Florida Gators
SEC Coaches Fall Classic Day 3
Gators need to build on effort, energy displayed in loss at Vandy
Wednesday, February 29, 2012 | Men's Basketball, Women's Tennis, Chris Harry
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Even fans watching with their orange-and-blue goggles on had to admit -- despite the outcome -- that Tuesday night's Florida-Vanderbilt game was one of the better and more entertaining games of the UF season.
Talking from both sides.
Each team shot it well. Each went on runs. Each played inspired on both ends. And it was a great environment on senior night at old Memorial Gym.
“That was a really well-played and tough game,” Commodores coach Kevin Stallings. “For the last five or six minutes of the first half, and most of the second, I thought [Florida] played great. Our guys made tough shots.”
Lots of them. The Commodores shot 53 percent for the game (and 58 percent in the second half) and went 12-for-24 from 3-point range. The Gators, who fell behind by a dozen early, made just seven of their first 22 shots, but over 20 minutes spanning the final four minutes of the first half and first 16 of the second, they converted 19 of 30 field goals, before Vandy closed the door and handed UF its second straight loss.
Sometimes you can expend so much energy fighting back, it's difficult to sustain the pace.
“Especially on the road,” freshman guard Bradley Beal said.
And especially against a good team; and great shooting team.
Gators coach Billy Donovan, his team now 22-8 and 10-5 in the Southeastern Conference, was pleased with how his players compete and executed three days after their worst performance of the season in an lopsided loss at Georgia.
The team's chartered return flight was fogged in overnight. Upon touchdown in Gainesville Wednesday morning, Donovan gave his players the rest of the day off as the Gators look to wrapping up the regular season Sunday at home against No. 1-ranked Kentucky.
After that, UF knows it will be a top-four seed in the SEC Tournament at New Orleans next week, and with an RPI of 19th is a virtual a lock for a third straight NCAA Tournament berth (and 13th in Donovan's 16 seasons).
The way the Gators played Tuesday night -- undersized at times, with lots of substituting to keep guys fresh in light of depth issues following the season-ending injury to forward Will Yeguete -- is how they'll have to make things work going forward; however long that might be.
“I still think we have growth left in our team,” Donovan said in post-game comments. “Obviously, we're going to have to play a little differently. And I think we did some of that stuff tonight. We were spacing and trying to drive the ball to the basket.”
Even though UF had just seven assists for the night, senior point guard Erving Walker played a very nice floor game and engineered an offense that moved the ball very well, albeit against a stingy Vandy defense that did not allow the Gators many open 3-point looks.
For better or worse, that's the updated UF blueprint. That and the Gators' outside shooting will have to carry them through the postseason -- however long it might be.
“With the injuries with the bumps and bruises and aches and pains, there needs to be a maturity and a resiliency to fight through stuff and still be able to practice,” said Donovan, who had seven players in the training room receiving treatment last Wednesday. “And I think some of our mishaps, our lack of execution in certain situations [this season], was a byproduct of not really being on edge, locked in at practice and really utilizing that time to get better.”
Starting Thursday, UF will have three days to better. The Gators, obviously, will need to be as good they can possibly to withstand the talent, length and depth of freshman center Anthony Davis and the Wildcats, who have a shot to finish 16-0 in league play.
“We've got some time here,” Donovan said.
Time to make the most of it.
