Hello friends! Coming to you hot and fresh in the AM, here are a few thoughts I have surrounding Florida basketball.
It felt awesome for the Gators to hold on to a big lead.
Under Mike White, a sad reputation the Gators have had is a team that can’t hold on to a big lead. In fairness, there have definitely been some infamous blown second half leads over the last couple of years and while the reputation might be exaggerated, it certainly has happened a number of times.
On Tuesday the Auburn Tigers might have strung together a few possessions that took Florida’s lead from 22 to 15 and it was enough to slightly raise the pressure of some Gator fans but ultimately Florida was able to hold onto the lead enough that things were never in doubt.
While that might not do a whole lot to ease the spirits of some people who are always going to think a lead is in limbo, it must have felt good for the players who were able to enjoy a blowout win.
Mike White has had Bruce Pearl’s number, which is truly impressive.
Look… Bruce Pearl has done (allegedly, I should say, I suppose…) some questionable things off the floor to get players. His personality can also be grating, or disingenuous depending on who you ask, and some find him downright insufferable.
Whatever your thoughts are on Bruce Pearl, here’s the thing, at least in my opinion:
He is one of the best X’s and O’s coaches in not just the SEC, but the country.
His teams have always ran incredible offense, beautiful sets that are equal parts structure and freedom for players to express themselves with talent. Defensively they are always connected and have a clear vision of where they want the ball to go and what they need to do when it gets there. In the past couple of seasons the Gators haven’t been able to use any of their patented baseline out of bounds offensive plays because anytime they lined up, Pearl called out what Florida was about to run and the players knew how to neutralize it.
However, Mike White’s teams have had his number. Florida is now 5-2 against Auburn in the White era, and it could easily be 6-1 if not for an egregious no-call on a game tying Andrew Nembhard three in the SEC Tournament (sorry to bring that up).
Oftentimes I think head to head battles between coaches are overhyped, and it’s tough to quantify exactly what a solid head to head record really means for one coach or another, but I know this. Bruce Pearl is an awesome coach and he has had good teams at Auburn (though this year’s team isn’t one of them) and Florida has generally done really well against them.
Sharife Cooper being out showed what gives the Gators trouble, and what they do well against.
Florida’s struggles this season defensively have largely been the inability to stop really talented guards and against Auburn we saw a perfect example of that.
Let’s actually rewind a bit. When Florida played Georgia, who is not good, the game prior, Sahvir Wheeler got loose for 27 points and nearly won the game for the Bulldogs. Auburn, who is not good, lost their star guard in Sharife Cooper to an ankle injury. Florida was able to win the game easily.
Auburn has some good wings and some talented frontcourt players but it wasn’t a problem for Florida. It showed once again that the Gators can handle some decent wings and some solid post players, but it remains to be skilled guards they have the most issues with.
What would have happened if Sharife Cooper was able to play? Who knows. But I know he’s even better than Sahvir Wheeler and he was a guy who kept Georgia in the game single handedly.
We saw the best of Scottie Lewis against Auburn.
This was great to see because Lewis was on a major dry spell having a couple of rough games in a row.
What made his performance against Auburn so good was that he wasn’t forcing things and he wasn’t looking to play outside his scope. He attacked in straight lines, and he looked to cut away from the ball. That’s exactly what Florida needs from him and it’s exactly what his skill set is.
Of course, there are still a lot of things for him to work on. He struggles to make reads in transition which often kills fast breaks when the ball is in his hands, and his shot is inconsistent.
However, sticking to his guns like he did against Auburn will be best for him and the team.
Saturday’s game with Kentucky will be massive.
It’s interesting, usually Kentucky is one of the goliaths of college basketball which makes every game against them a big one.
However, this year they are bad…and it almost makes the game even more important.
Florida is playing for seeding right now and a loss to Kentucky would not help the resume. The Wildcats have done a lot of climbing in the NET Rankings since Florida last played them but they are still in the 60s which shows a team well out of the NCAA Tournament picture.
In addition to the resume, this game will have big recruiting implications.
Imagine Florida recruiting against Kentucky for a kid if the Wildcats sweep the Gators this year.
“Even in our worst season, we still swept the Gators.”
That would likely be part of the pitch, and that would be a pretty devastating line.
As well, I wouldn’t know the exact answer but I’d have to guess if you polled the Gators on who they most like to beat, the answer is probably Kentucky. If you asked them who they hated losing to most in the league, it would probably be Kentucky. Whether it’s tangible or intangible this is a huge game where Florida needs to perform.
That’s all, talk again next week!