Collegebasketballtalk.com sums it up nicely

[bakaduin]

http://collegebasketballtalk.nbcspor...ve-thoughts-7/

What does Saturday’s result say about Florida and Arizona?: Here’s the funny thing about sports: no one walked away from Arizona’s win on Saturday night against Florida thinking that the Wildcats were the better team. With the exception of collapses in the final minutes of both halves, Florida completely dominated Arizona. They controlled tempo, they kept Arizona from getting quality looks, and they executed their offense to perfection, routinely and calmly scoring at the end of a shot clock over and over again. I came away from that game thinking that Florida could win a national title, and that Arizona will be good enough to make it to the second weekend of the tournament if their big men continue to develop.

But Arizona won the game, which, for me, highlighted the one, potentially fatal flaw for this Florida team: the point guard spot. In critical moments, at the end of both halves, Florida completely lost the ability to handle the ball, the ability to run offense, the ability to break a press. They missed crucial free throws. They even looked nervous in those final seconds against Arizona’s pressure. That’s not a good sign, but it doesn’t change the fact that I still believe Florida is one of the five best teams in the country and Arizona isn’t.

This is exactly how I feel about the game. I was pissed we lost, especially because when we went up 6 with a minute left it looked to be in the bag. That being said I was so happy of the way we played most the night.

In the end it was mentioned ad nauseum that the BIGGEST thing we would miss about Erving Walker was his ability to break the press. It proved to be prophetic vs. Arizona.

We will work on it and we will make corrections and I still not only have high hopes for this team but also know we will drop a few more before the year is over. That is college basketball.

[LoyalGatorFan]

Well written article and subsequent opinion....I miss Erv but it wasn't like he was allergic to turnovers....he had more than his share of moments of being out of control and causing turnovers...I still think Wilby has the potential to lead this team and control the game better than Erv did..

[bakaduin]

Originally Posted by LoyalGatorFan

Well written article and subsequent opinion....I miss Erv but it wasn't like he was allergic to turnovers....he had more than his share of moments of being out of control and causing turnovers...I still think Wilby has the potential to lead this team and control the game better than Erv did..

Agreed. I think the defensive pros of losing Erv to graduation offset any negatives. That being said we will miss his ability to break the press this year and it has put a strain on Boynton's numbers. Overall its a net gain.

[REM08]

Imagine that, that loss might not be the end of the world after all. I was left with this same impression after the game. Whoever wrote this just put it into much better words. While wins and losses matter a little at this point, what really matters is what kind of team you see out there on the floor. Once its single elimination time, there wouldn't be consolation or meaning about a game like Saturday night's. Luckily now you can process the game by looking through many more layers.

[gatorbogey]

expose the flaws now - in mid-december, and work to get them rememdied by march.

[LoyalGatorFan]

Originally Posted by REM08

Imagine that, that loss might not be the end of the world after all. I was left with this same impression after the game. Whoever wrote this just put it into much better words. While wins and losses matter a little at this point, what really matters is what kind of team you see out there on the floor. Once its single elimination time, there wouldn't be consolation or meaning about a game like Saturday night's. Luckily now you can process the game by looking through many more layers.

Exactly....I'm more upset with how we lost than I am with the potential that this loss might hurt our resume in March...which I dont think it will....I liken this game to you guys against IU last year...it was a last second buzzer beater on the road you lose by 1 point....and you guys still got a #1 seed....now I don't see us running the SEC table like you guys did especially now when we have to play a good Mizzou team and 2 extra games on top of that...but bottom line I think everybody will see that we controlled the game until the final 55 seconds....we lose on the road by 1 to a top 10 team....our only tough game left in pre conference that I see is @KState and Gonzaga just blew them out the other night....after that I don't see us standing a decent chance to lose until Mizzou....but we shall see...crazier things have happened I guess...

[regurgigator]

I agree with the write-up...except I only remember us missing one crucial FT.

[AzCatFan]

Funny, but I stated the exact same thing on another thread. Florida is a legit national title contender, and Arizona is a Sweet 16 team that needs a good match-up/luck to advance farther. Florida looked extremely polished and played great up to the point where Arizona pressed at the end. It's Florida's Achilles Heel right now, but it still only December, and Donovan has a lot of time to correct things.

As for Arizona, playing against talented and experienced big men like Young, Yegette, and Murphy was also what we needed. We have talent in the backcourt and on the wings, but our big men are raw. Arizona also showed great grit in coming back to keep it close enough so we could steal one in the end.

Bottom line is both teams will be better for the game, and the loss won't hurt much come tourny seeding time for Florida. I love the series the two teams have played, two in NYC several years ago, and the home-and-home recently, and I hope Donovan and Miller decide to pick it up again in the future.

[phideltdj]

AZ-you need to switch your post players as the sub was better than your starter by far...he needs to get more minutes.

[REM08]

Pomeroy tweet:

Ken Pomeroy ‏@kenpomeroy

64 of 65 AP voters deny existence of home court advantage, rank Arizona ahead of Florida. Congrats to Ron Morris, though.

[philnotfil]

Originally Posted by regurgigator

I agree with the write-up...except I only remember us missing one crucial FT.

Don't you mean 13% of our free throws, and 100% of our crucial free throws?

[jeffphillips21]

switch scottie back to the point and KB back to the 2...and we'll see a big jump in both KB's shooting and ball management.

I think the experiment with KB at the point is unofficially over

[TampaGatorFan]

With the SEC seeming fairly weak overall this season, the Gators should cruise through their conference schedule and will probably win the SEC Tournament.

While it sucks to lose a game like that, in the end, it won't stop us from getting a 1 or 2 seed in the dance, and it's better to expose any weaknesses now, while they can still be fixed, rather than getting bounced early in March.

This Gator team has its flaws, but I still believe they are a Final Four team, with more than enough talent and depth to win it all.

[108]

God, the PG spot has been our weakness for years now

The players have been great Gators, but it is the one common theme in all 3 of our late game meltdowns

I imagine teams will start pressing hard when games are close now

[AzCatFan]

Originally Posted by phideltdj

AZ-you need to switch your post players as the sub was better than your starter by far...he needs to get more minutes.

Up until the Florida game, Zeus (big who fouled out) had been playing better than the other two freshmen, Ashley and Jerret, and sophomore Chol. Zeus was the only big that slowed Young down at all. This was also the first game where Miller went small, and put Soloman Hill in at the 4 and Parrom at the 3, with only one of the bigs. Worked well, especially against Florida's zone, as Parrom at the free throw line caused Florida to get out of the zone. All four bigs are works in progress, especially compared to the Gators' bigs, and why Florida will most likely go farther in March/April.

[themistocles]

Originally Posted by 108

God, the PG spot has been our weakness for years now

The players have been great Gators, but it is the one common theme in all 3 of our late game meltdowns

I imagine teams will start pressing hard when games are close now

Apparently, Wilbekin was playing Saturday with a broken finger, which is something of an excuse, but not much.

In-bounds passes have been something of a problem for quite a while.

You are likely correct regarding your last statement, and the Gator response Saturday was anything but good.

[GatorPlanet]

Florida was Final 4 good for the first 18 minutes of each half, and low-major bad for the last 2 minutes of each half.

Hated losing that way, but we can zero in now on our exposed flaws. I like our chances this season. A lot.

[Colin]

It's early in the season, and we're good. We'll be even better in March. No worries.

[madgator]

Originally Posted by Colin

It's early in the season, and we're good. We'll be even better in March. No worries.

thank you for being a voice of reason

[GothamGator]

Losing a game that you should have one always hurts and really pisses people off. Still, that's better than losing a game you deserved to lose because you simply aren't that good.

Props to AZCat (always one of our best non-Gator posters). He did say the same basic thing, only sooner.

I've also enjoyed our series. My wife spent a year at U of A, and it was a good one, 1996-1997. Also, good to see Lute in the stands and getting the fan recognition he deserves.