Gator Country

Gators senior guard Kenny Boynton is shooting 35.1 percent from behind the 3-point line through 20 games this season. / Gator Country photo by John Parady

Currently, that ladder is the one that puts them one rung below the No. 1 ranking in the nation in both polls. The way the Gators are playing at this point in the season, it may also lead to some other ladders, specifically the ones that lead to the rims at the Nashville and Bridgestone Arena, the site of an NCAA Tournament Regional Final and maybe even the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. That’s where the nets will be cut down after some team or teams win the SEC tournament, punch a ticket to the Final Four and claim the crystal basketball trophy for winning the NCAA tournament.

All look to be well within Florida’s grasp. Not just conceptually, but in artifacts that were analyzed and presented here in this column last week — a win streak deep into a conference schedule by astounding average winning percentage — a statistic that since the writing of that column has been picked up and run with on the national sports talk, highlight shows and the Gators game national broadcasts as well. I don’t think they are all subscribers to Gator Country, but we just spotted the pattern and its importance first. The many media outlets across the country that have started to take serious note of Florida’s prospects at winning a third national title have added some equally compelling and telling stats to the profile, such as scoring efficiency — points per possession — for instance, and noted the very short list of other programs in the same company (all won a national title, too).

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