnels money to a person or entity for, say,15 percent off the top. Supposedly that assistant works independently of the head coach so that the head coach can claim “plausible deniability.” The so-called “bagman” won’t turn in the school because he never claimed the money to the IRS. One former coach said that the “15 percenters” have even been churches, who more or less “launder the money” and dispense it to the family of the recruit. As I said, these are just probable scenarios offered by credible sources, but unproven and undocumented. That’s just a taste of one schematic in the Anatomy of a Cheater. I’m not sure where it goes from here. But if you have first-hand knowledge of cheating in recruiting that you can document, write me at GatorBaitEditor.com.

It was hard not to be star struck as the Florida Gators tipped off against the Vanderbilt Commodores on Saturday night. With halftime set aside to honor former coach Billy Donovan, court side was lined with former Gators—some who had gone on to NBA fame, some still playing in the league and tons who had etched their name in Florida lore. They drew attention naturally which may be why Kerry Blackshear Jr. and Dylan Disu had to re-do the tipoff. No one was paying attention the first time. But for as much attention as was deservedly focused on Donovan and his guys, there was still a game to play. As the NCAA Tournament creeps closer and closer, Florida—sitting at 15-9 coming into the night—needs every win to help their hopes of making the dance…and for a decent seed at that. The Gators got a step closer on Saturday, moving to 16-9, 8-4 with their 84-66 win over the Dores (9-16, 1-11). The offense was hard to find in the first 10 minutes. During that time frame, there were six turnovers and 28 points scored…collectively. The only real highlights were courtesy of Joakim Noah and Al Horford (both 2004-2007) getting into the fan spirit and letting an official hear the taunts after a questionable foul called on point guard Andrew Nembhard. With just over seven minutes to play in the half, Noah Locke hit a three—one of six on the night as he had a team high 19 points. Locke’s three point performance gave him a long ball in 23 straight games, tied for 8th longest streak in program history. He tied Dorian Finney-Smith, who got to watch the feat in person, on All-Star break from the Dallas Mavericks to be there for Donovan’s celebration. Down the row from Finney-Smith sat Michael Frazier. He’s who Locke is chasing as Frazier still owns the school record at 41 games. Locke’s shot sent the Gators on a 23-8 run to end the half up by 29, including a three-pointer from Gainesville native and freshman guard Tre Mann with eight seconds left that gave him a surreal moment with a hero. The shot fell and Mann turned to the bench and blew a kiss towards Brad Beal (2011-2012). “It was just kinda cool. Bradley Beal one of my favorite players. I saw him right there before the game and so the shot happened to go in right there, so I knew they were behind me so just did something to show him a little love.” It was in that first half stretch that the Gators played what White called their most “mature” game of the year. The lead proved substantial enough to hold against a Vanderbilt second half surge. Following a win earlier in the week against Texas A&M, the Gators have back-to-back performances that didn’t require strictly on luck or late shots but instead built a lead thanks to efficient sets and extra passes and didn’t crumble when the opponent made any attempt at a run. The Dores went 8-13 from beyond the arc with all eight of the makes coming in the second half. Florida answered, forcing eight turnovers in the final 20 minutes (19 total) and knocking down eight blocks. Capitalizing largely off the transition, the Gators shot 52% in both halves. “We tried to continue it from last game and we were stretching it a lot in practice this week and we came out, moved it well again tonight and we were hitting shots. Hopefully we can continue next game, just keep it going,” said Mann. The Dores were playing without their head coach. Jerry Stackhouse was ejected with four seconds remaining in the first 20 minutes after arguing a collision that left Matthew Moyer with a shoulder injury. Andrew Nembhard played 19 minutes, the second fewest of his career (16 versus Vanderbilt on February 13, 2019), a decision White said stemmed from his four personal fouls but also the Gators upcoming schedule and NCAA Tournament. Ques Glover played 22 minutes and scored eight in his place, while dishing three assists. Forward Kerry Blackshear Jr. is the cog though and the offense has begun to rotate more around his presence. On Friday, guard Scottie Lewis told reporters “if KJ can touch the ball every possession, the plus-minus of this team is going to be ridiculous.” Blackshear’s plus-minus was 16 (Lewis had a team high 28) and it was his passing ability—especially in Nembhard’s absence—that facilitated the productive offense thanks to his team high five assists as White explains. “When both Omar [Payne] and Keyontae [Johnson] are playing well it allows KJ to do a lot different things for us and obviously take pressure off of [Payne] and they benefit from him as well. For a 6’9”, 6’10” guy, he’s such a good passer and he’s such a willing passer…five assists, one turnover. He took six shots, he could’ve squeezed off 10 of them easily but he’s very unselfish and he really sees the floor well.” With the game firmly in hand, White put in new bodies around the two minute mark. The first was Dontay Bassett who hasn’t played since recording three minutes versus Auburn on January 18 and suffered a lower leg injury. His practice with the team on Friday was his first practice in 27 days according to White. As such the plan was to not play him on Saturday as he reacclimated. Once the game plan became to run out the clock though, White walked to the end of the bench and asked Bassett if he wanted to go. The forward only played two minutes but it was enough to get his toes back in the water. The second late substitution was Chris Sutherland, the former manager promoted to the roster. With the Rowdy Reptiles student section chanting his name, the coach yelled down the bench “Chris” and in checked the grad student guard. He took the rebound off a Tre Mann block and attempted a coast-to-coast basket that brought the legion of former players and remaining fans to their feet. The layup didn’t fall but a free throw on the ensuing possession was met with the requisite raucous reaction. “It’s nice to see Chris Sutherland, what a great story, for him to come in and breakthrough in the scoring column,” bragged White. Florida will face a quick turnaround and welcome Arkansas to town on Tuesday. The Razorbacks are 16-9, 4-8. Tip-off is at 7pm on ESPNU.

THE BILLY DONOVAN COURT: IT’S ABOUT TIME! There will be no shortage of former Gator basketball players at the O-Dome Saturday night when the University of Florida honors former coach Billy Donovan by naming the court at the arena “The Billy Donovan Court.” Al Horford and Brad Beal will head a cast of dozens of Gator greats who will come to share the moment with their former coach, who went 467-186 at Florida, winning two NCAA (2006-07) and six SEC championships during his 19 years on the job in Gainesville. It’s only fitting that the court is named for Donovan, who proved that it’s entirely possible to win and win big at a school that had little in the way of basketball tradition prior to his arrival. When he came to UF, still in his early 30s and with just two years of head coaching experience at Marshall to his credit, Donovan was replacing Lon Kruger, who left in a huff after failing to land Daytona Beach Mainland’s Vince Carter (went to UNC). Kruger claimed that it was impossible to recruit the kind of players you need to win at a championship level at Florida. Donovan, of course, proved Kruger wrong, making it to the NCAA championship game in 2000, his fourth year on the job. When Donovan led the Gators to back-to-back national titles it was the first time that had been done since Duke did it in 1990-91. Donovan had four straight Elite Eight teams from 2011-14, making the Final Four for the fourth time in his career in 2014. So it’s about time Florida honors Donovan for his extraordinary accomplishments at halftime of Saturday night’s game between the Gators (15-9, 7-4 SEC) and Vanderbilt (9-15, 1-10 SEC). Perhaps his presence will inspire the Gators to play as well as they did Wednesday night when they played perhaps their best overall game of the season in knocking off Texas A&M, 78-61. The Gators are in a numbers crunch, needing a minimum of three wins – more than likely four or five counting the SEC Tournament – to earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament field. SEC BASKETBALL Saturday’s games Vanderbilt (9-15, 1-10 SEC) at FLORIDA (15-9, 7-4 SEC), SEC Network Mississippi State (15-9, 6-5 SEC) at Arkansas (16-8, 4-7 SEC), SEC Network Ole Miss (13-11, 4-7 SEC) at #12 Kentucky (19-5, 9-2 SEC), ESPN Georgia (12-12, 2-9 SEC) at Texas A&M (11-12, 5-6 SEC), SEC Network #25 LSU (18-6, 9-2 SEC) at Alabama (13-11, 5-6 SEC), ESPN2 #11 Auburn (22-2, 9-2 SEC) at Missouri (11-13, 3-8 SEC), ESPN2 Tennessee (14-10, 6-5 SEC) at South Carolina (15-9, 7-4 SEC), SEC Network FAREWELL TO THE MAC TOUR BEGINS TONIGHT Not a day goes by that Kevin O’Sullivan doesn’t drive by the brand new ball yard he will start calling home in 2021. He sees the resplendent new stadium on his way to McKethan Stadium every morning then drives by slowly on his way back in the evening. The new place is going to be one of the finest collegiate baseball facilities in the entire country but that’s next year. This year, Sully and the Gators have one last season in them at The Mac, one they hope will lead them back to Omaha for a eighth time in the last 13 seasons. The Farewell to The Mac Tour begins tonight (6:30 p.m.) with a three-game set against Marshall. Junior righthander Tommy Mace will take the mound for the Gators tonight with junior Jack Leftwich slated to start the Saturday game (4 p.m.) and sophomore Nick Pogue getting the call Sunday (1 p.m.). The Gators are coming off an uncharacteristic 34-26 season in 2019 in which the pitching, almost always the hallmark of an O’Sullivan-coached team, was wildly inconsistent. Last year’s pitching staff was young and lacked the veteran 1-2 punch on Friday-Saturday of years past, so it wasn’t uncommon for the Gators to put up more than enough runs to win a game only to see opponents score and score again. “We just could not seem to stop the bleeding” is how O’Sullivan puts it. The hope is that after a year in which the staff was beaten up, they’ll settle in and pitch well this season. O’Sullivan says he has a lot of moving parts, more lefties than he’s had the last couple of years, and some very talented freshmen (like Hunter Barco and Brandon Sproat) so he’ll spend the first month or so trying to figure things out. The rotation both on weekends and midweek early on might not be what we see once we get deep into the SEC portion of the schedule. Whoever is pitching should get a boost from a potent lineup capable of scoring runs in bunches led by returning veteran left fielder Austin Landworthy (.283, 10 homers, 43 RBI in 2018) and third baseman Kirby McMullen, last year’s dependable pinch-hitter who has been Florida’s hottest hitter since fall ball and continuing through the spring. Sophomores Kendrick Calilao (first base), Cory Acton (second base), Jacob Young (right field) and Jud Fabian (center field) all had their moments hitting the ball last year and they should all hit for more power and high averages this year. Gator baseball by the numbers: Since 2008, Florida has been to the College World Series seven times. Arkansas, FSU, LSU, North Carolina and TCU are tied for second with five trips … Only Louisville (470), Vanderbilt (464) and LSU (457) won more games than the Gators (455) during the decade of 2010-19 … Only FSU (10) and Louisville (9) had more 40-win seasons than the Gators (8) during the recently completed decade ... O’Sullivan’s 12-year record at UF is 531-255 with 12 NCAA appearances, seven trips to Omaha, five SEC championships and one NCAA title. A MIND IS A TERRIBLE THING TO BASTE: FRIDAY EDITION (1) I would really like to ignore Mel Tucker, but after reading the outstanding piece by Dennis Dodd of CBSSports.com on Tucker and the sad state of affairs in the Pac-12, I don’t think I’m capable of biting my tongue. Tucker might be the nicest guy in the world for all I know, but, as Dodd pointed out, he did say back in October, “There is no transfer portal in the real world.” Right, Mel. So, what did you just do? You sold out to the highest bidder and walked out – one week after National Signing Day – on all those kids you preached loyalty to. While I don’t wish whoever replaces Tucker at Colorado ill will, I do hope every single one of those players is granted a release and is free to transfer wherever he wants. I also hope not a one of them is stupid enough to follow Tucker to Michigan State. As for Michigan State, I find it hard to believe the school couldn’t do better than a coach who went 5-7 in his one year on the job and that was with a record-setting quarterback (Stephen Montez) and a guaranteed first round wide receiver (Laviska Shenault Jr.), who is a legitimate game-breaker. The offense at Colorado took a step back under Tucker and so did the defense, surprising since Tucker is a defensive coach. (2) The more I think about it, the more I believe that every kid in every NCAA-sponsored sport should have the right to transfer once without having to sit out. If coaches can transfer whenever they feel like it, then players should at least be able to transfer one time without being penalized. Right now, other than graduate transfers who are free to go wherever, players in football, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball and hockey. If it’s an NCAA scholarship sport, then the players should have the right to transfer at least one time. (3) South Carolina basketball has received its Notice of Allegations from the NCAA, confirmed by athletic director Ray Tanner. South Carolina has been charged with a Level I violation based on an allegation that former assistant coach Lamont Evans took $5,865 in bribes from convicted agent wannabe Christian Dawkins to help build a relationship between Dawkins and former Gamecock guard P.J. Dawkins. Evans, who left South Carolina for Oklahoma State after the 2017 season, has also been convicted and sentenced to three months in Club Fed. Oklahoma State has also received a Notice of Allegations from Evans time on that staff. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if LSU receives its Notice of Allegations sometime in the next week or so. (4) What a bozo. Houston Astros owner Jim Crane had the audacity to state, “Our opinion is this didn’t impact the game” when asked if the Astros sign-stealing scheme gave them an unfair advantage in 2017. So, if it didn’t impact the game, then why did the Astros fire their GM and manager and why is Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred punishing the team? GOOD QUOTES FOR FRIDAY Stewart Mandel of The Athletic on the financial disparity between the Pac-12 and Big Ten, which played strongly into Mel Tucker leaving Colorado to become the head ball coach at Michigan State: “Meanwhile the Pac-12 still has four years left on an outdated set of TV deals that now lag far behind the SEC and Big Ten. Per Jon Wilner of the Mercury New, Colorado will collect $33 million in league revenue this year -- $22 million less than Michigan State gets from the Big Ten. Last year Colorado ran a $3.4 million budget deficit. Michigan State finished $8 million in the black in the last reported year. To be clear, conference money is only one contributor to an athletic department’s finances, along with ticket sales, merchandising and donations. Colorado’s total athletic department revenue in 2017-18 was $89, per USA Today. Even if you gave the Buffs a Big Ten payout, they’d still massively trail Michigan State’s $145 million take.” Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated on the college basketball corruption scandal and the schools that are in trouble with the NCAA: “South Carolina is at least the sixth school to be formally charged by the NCAA in relation to the federal investigation. NC State, Kansas, Oklahoma State, USC and TCU all have acknowledged receiving NOAs. Creighton will neither confirm nor deny receiving a notice. Other schools known to be under investigation include Auburn, Louisville, Arizona, LSU and Alabama.” RANDOM THOUGHTS: Colorado was paying Mel Tucker $2.4 million to be the head ball coach. Georgia and Alabama spend more on recruiting than Colorado paid Tucker … If you want to know why UCLA hasn’t fired Chip Kelly after two underwhelming seasons, then you simply have to do a little bit of math. To buy out Kelly would cost $9 million. The UCLA athletic department is facing a $19 million deficit for the fiscal year, in part because they still owe Jim Mora Jr. $6 million from buying out his contract and $3.6 million to former basketball coach Steve Alford … Tiger Woods shot an opening round 2-under, 69 at the Genesis Open in Los Angeles Thursday. He’s going for his 83rd PGA Tour win and is five shots behind first round leader Matt Kuchar … Just a reminder: It’s been 14,288 days since Georgia’s last national championship in football.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE GATORS MAKE SOME SHOTS We saw what happens to the Gators when they can’t hit a bull in the butt with a bass fiddle from close range this past Saturday in Oxford. Florida’s 68-51 loss to Ole Miss was about as ugly a shooting game as it gets. The way Texas A&M plays defense (Aggies were holding opponents to 60.3 points per game prior to Wednesday night), it figured to be another rotten night at the shooting range for Florida (15-9, 7-4), but just the opposite happened. Instead of throwing up one SCUD after another, the Gators burned the Aggies with an exceptional shooting night as they scored a 78-61 win on the road in College Station. The Gators hit 51.9% (27-52) of their shots from the field overall, 44.4% (12-27) from the three-point line and 85.7% (12-14) from the foul line. Throughout the game, Florida’s passing was crisp and timely. Led by Keyontae Johnson (six assists) and Andrew Nembhard (five), Florida had 15 assists on their 27 made baskets. Many of those passes found their way into the hands of Noah Locke, who loaded it up for 5-10 three-point shooting on his way to a 21-point night. Nembhard, who has been slumping with his outside shooting, hit 9-11 from the field and 3-5 from the three-point line. Scottie Lewis went 3-4 on his three-pointers. On a night when the Aggies effectively blanketed Kerry Blackshear Jr. and took him out of the game, the Gators found other scoring options plus they dominated the rebounding with a 36-20 advantage. Florida’s 14 offensive rebounds were converted into 18 second chance points. Johnson had another double-double with 10 points and a game-high 10 rebounds to go with those six assists. This was a game the Gators desperately needed, not only from the standpoint of picking up a road win that helps their NCAA resume, but also because they needed to prove they can get points even when there is a successful effort to eliminate Blackshear as a scorer (eight points, 1-2 from the field and 6-6 from the foul line). In that Blackshear is Florida’s only true inside scoring option, the Gators are going to have to find points from other players, plus they’ll need consistent contributions from the freshmen. Wednesday night, UF got 15 points from the freshmen (nine from Scottie Lewis, three each from Tre Mann and Jason Jitoboh). The Aggies are pretty much a one-dimensional team but they’re capable of beating good teams when they can dictate defensively what other teams can do. Wednesday night, the Gators moved the ball, hit shots and burned the Aggies badly. This is what UF needs the rest of the way. SEC BASKETBALL Wednesday’s scores FLORIDA (15-9, 7-4 SEC) 78, Texas A&M (11-12, 5-6 SEC) 61 South Carolina (15-9, 7-4 SEC) 75, Georgia (12-12, 2-9 SEC) 59 #11 Auburn 22-2, 9-2 SEC) 95, Alabama (13-11, 5-6 SEC) 91, OT Saturday’s games Vanderbilt (9-15, 1-10 SEC) at FLORIDA (15-9, 7-4 SEC), SEC Network Mississippi State (15-9, 6-5 SEC) at Arkansas (16-8, 4-7 SEC), SEC Network Ole Miss (13-11, 4-7 SEC) at #12 Kentucky (19-5, 9-2 SEC), ESPN Georgia (12-12, 2-9 SEC) at Texas A&M (11-12, 5-6 SEC), SEC Network #25 LSU (18-6, 9-2 SEC) at Alabama (13-11, 5-6 SEC), ESPN2 #11 Auburn (22-2, 9-2 SEC) at Missouri (11-13, 3-8 SEC), ESPN2 Tennessee (14-10, 6-5 SEC) at South Carolina (15-9, 7-4 SEC), SEC Network THINKING OUT LOUD ON THURSDAY (1) The Southeastern Conference has eight head football coaches who earn at least $5 million: Nick Saban (Alabama) $9.1 million; Ed Orgeron (LSU) $8.7 million; Jimbo Fisher (Texas A&M) $7.5 million; Gus Malzahn (Auburn) $6.9 million; Kirby Smart (Georgia) $6.8 million; DAN MULLEN (FLORIDA) $6.1 MILLION; Mike Leach (Mississippi State) $5 million; and Mike Stoops (Kentucky) $5 million. (2) Unbeaten 4th-ranked San Diego State (25-0) is no fluke and is quite capable of playing and beating anyone in the country. Point guard Malachi Flynn might be the most efficient at his position as there is in the country, scoring 16.4 points per game while hitting 37.2% of his threes and 83.2% from the foul line and with a 5.1-1.5 assist-to-turnover ratio. If he’s not a first or second team All-America selection there’s something wrong with the people who choose the teams. The center on the team is Yanni Wetzell (12 points, 6.5 rebounds per game), a grad transfer from Vanderbilt. Talk about going from the outhouse to the penthouse. Last year Vandy was winless in SEC play (0-18) and now he’s playing for an unbeaten team that could make the Final Four. (3) Michael Avenatti is probably going to spend some serious time in Club Fed after federal prosecutors played tapes of the California lawyer trying to extort Nike for several million dollars if Nike didn’t meet his demands. On tape, Avenatti was heard saying, “A few million dollars doesn’t move the needle for me. I’ll go take $10 billion dollars off your market cap.” Nike is, however, going to have a hard time explaining evidence revealed during the trial that the shoe/apparel giant was allegedly making payments to influence AAU basketball players to sign scholarships with Nike schools. In separate legal actions, Pittsburgh financial analyst Marty Balzer, already in trouble for his participation with Adidas in college basketball corruption, is going state’s evidence against Nike, claiming he has proof that Nike was paying high school basketball and football players to attend Nike schools. (4) Since we’re on the subject of corruption and cheating in college basketball, North Carolina State doesn’t deny that assistant coach Orlando Early received $40,000 from Adidas but the school’s lawyers claim there isn’t any evidence to confirm Dennis Smith Jr.’s father ever got that money. Two things you can count on: (a) North Carolina State is going to get hammered by the NCAA and (b) the NCAA will then take sanctions to Cal-Northridge where Mark Gottfried (coach at NC State when the Smith deal was done) is now coaching. Gottfried didn’t invent cheating but he has turned it into an art form. (5) The leading scorer in the Ivy League is one of several grad transfers that will be highly sought. A rule that is more than 60 years old only allows undergraduates to play sports at Ivy League schools, so Mike Smith (21 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 1.5 steals per game) will be a hot ticket item on the transfer market in the spring. He has more than 1,400 career points and a 17.0 per game average. Additionally, 2018 Ivy League Player of the Year, Seth Towns (Harvard, averaged 16.0 points, 5.7 rebounds per game) will have to transfer out if he wants to play next year. Towns is sitting out the season with an injury. (6) Now that Mel Tucker has departed Colorado for Michigan State, Bruce Feldman of The Athletic has a laundry list of replacement candidates for the CU job: Interim CB head coach Darrin Chiaverini, former CU running back and Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bienemy, Arizona Cardinals defensive coordinator and former CU defensive back Vance Joseph, Missouri defensive coordinator Ryan Walters, Navy HBC Ken Niumatalolo, Boise State HBC Bryan Harsin, Air Force HBC Troy Calhoun, former Colorado offensive coordinator and Oregon HBC Mark Helfrich, Alabama analyst and Tennessee HBC Butch Jones, and former Florida/current Central Michigan HBC Jim McElwain. That’s quite a list. Given that this is a financially strapped athletic department that has a habit of going cheap, I think Chiaverini is the odds-on favorite to get the job permanently with all those other names simply window dressing. GOOD QUOTES FOR THURSDAY Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports on the money gap the Pac-12 (distributes roughly $30 million yearly to each member school) faces against the Big Ten ($50 million) and SEC (more than $45 million), which helps explain why Michigan State was able to double the salary of former Colorado HBC Mel Tucker and offer him a much larger assistant’s pool: “The Pac-12’s problem is trying to figure out how to even stop the gap from growing, let alone close it. The West Coast was never going to be as football mad as the Midwest or South, but things keep getting worse. The league lacks a cash machine such as the Big Ten or SEC Network. The College Football Playoff has frozen out its teams in four of its six years of existence, depressing excitement and donations … Meanwhile, commissioner Larry Scott hasn’t proven nearly as innovative or creative as he was once hyped.” From Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated on how Michigan State paying Mel Tucker more than $5.5 million is evidence of a truly hypocritical system: “But Tucker and Michigan State take the market to a new level. And the coach’s one-and-done Colorado tenure further exposes the differences between coach empowerment and player empowerment. While nobody should blame Tucker for doubling his salary, there is a little Bobby Petrino in this move. The school that gave him his first chance as a head coach was jilted about as quickly as possible, similar to Petrino using Western Kentucky for a season after it awarded him a scandal rehabilitation job in 2013. Beyond that, there is the sheer hypocrisy of a coach who was quoted as saying in October, ‘There’s no transfer portal in the real world,’ absolutely using the coaching transfer portal to fatten his wallet. Fact is, Tucker has now ‘transferred’ 11 times in his coaching career, bouncing around the college and NFL levels without anyone ever making him sit out a year.” RANDOM THOUGHTS: The NFL in its infinite wisdom has reinstated Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett, last seen using his helmet as a weapon, swinging it at the head of Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph … This should alter the way Major League Baseball games are played. MLB altered its rules Wednesday so that, barring injury or illness, starting and relief pitchers will have to face a minimum of three batters before they can be replaced. MLB also increased roster size from 25 to 26 players but capped the number of pitchers at 13 … After throwing 30 interceptions in 2019, Tampa Bay Bucs QB Jameis Winston has undergone LASIK surgery on his eyes. Winston has steadfastly refused to wear contact lenses when he’s playing. Will improved eyesight result in fewer interceptions? … Former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown has sent an apology to Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger, stating, “I never realized how good I had it.” Brown’s latest apology seems like an ongoing attempt to get back in the good graces of the NFL … Alabama shot an SEC record 59 (count ‘em) three-pointers in losing 95-91 to #11 Auburn in overtime. The Crimson Tide made 22. Auburn wasn’t shy about launching threes either. The Tigers fired up 31 but made only seven.

GATORS 9TH IN RECRUITING LAST FIVE YEARS Per the 247Sports composite, the Florida Gators rank ninth in recruiting since the 2015 season (recruiting class of 2020 isn’t included). The Gators have a 44-20 record on the field since 2015 – 23-15 from 2015-17 under Jim McElwain and interim head coach Randy Shannon; 21-5 in 2018-19 under Dan Mullen. Mullen’s 2018 recruiting class, assembled on short notice since he took over the UF program a little more than two weeks prior to the early signing period, finished ranked 14thwhile the 2019 class, Mullen’s first full class, finished 9th. It should be noted that the three teams that have won the five national championships since 2015 (Alabama 2015, 2017; Clemson 2016, 2018; LSU 2019) rank in the top five in recruiting. Clemson has the best record over that period – 69-5 – followed by Alabama at 66-6. An interesting aberration would seem to be Oklahoma, which ranks 10th in the five-year rankings. The Sooners have made the College Football Playoff four times (missed in 2016) and they have a 58-10 record, fourth best during that period. Eight SEC teams were ranked in the top 20, only three from the ACC – Clemson, FSU and Miami. The Top Twenty/Average finish/5-Year record (1) Alabama 2.4/66-6 (2) Georgia 2.8/53-15 (3) Ohio State 5.4/61-7 (4) LSU 6.8/51-14 (5) Clemson 9/69-5 (6) Auburn 9.6/42-24 (7) Texas 10.4/35-29 (8) Michigan 10.6/47-18 (9) FLORIDA 10.8/44-20 (10) Oklahoma 11/58-10 (11) Texas A&M 11.6/40-25 (12) Florida State 11.6/38-26 (13/Tie) Penn State 13.6/49-17 (13/Tie) Notre Dame 13.6/47-17 (15) Tennessee 14.6/35-28 (16) Oregon 16.4/41-24 (17) Miami 16.8/40-25 (18) Southern Cal 18.2/42-24 (19) Washington 19.2/47-20 (20) South Carolina 20.4/29-34 MUST WIN SITUATION IN COLLEGE STATION There is no questioning the importance of tonight’s game for the Gators (14-9, 6-4 SEC), who travel to College Station to meet a Texas A&M (11-11, 5-5 SEC) team that limits opponents to 63.1 points per game, allowing just 39.3% shooting overall and 30.4% from the three-point line. Win and the Gators are essentially three SEC wins away from likely selection for the NCAA Tournament. Lose and the Gators will need to win four of their final seven, a schedule that includes two games vs. #12 Kentucky and one against #25 LSU. The Gators are up and down offensively, capable of scoring big on anyone on the schedule and just as capable of a night to forget when it comes to shooting the ball. They could struggle against the Aggies, who seem to swarm to the ball defensively. When the Gators have to play defense, they catch a break because the Aggies are indeed the SEC’s version of the gang that can’t shoot straight. They’re averaging an SEC-worst 60.6 points per game, hitting just 38.3% of their shots overall and 25.7% from the three-point line. The player the Gators have to be most concerned with is 6-9, 245-pound Josh Nebo, who averaged 11.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.2 blocked shots per game. “Their center Nebo is really good at blocking shots so our coaches are telling us to drive and attack him,” Florida forward Keyontae Johnson (13.5 points, 6.7 rebounds) said Tuesday. “Give him shot fakes and get him in foul trouble early. We have to give him a lot of pressure in the paint and that way KJ (Kerry Blackshear Jr.) can kick it out so we can shoot open shots.” For Blackshear, the game with the Aggies pits him against first year head coach Buzz Williams, the coach who recruited him to Virginia Tech before departing for A&M last spring. Blackshear (13.8 points, 8.1 rebounds) has a pretty good idea of how the Aggies will attack UF defensively. “It’s pretty unorthodox the way they play and I think that gives some teams trouble,” Blackshear said. This figures to be a grind it out game for the Gators, who are coming off a 68-51 loss to Ole Miss on the road this past Saturday. It’s the kind of game that if they can hit some shots and get into some kind of offensive rhythm they can win and get one step closer to landing an NCAA Tournament bid. SEC BASKETBALL Tuesday’s scores #12 Kentucky (19-5, 9-2 SEC) 78, Vanderbilt (9-15, 1-10 SEC) 64 Ole Miss (13-11, 4-7 SEC) 83, Mississippi State (15-9, 6-5 SEC) 58 Tennessee (13-10, 6-5 SEC) 82, Arkansas (16-8, 4-7 SEC) 61 #25 LSU (18-6, 9-2 SEC) 82, Missouri (11-13, 3-8 SEC) 78 Wednesday’s games FLORIDA (14-9, 6-4 SEC) AT Texas A&M (11-11, 5-5 SEC), SEC Network South Carolina (14-9, 6-4 SEC) at Georgia (12-11, 2-8 SEC), SEC Network Alabama (13-10, 5-5 SEC) at #11 Auburn (21-2, 8-2 SEC), ESPN2 A WANDERING WEDNESDAY MIND (1) Michigan State’s coaching search has gone, per Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports, “from a searing mess to a coast-to-coast laughingstock.” Tuesday, Michigan State trustee Brian Mosallam, a former MSU football player who runs a hedge fund, went on radio and called Luke Fickell a “waffling flake.” Fickell had the audacity to say no to Michigan State, choosing to stay at Cincinnati where he should almost certainly win 10-plus games for the third straight year in 2020. Considering the bad shape in which Mark Dantonio left the MSU program, who could blame Fickell for choosing to stay somewhere that he can win and is appreciated? So far the list of coaches who have said no to Michigan State are Fickell, Pitt HBC Pat Narduzzi, Iowa State HBC Matt Campbell, Colorado HBC Mel Tucker and Penn State DC Brent Pry. The current candidate list includes former Wisconsin and Arkansas HBC Bret Bielema (currently OLB coach for the New York Giants), former Florida and current Central Michigan coach Jim “Old Yeller” McElwain, former Central Michigan, Cincinnati and Tennessee HBC Butch Jones (currently Alabama analyst), California HBC Justin Wilcox and Kentucky HBC Mark Stoops. If you’re prone to wager on such things, put your money on Bielema or Jones. (2) The best college basketball in the country is Obidiah “Obi” Toppin of Dayton, who is the most creative and devastating dunker there has been in the college game in years. He shoots the three-ball very well (35.5%), rebounds, blocks shots, plays defense on the perimeter and he’s an above average passer. He’s a chief reason why Anthony Grant and 6th-ranked Dayton (22-2) have a very good chance to not only make the Final Four but win the whole NCAA Tournament. The Flyers are that good. (3) Bad has gone to worse for Roy Williams and North Carolina basketball. Perhaps still hung over from their 96-95 overtime loss to Duke on Saturday night, the Tar Heels laid a gigantic egg Tuesday night when ACC bottom feeder Wake Forest Gump blew them out, 74-57. UNC is 10-14 and still have games with Virginia, (at) Notre Dame, (at) #5 Louisville, (at) Syracuse and (at) #7 Duke among their last seven. Roy Williams has never had a losing season as a head coach and he’s never lost more than 17 games (20-17 record in 2009-2010). (4) Ross Dellenger of Sports Illustrated wrote a rather informative piece on Arch Manning, grandson of Archie, nephew of Peyton and Eli, and on his way to becoming the most famous Manning quarterback of all. As a 9th-grader Arch started at quarterback, leading Isidore Newman School to a 9-2 record. He threw 34 touchdown passes, completed more than 62% of all his throws and had more than 200 yards passing in all but three games. (5) The Los Angeles Chargers have officially parted ways with quarterback Phillip Rivers, with the organization 16 years and starter for the last 14. Cody Benjamin of CBSSports.com lists these five teams as potential landing spots for the 38-year-old, who has thrown for 59,271 yards and 397 touchdowns in his career: (1) Indianapolis, (2) Tampa Bay, (3) Chicago, (4) Carolina, (5) Las Vegas (formerly Oakland). In that he’s recently bought a home in Florida and Bruce Arians isn’t exactly enamored with Jameis Winston, I’d put my money on Tampa Bay. GOOD QUOTES FOR WEDNESDAY XFL commissioner Oliver Luck on why no team signed former San Francisco 49ers QB and infamous free agent Colin Kaepernick: “We gave it some thought. We have some pretty significant salary restrictions, you know. We’re a start-up league, so we want to make sure that we can be fiscally responsible and fiscally prudent. And the salary requirements that some folks shared with us were in our case exorbitant, so we couldn’t go down that path … the salary requirements that were broached in that conversation were exorbitant and certainly out of our range.” From Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich of The Athletic, on MLB commissioner Rob Manfred’s report that tells how former Houston Astros manager A.J. Hinch, who tried to put an end to the Astros illegal sign-stealing in 2017 only to cave to his players: “Manfred’s report states that Hinch attempted to signal his disapproval of the Astros’ scheme by twice physically damaging a monitor that team members used to decode signs from the center-field feed, necessitating its replacement. But Hinch evidently feared he would lose credibility in his clubhouse by taking further steps.” New York Knicks forward Kevin Knox on why he doesn’t think Kentucky coach John Calipari will leave UK to coach the Knicks: “I mean Cal loves Kentucky. He runs that state and the fans love him there.” RANDOM THOUGHTS: There were a mere seven technical fouls called in Tuesday night’s Dayton-Rhode Island game, won by 6th-ranked Dayton, 81-67. Shall we say there is a teensy bit of bad blood between the two teams? … Detraveon Brown announced he was signing with Ole Miss on National Signing Day. Only problem was Ole Miss had pulled the offer several days before and didn’t send him scholarship papers. Brown signed a day later with North Texas … The Cincinnati Bengals may have Heisman winner Joe Burrow on radar lock to be the first pick in the NFL Draft, but national sports radio talk host Colin Cowherd says if he had the first pick his choice would be Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa … Justin Thomas, who left LSU back in October to deal with a personal matter, is returning to the team … Vanderbilt is indeed without a scholarship quarterback on campus. Allan Walters remains in the NCAA transfer portal and intends to find a new place to play. The Commodores signed four quarterbacks – two jucos and two high school kids – in their 2020 recruiting class.

PERINE MOVING UP ON NFL DRAFT LISTS Here is what breaking off an 88-yard touchdown run against Auburn and a 61-yarder against Virginia can do for you along with showing off your pass-catching skills at the Senior Bowl. Lamical Perine, pretty much late round or free agent guy on the NFL radar back in September, is now being projected as the #7 running back for the 2020 draft by The Athletic. Mel Kiper of ESPN ranks Perine the #8 running back. Those two long touchdown runs showed that Perine can shift to another gear and outrun people, something that wasn’t all that evident in his first three years at UF. He became a viable receiving option, catching 40 passes as a senior, then spent Senior Bowl week proving he’s got the kind of hands that could make him an every-down back in the NFL. He will still have to prove that he’s capable of taking on blitzers and edge rushers effectively, but if Perine proved anything at Florida it is the fact that he will take coaching and then go about the task of improving until he’s more than dependable. The Athletic top 10 running backs (height, weight, 40 time) (1) J.K. Dobbins, Ohio State (5-9, 219, 4.51) (2) De’Andre Swift, Georgia (5-9, 215, 4.47) (3) Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin (5-10, 218, 4.53) (4) Clyde Edwards-Helaire, LSU (5-8, 211, 4.56) (5) Zack Moss, Utah (5-9, 218, 4.52) (6) Cam Akers, Florida State (5-11, 214, 4.48) (7) LAMICAL PERINE, FLORIDA (5-11, 216, 4.55) (8) Eno Benjamin, Arizona State (5-9, 205, 4.46) (9) AJ Dillon, Boston College (5-11, 241, 4.54) (10) Anthony McFarland Jr., Maryland (5-8, 196, 4.48) ALL-TOO EARLY RANKING THE SEC QUARTERBACKS (1) Kyle Trask, Florida: You’re lying if you say you saw this coming back in September when Trask was warming up to replace Feleipe Franks who went down with an injury against Kentucky. Who knew Trask was this good, that he could make all the throws, read defenses and make good decisions? Well, he can and now he’s going to be on a lot of preseason best lists in 2020. (2) Kellen Mond, Texas A&M: Mond tears up lesser opponents but he’s got to show he can play well enough to beat the higher-level teams. This is his fourth year as a starter, third year under Jimbo. It’s now or never but there is no question he’s got the talent. Can he put it all together? (3) Bo Nix, Auburn: After a freshman year in which he beat Oregon and Alabama with epic comebacks, Nix seems poised to make the big leap, but how will he adjust to the coaching of new offensive coordinator/QB coach Chad Morris? If Morris can improve Nix’s accuracy, the Auburn offense could be explosive. (4) Mac Jones, Alabama: With receivers like Devonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle to throw to, Jones should have an outstanding year. He throws a great deep ball and is extremely accurate plus he will be working behind one of the nation’s best O-lines. (5) KJ Costello, Mississippi State: Can Mike Leach do for Costello what he did for Gardner Minshew? Costello certainly hopes so. He was stagnant at Stanford. Now he’ll be throwing the ball all over the yard and will have a chance to lead the nation in passing yards. (6) John Rhys Plumlee, Ole Miss: Think back to what Lane Kiffin did with Jalen Hurts at Alabama. Plumlee is coming off a season in which he ran for 1,023 yards. Kiffin will polish up his passing, which is going to make Plumlee a nightmare to defend. (7) Jamie Newman, Georgia: Sorry, but I’m not buying into the hype. Yes, Jake Fromm could only run like Newman in his dreams, but Fromm was an accurate passer who rarely threw an interception. Newman has a strong arm but he has a habit of forcing the ball in coverage. He’s about to find out that the DBs in the SEC cover a whole lot better than the ones he saw in the ACC and there is no shortage of D-linemen and linebackers who can get after a QB. (8) Ryan Hilinski, South Carolina: He’s got the arm and the cool to handle pressure, but can he make the big leap from true freshman that makes mistakes to sophomore who knows what he’s doing? He’s got a new QB coach/offensive coordinator in Mike Bobo who should open up the passing game a bit more. (9) Feleipe Franks, Arkansas: He checks all the boxes when it comes to leadership. Teammates will embrace him. There are two questions: (1) how soon will he be able to go full speed after that horrendous season-ending injury at UF and (2) will offensive coordinator Kendal Briles be able to rid him of the bad decision-making demons? If he’s healthy and can get in a good decision-making mode, he could rise up the rankings. The talent is there. (10) Terry Wilson, Kentucky: Had he stayed healthy last season he probably would have had a strong year but he had a season-ending knee injury. Will he h he have the same mobility post-injury? If he’s as quick and mobile as he was pre-injury, he’s a dangerous QB who is a seriously elusive runner when he breaks containment. (11) Jarrett Guarantano, Tennessee: There is Good Jarrett and there is Evil Twin Skippy Jarrett. Good Jarrett makes good decisions and throws well. Evil Twin Skippy makes rotten decisions and doesn’t listen to coaches. The Vols need 12 games of Good Jarrett. (12) Shawn Robinson, Missouri: He showed promise when he was a starter at TCU. He sat out a year learning an offense from a coach who is no longer in the house. He needs to learn in a hurry. (13) Myles Brennan, LSU: He was a skinny 6-5, 180 when he came to LSU. Now he’s 210 pounds. He’s got the big arm. He’ll be working with NFL veteran offensive coordinator Scott Linehan, just hired Monday by Coach O. (14) Whoever is the quarterback at Vandy: The only QB on campus right now is Allan Walters (2-9 passing for 36 yards in his career) but they’ve signed four. Not exactly the kind of positive situation for a coach (Derek Mason) whose seat is so hot that it’s about to erupt in flames. It reminds me of the opening of Ray Stevens song, “I Need Your Help Barry Manilow.” “My account is overdrawn, my car slid down the hill I’m givin’ up, I’ve got no more to give. My beagle bit the vet and my daughter’s on the pill And my ficus plant has lost its will to live. I owe Mastercard my life, I’ve got adolescent skin My doctor says I can’t use any salt. My waist is getting thick but my hair is getting thin And my house is on the San Andreas fault. I need your help Barry Manilow I’m miserable and I don’t know what to do. Sing me a song, sing it sad and low. No one knows how to suffer quite like you.” IT’S A NUMBERS GAME NOW FOR UF HOOPS The Gators (14-9, 6-4 SEC) were already in a numbers crunch even before the loss to Ole Miss Saturday but now it’s pretty cut and dried what has to happen in the final eight games. It’s going to take a minimum of four wins to get the Gators into the NCAA Tournament, maybe five, and even that might require at least one win in the SEC Tournament. To accomplish four or five wins, the Gators have to do it against a daunting schedule that includes road games at Texas A&M, #12 Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia. The home games are against Vanderbilt, Arkansas, #25 LSU and #12 Kentucky. The Gators have a #44 RPI national ranking (Realtimerpi.com), which is fifth in the SEC (#2 Auburn, #17 LSU, #24 Kentucky, #27 Arkansas) and a #26 national strength of schedule. The Gators rank #47 in the kenpom.com rankings with a #33 national strength of schedule. SEC BASKETBALL Tonight’s games #12 Kentucky (18-5, 8-2 SEC) at Vanderbilt (9-14, 1-9 SEC), ESPN Mississippi State (15-8, 6-4 SEC) at Ole Miss (12-11, 3-7 SEC), ESPNU Arkansas (16-7, 4-5 SEC) at Tennessee (13-10, 5-5 SEC), SEC Network Missouri (11-12, 3-7 SEC) at #25 LSU (17-6, 8-2 SEC), SEC Network Wednesday’s games FLORIDA (14-9, 6-4 SEC) at Texas A&M (11-11, 5-5 SEC), SEC Network South Carolina (14-9, 6-4 SEC) at Georgia (12-11, 2-8 SEC), SEC Network Alabama (13-10, 5-5 SEC) at #11 Auburn (21-2, 8-2 SEC), ESPN2 GOOD QUOTES FOR TUESDAY From Bruce Feldman of The Athletic, Joey Roberts, the director of scouting for Elite 11, talks about the quarterback recruiting in 2013 and offers a telling statement about how some guys get a very high ranking: “The domino that typically creates that ranking is a scholarship offer. Back then (2013), you might have this 6-4 kid and if, say, Lane (Kiffin) offered you at USC, that pegs you as a four-star right off the bat. You might not have ever started a game in high school … “ From Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune, retiring Big Ten football official Dan Capron talks about the Georgia fan base, which blamed him for the Poodles loss to Alabama in the 2017 national championship game: “You know, you were talking about the Michigan fan base. Well, they’re pikers compared to the Georgia fan base. I was getting emails, texts. It was ugly, vile. Something gets out on the internet that I somehow worked for the University of Alabama, and it becomes gospel truth. Of course, I couldn’t care less [who wins].” RANDOM THOUGHTS: Michigan State was the preseason favorite to win the NCAA basketball championship. The Spartans are 16-8 and unranked now. I wonder how many Michigan State fans want Tom Izzo fired? … Since we’re on the subject of Michigan State, Cincinnati HBC Luke Fickell turned down an offer to be the Spartans HBC and who can blame him. He’s got nearly everyone back at Cincy and should have a third straight year of 10-plus wins. Better jobs await Luke Fickell. So who does Sparty turn to? Bret Bielema might emerge as the leading candidate. He knows the Big Ten (was HBC at Wisconsin before making a bad choice in moving on to Arkansas) and will work for less ... This is called The Tennessee Shuffle. Former Gator DL coach Chris Rumph, who has been coaching outside linebackers at Tennessee, is departing the Vols for the Houston Texans. Tennessee D-line coach Tracey Rocker is departing the Vols to join Will Muschamp’s South Carolina staff. Tennessee personnel director Drew Hughes is also leaving for South Carolina. Jimmy Brumbaugh is leaving Colorado to become the D-line coach at Tennessee. Got all that? … Justus Reed, who began his college football career at Florida, has been granted a SEVENTH (you read that right) year of eligibility by the NCAA. He’d like to transfer from Youngstown State to LSU so he can continue to play under Bo Pelini, now the DC in Baton Rouge. Reed had 12.5 sacks at YSU last year where Pelini was the HBC … When you add in the life insurance policy (LSU is paying it) to the base salary, Coach O will make $8.7 million next year, which more than doubles what he was making in 2019.

QUARTERBACK SITUATION FOR EACH SEC TEAM FLORIDA: The Gators return starter Kyle Trask, arguably the best quarterback in the SEC heading into 2020 after a season in which he threw for 2,941 yards on 66.9% completions and 25 touchdowns after taking over the job in the fourth quarter of game three when Feleipe Franks went down with a season-ending injury. His backup is Emory Jones, who can dazzle as a runner (256 yards, 4 TDs last year) and has shown continued improvement as a passer (25-38, 267 yards, 3 TDPs). The QB of the future is early-enrolled freshman Anthony Richardson (6-4, 235), a dual threat type who will draw instant comparisons to Dak Prescott. The rest of the SEC Alabama: Tua Tagovailoa has moved on to the NFL, so Mac Jones (97-141 passing, 1,503 yards, 14 TDPs), who took over as the starter when Tua went down with injury is the incumbent. Backups are Tua’s younger brother Taulia (100 passing yards, 1 TDP as a freshman) and redshirt freshman Paul Tyson. The Crimson Tide signed the nation’s top high school QB in Bryce Young (6-0, 190, Pasadena, CA Mater Dei). Arkansas: New HBC Sam Pittman brought in Kendal Briles as his OC, who was instrumental in landing Florida grad transfer Feleipe Franks (4,593 passing yards, 38 TDPs; 8 rushing TD for his UF career). The Razorbacks return backups John Stephen Jones IV (101 passing yards, 2 TDP as a redshirt freshman), Jack Lindsey (126 passing yards, 3 TDPs as a junior) and KJ Jefferson (197 passing yards, 2 rushing TD as a freshman). They signed Malik Hornsby (6-2, 175, Fort Bend, TX Marshall). Auburn: Gus Malzahn brought in former Arkansas HBC Chad Morris as his offensive coordinator so there will be changes in the offense and play calling. The incumbent is sophomore Bo Nix (2,543 passing yards, 16 TDPs; 317 rushing yards, 7 TDs in 2019) and the only scholarship backup is former minor league baseball player Cord Sandberg (84 passing yards, 2 TDs last year). Auburn signed Chayil Garnett (6-1, 205, Lakeland, FL) who is already enrolled. Don’t be surprised if Auburn seeks a transfer QB in the spring. Georgia: Three-year starter Jake Fromm is gone and so is offensive coordinator James Coley. The Bulldogs are rolling the dice with new OC Jeff Monken and Wake Forest Gump grad transfer Jamie Newman (2,868 passing yards, 26 TDPs; 574 rushing yards, 6 TDs in 2019). The Bulldogs return senior backup Stetson Bennett (20-27 passing, 260 yards, 1 TD), redshirt freshmen D’Wan Mathis, who missed the season after brain surgery, and Nathan Priestly. The Bulldogs signed Carson Beck (6-4, 225, Jacksonville, FL Mandarin), who is enrolled. Kentucky: If Terry Wilson can return to form (1,889 passing yards, 11 TD; 547 rushing yards, 4 TD as a junior in 2018) after suffering a season-ending knee injury in 2019, the Wildcats should be in good shape. Also returning are Sawyer Smith (690 passing yards, 4 TD last season as a junior) and redshirt freshmen Amani Gilmore and Nik Scalzo). Auburn transfer Joey Gatewood (6-5, 233) is a dual threat QB who will have to sit since he’s transferred within the SEC. The Wildcats signed Beau Allen (6-2, 203, Lexington, KY Catholic). LSU: No quarterback in the country will be under greater scrutiny than redshirt sophomore Myles Brennan (24-40 for 353 yards, 1 TDP in 2019), who has the unenviable task of replacing Heisman winner Joe Burrow. Also returning are redshirt freshman Peter Parrish and redshirt freshman AJ Aycock. The Tigers signed Max Johnson (6-5, 220, Watkinsville, GA Oconee), son of former FSU QB and Super Bowl winner Brad Johnson, and monstrous TJ Finley (6-6, 250, Ponchatoula, LA), both of whom are enrolled. Mississippi State: Mike Leach is the new HBC and the offense will be the pass crazy Air Raid, which is why grad transfer KJ Costello (6,149 passing yards, 49 TDP in three years) arrives from Stanford. So, what will sophomore Garrett Shrader (1,170 passing yards, 8 TD, 587 rushing yards, 6 TD) do? He’s more of a dual threat guy who may not want to sit a year. Redshirt junior Keytaon Thompson seems to have been waiting for a break his whole life and redshirt sophomore Jalen Mayden is more runner than passer. The Bulldogs signed Will Rogers (6-2, 200, Brandon, MS) who has enrolled. Missouri: New HBC Eli Drinkwitz is expected to give the first shot at replacing Kelly Bryant to TCU transfer Shawn Robinson (1,334 yards and 9 TDPs at TCU in 2018), who sat out last season. Also returning are junior Taylor Powell (297 passing yards, 1 TD in 2019) and redshirt freshman Connor Bazelac (15-21, 144 yards in three games). Mizzou signed Brady Cook (6-3, 210, St. Louis, MO Chaminade Prep). Ole Miss: Lane Kiffin is the new HBC and he has a brilliant record of developing QBs and putting together an explosive offense. If he wants a running QB, sophomore John Rhys Plumlee (1,023 rushing yards, 12 TD) is his guy although he has to have work on his passing (79-150, 910 yards, 4 TD). If he wants a thrower, then he has redshirt sophomore Matt Corral (105-178, 1,362 yards, 6 TDPs). The Rebels also return redshirt freshmen Grant Tisdale and Kinkead Dean. Ole Miss signed Kade Renfro (6-4, 190, Stephenville, TX). South Carolina: Will Muschamp brought in former Georgia OC and Colorado State HBC Mike Bobo to revamp his offense. There might be a QB controversy brewing. Ryan Hilinski (2,357 passing yards, 11 TDP as a true freshman) took over when three-year starter Jake Bentley was injured. What will he do if Bobo turns the offense over to grad transfer Colin Hill (3,323 passing yards, 23 TDP in three injury-prone seasons), who followed his former coach to South Carolina? Will redshirt sophomore Dakereon Joyner (168 passing yards, 101 rushing yards, 1 TD) grow weary waiting his turn? The Gamecocks signed Luke Doty (6-1, 185, Myrtle Beach, SC), who is enrolled. Texas A&M: Incumbent senior Kellen Mond (6,004 passing yards, 44 TDPs; 974 rushing yards, 15 TDs the last two seasons) is starting his third year for Jimbo Fisher and fourth as the Aggie QB. Aggie fans expect him to lift the A&M to the SEC West promised land with a roster that was built for the 2020 season. The backups are redshirt freshman Zach Calzada (133 passing yards, 2 TD) and James Foster (30 passing yards, 15 rushing yards) and fourth-year junior Connor Blumrick. The Aggies signed Haynes King (6-3, 190, Longview, TX), who has enrolled. Vanderbilt: The situation is a mess. Every scholarship QB from 2019 either graduated or transferred out. The only quarterback on the spring roster is walk-on Jack Bowen. New offensive coordinator Todd Fitch will have four to work with starting in the summer – jucos Danny Clark (6-4, 223, Wesson, MS Copiah-Lincoln CC) and Jeremy Moussa (6-2, 190, San Bernardino, CA College of San Bernardino Valley) and freshmen Ken Seals (6-3, 203 Weatherford, TX) and Michael Wright (6-4, 185, Atlanta, GA Woodward Academy). ANOTHER FRUSTRATING SETBACK FOR UF BASKETBALL In the last 30 hours since UF’s rather listless 68-51 loss to Ole Miss on the road, two former Gator basketball players called me and offered these five observations: (1) Kerry Blackshear Jr. looks frustrated. He gets wide open in the low blocks but no one gets him the ball. The only time they (teammates) seem to pass him the ball is when he’s up high in pick and roll situations. When he gets the ball consistently in the low blocks he scores a lot of points and draws a lot of fouls. (2) Other than Andrew Nembhard, this team doesn’t have any skilled passers. Most of the time when the offense is stagnant isn’t because of poor offensive sets or coaching but because this isn’t a good passing team. (3) When these guys want to play good defense (see Auburn) they’re quite capable of playing tough and hard. Against Ole Miss, nobody seemed to want to play defense. How can you let the only two guys they have that can shoot (Tyree and Shuler) have their way without putting up any resistance? (4) Scottie Lewis and Tre Mann need a lot of time in the weight room. They are not strong enough to play significant minutes in the SEC. The people who rate kids coming out of high school claimed they were one-and-done candidates. Neither one of them is anywhere close to being ready for that grind if they can’t handle a college grind, which is evident. (5) Florida’s best two basketball players are sitting out this season because of the NCAA transfer rules: Anthony Duruji and Tyree Applebee. They are the difference makers UF doesn’t have this year. SEC BASKETBALL Saturday’s scores Ole Miss (12-11, 3-7 SEC) 68, FLORIDA (14-9, 6-4 SEC) 51 #11 Auburn (21-2, 8-2 SEC) 91, #18 LSU (17-6, 8-2 SEC) 90, OT #15 Kentucky (18-5, 8-2 SEC) 77, Tennessee (13-10, 5-5 SEC) 64 South Carolina (14-9, 6-4 SEC) 74, Texas A&M (11-11, 5-5 SEC) 54 Missouri (11-12, 3-7 SEC) 83, Arkansas (16-7, 4-6 SEC) 79 Alabama (13-10, 5-5 SEC) 105, Georgia (12-11, 2-8 SEC) 102, OT Mississippi State (15-8, 6-4 SEC) 80, Vanderbilt (9-14, 1-9 SEC) 70 Tuesday’s games #15 Kentucky (18-5, 8-2 SEC) at Vanderbilt (9-14, 1-9 SEC), ESPN Mississippi State (15-8, 6-4 SEC) at Ole Miss (12-11, 3-7 SEC), ESPNU Arkansas (16-7, 4-5 SEC) at Tennessee (13-10, 5-5 SEC), SEC Network Missouri (11-12, 3-7 SEC) at #18 LSU (17-6, 8-2 SEC), SEC Network Wednesday’s games Florida (14-9, 6-4 SEC) at Texas A&M (11-11, 5-5 SEC), SEC Network South Carolina (14-9, 6-4 SEC) at Georgia (12-11, 2-8 SEC), SEC Network Alabama (13-10, 5-5 SEC) at #11 Auburn (21-2, 8-2 SEC), ESPN2 GOOD QUOTES FOR MONDAY From Scott Dotcherman of The Athletic, Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz on the state of officiating in college football: “Year after year, we tweak the rules. Over five years, eight years, 10 years, there’s a real compound effect on this stuff. And it ties in with what one of those NFL coaches, someone in the last two months said he’s not sure what pass interference is anymore. I mean, the guy is an NFL coach, and that’s what he does for a living and he doesn’t know? I think that’s very telling to me. I think I’ve seen that or we’ve seen that at the college level right now.” From Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports, Duke coach Mike Kryzyzewski on the state of college basketball: “There aren’t any great teams. There are some really good teams who have good records … I think the whole state of college basketball has been hurt by how many kids have tested the [NBA Draft] waters. It’s not the one-and-dones. We’ve lost about 70 or 80 kids who weren’t even drafted.” RANDOM THOUGHTS: I’m neither a Duke nor Coach K fan, but the Blue Devils’ comeback to beat North Carolina in overtime Saturday night was must see TV … Canadian Nick Taylor shot a 1-under par 70 on the final day at Pebble Beach to cruise home with a 4-shot win over Kevin Streelman, five shots better than Phil Mickelson, who shot a final round 74 … Bryan McClendon, the offensive coordinator the last two years at South Carolina until demoted after the 2019 season, is taking the job as wide receivers coach with the Pittsburgh Steelers ... After completing fewer than 50% of his passes and throwing two picks in his debut at QB with the XFL Tampa Bay Vipers, I think Aaron Murray might want to see if CBS is holding his spot in the college football broadcast booth. QUESTION OF THE DAY What is your opinion of officiating, whether in college football or basketball? Is there a need to perhaps simplify the rule book and maybe limit the time for replay to something like two minutes?