Stop if you’ve read this storyline before: the Gators are coming off of a lopsided upset win at home against a top-10 opponent and appear to be trending in the right direction under Mike White.
Including Tuesday’s 75-49 throttling of No. 6 Tennessee, UF has done that four times under White. In two of the previous three instances, the Gators were unable to bottle up that momentum and carry it with them for the rest of the season. After beating No. 4 Auburn by 22 points last season, they lost their next three games.
That’s what makes Florida’s game with Georgia (9-4, 2-4 SEC) on Saturday so important. The Bulldogs were picked to finish next-to-last in the SEC by the media, so this is a game the Gators (7-4, 4-3) should win and need to win. They cannot let the Tennessee win be merely a footnote to another mediocre season. Instead, they want to use that game as a launching point to bigger and better things.
So, how do they do that?
“That’s the million-dollar question,” White said. “How can we be just as focused and alert and connected offensively and defensively and play with that level of momentum and tempo offensively and be that locked in and alert on the defensive end? That’s the challenge to our whole group.”
Obviously, they’re not going to shoot 49 percent from the field, give up only 29 percent, outscore their opponent by 20 points in the paint and win by 26 points every time out. However, the energy they played with, the ball movement they displayed on offense, the tenacity and togetherness they showed on defense, and the toughness they rebounded with can carry over against any opponent. If they can consistently do those things, they’ll have a chance to win every game. If not, well, you’ve seen what will happen.
The early returns in practice the last couple of days have been good. They haven’t gotten full of themselves and started thinking that they have everything figured out because they blew out a top-10 team. White is cautiously optimistic about the performance he’ll see against Georgia.
“Practicing really well doesn’t always translate to playing a game really well and vice versa, but I do believe we got better the last couple days,” he said. “We had the right approach. I think our guys know that when we play with that level of urgency, whoever we’ve got that’s available, it gives us a chance to be competitive.”
One specific thing that the Gators need to carryover from the Tennessee game is their bench production. Because they were without Keyontae Johnson, Scottie Lewis and Colin Castleton, some guys played a larger role than they have all season. Forward Omar Payne played a season-high 27 minutes and scored nine points, grabbed nine rebounds and swatted five shots. Reserve guard Ques Glover played a season-high 15 minutes and contributed 10 points and three steals. Forward Osayi Osifo scored four points and hauled down six rebounds in 12 minutes. Forward Jason Jitoboh had played seven minutes all season entering the game but gave his team 13 minutes of solid post play.
White believes his seldom-used bench players face an even bigger challenge now. It’s easy to be focused and energized when you know that you’re going to play a lot of minutes and that the team could get embarrassed if you don’t play well. It’s another thing to do so when you don’t know how many minutes you’ll get or if you’ll even get into the game at all, which is exactly the scenario that his team is about to face.
Castleton practiced on Friday and will be a game-time decision to play against the Bulldogs, while Lewis is still going through return-to-play protocols with the medical staff. Whether they play against Georgia or not, the reality is that they will be back soon, and they’re two of the Gators’ best players. White will have no choice but to put them back in the starting lineup, which means less playing time for guys like Osifo and Jitoboh.
Though they might not receive consistent playing time, the bench players still have to be ready to give their best effort when called upon.
“If one man goes down, the next man has to step up and has to be ready at all times,” guard Tyree Appleby said. “We can’t just be affected by how much playing time you get because you never know how much playing you can get on any night.”
The biggest theme of the White era has been inconsistency. The Gators will look like the best team in the country one game and like an NIT team the next. They have a chance to change that narrative somewhat by building on the Tennessee win and making something of this season, starting Saturday at Stegeman Coliseum.
“It can’t be just because we’re playing the No. 6 team in the country and our backs are against the wall and, oh by the way, this guy is not playing tonight, either,” White said. “How do you replicate that level of focus and toughness and connectivity, with everybody [locked-in], whether you’re the 10th man or the best player on the team? That’s what you’re trying to do year in and year out, whether it’s a high-level opponent, a guarantee game or a practice. The teams that learn how to do that every single day end up being really good teams.”
Maybe this year, the Gators will become one of those really good teams. We’ll find out soon.