Seed Watch: Florida Gators Basketball (Feb. 9)
The Gators basketball team has been hard to get a pulse on all year. One minute, all cylinders are firing and the offense is clicking. The next game, the group looks lost and overwhelmed on both ends of the floor.
But the latter has occurred more so lately on the road – and that’s hasn’t been the most promising trend. While UF is 11-1 at home and 2-1 at neutral sites this year, it’s just 2-6 in road contests following a disappointing 80-61 loss to Kentucky in Lexington, Ky., last Saturday.
“Those are all factors throughout college basketball, but the biggest factor far and away is your home crowd. We play harder and play with more confidence in front of our people,” Florida basketball head coach Mike White said.
“We were a team that had won five out of six and had probably gotten a little bit comfortable. Playing at Kentucky it makes no sense, but it probably was a little bit of a factor with, again, coming off a couple of losses like Kentucky was I’m sure they were as hungry as they’ve been.”
Florida (15-8, 6-4 SEC) plays its next two games at home, but four of its final six regular-season contests are true road contests. Five of its final six games come against squads ranked in the top 100 in RPI, as UF will face three of those opponents on the road.
This week presents two certainly winnable but very crucial games for Florida in a home stand in the O’Connell Center against unranked teams. A loss to either Ole Miss (15-8, 5-5 SEC) on Tuesday night or Alabama (13-9, 4-6 SEC) on Saturday night would push the Gators much closer to the bubble.
“Our guys are a little beat up. They are disappointed in our effort and the fashion in which we were beat,” White said. “I’d be surprised if we don’t come out tomorrow night and play really, really hard. That’s what’s most important especially with this team. What happens after that I don’t know.
“I think we’ve got to be more concerned with playing for each other and playing for our program and less concerned with exterior factors. Again, we’ve shown that a couple of times. Both in losses, at Texas A&M and at Michigan State, I was really proud of an effort that was second to none. Then, we did it at Ole Miss, so we’ve seen it. We know we’re capable of it. It’s harder to do it that consistently on the road, but we’re back at home."
If Florida can sweep its opponents this week during a crucial stretch, it should hold decent standing in the NCAA Tournament race.
Currently, ESPN's Joe Lunardi has UF as a No. 7 seed in the latest version of his Bracketology, facing No. 10 seed Washington in the East bracket. In the Feb. 8 edition of CBS Sports' Jerry Palm's Bracketology, he has Florida projected as a No. 10 seed against 7th-seeded Notre Dame in the Midwest bracket.
In Ken Pomeroy's advanced statistics rankings, Florida sits at No. 28 overall. The Gators are currently 23rd in the nation in RPI, 24th in BPI and ranked seventh in strength of schedule.
Now a week after ITG began its Seed Watch, we take another look at UF's resume and what lies ahead:
WINS (15 overall, 6 SEC)
(10 in RPI) Win vs. West Virginia – 88-71
(31) Win vs. Saint Joseph's – 74-63
(66) Win vs. Georgia 77-63
(75) Win vs. LSU – 68-62
(91) Win vs. Arkansas – 87-83
(85) Win at Ole Miss – 80-71
(118) Win vs. Auburn – 95-63
(126) Win vs. Richmond – 76-56
(142) Win vs. Oklahoma State – 72-70
(158) Win vs. Vermont – 86-62
(177) Win vs. Mississippi State – 81-78
(185) Win at Navy – 59-41
(222) Win vs. FGCU – 70-50
(238) Win vs. Jacksonville – 89-65
(338) Win vs. North Carolina A&T – 104-54
THESE WINS WILL HELP
Nov. 21 - Florida’s 74-63 win against Saint Joseph’s at the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament
Jan. 2 – Florida’s 77-63 home win over Georgia
Jan. 30 - Florida’s 88-71 home victory over then-No. 9 West Virginia
LOSSES (8 overall, 4 SEC)
(14) Loss at Miami - 66-55
(16) Loss at Michigan State - 58-52
(17) Loss at Texas A&M - 71-68
(19) Loss at Kentucky – 80-61
(22) Loss vs. Purdue - 85-70
(39) Loss vs. Florida State 73-71
(58) Loss at Vanderbilt - 60-59
(112) Loss at Tennessee - 83-69
THESE LOSSES WILL HURT
Nov. 22 - Florida's 85-70 loss to then-No. 21 Purdue at the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament
Jan. 6 - Florida's 83-69 road loss to unranked Tennessee
Feb. 6 – Florida’s 80-61 road loss to then-No. 20 Kentucky
RECORDS
Home: 11-1
Road: 2-6
Neutral: 2-1
vs. RPI 1-50: 2-6
vs. RPI 51-100: 4-1
vs. RPI 101-150: 3-1
vs. RPI 151-200: 3-0
vs. RPI 200+: 3-0
REMAINING REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE
(85) vs. Ole Miss (Feb. 9)
(57) vs. Alabama (Feb. 13)
(66) at Georgia (Feb. 16)
(25) at South Carolina (Feb. 20)
(58) vs. Vanderbilt (Feb. 23)
(75) at LSU (Feb. 27)
(19) vs. Kentucky (March 1)
(202) at Missouri (March 5)