Gators Go to Vandy Well Aware of 'Big Picture'

Saturday, February 17

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UF coach Mike White spoke to his players about the importance of adding to the win column as the season winds down.

Gators Go to Vandy Well Aware of 'Big Picture'

Saturday, February 17, 2018 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry

Florida, loser of four of its previous six games, is running out of chances to improve its postseason profile.

By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Mike White normally doesn't talk about the big picture with his basketball team. He tries to keep things simple. Short-term objectives. Next game. Better yet, next possession.

But the Florida coach has tried just everything with this up-and-down bunch, so what the hell?

On Thursday, when the Gators convened for practice the day after blowing a double-digit second-half lead for the fourth time this season in Wednesday night's loss to Georgia, White laid it all out there for his players before turning attention to Saturday's road date at Vanderbilt. He asked them what exactly they wanted from this season. And then White dropped the "T" word.

That's "T," as in "tournament."

Both of them.

[Read senior writer Chris Harry's 'Pregame Stuff' setup here]

"For the first time this season, we had a little bit of a big-picture perspective in that there are five left, and, 'If you want to do this, we probably need to accomplish this. And if you want to do this, then we're set right now,' " White revealed during his Friday session with the local media back in Gainesville. He continued, "There's a chance we can play in this tournament and there's a chance we can play in this tournament. We put it out there."

This No. 1: NCAA Tournament

This No. 2: That other one.

The Gators (17-9, 8-5) can be found — solidly so, thanks to a good Ratings Percentage Index score and a half-dozen marquee wins — in every credible NCAA bracketology projection. For now. But four losses over the previous six games, including three at the hands of teams at the bottom of the Southeastern Conference standings, have UF fans scanning the team's final five games and wondering where the two or three more wins the team likely needs to secure a second straight NCAA berth will come from. On paper, the game against the Commodores (10-16, 4-9), currently tied for last place in the league standings, looks to be UF's best shot at a win among the five left. That's a precarious and dicey predicament, considering Vandy's track record against Florida at home (four wins over the last five), not to mention the Gators' track record of late against cellar-dwelling opponents (awful).

But White knows that players pay attention to this stuff. They're in tune with postseason banter from the ESPN talking heads, not to mention the thousands willing to give free advice on social media.

So White put it out in the open. The orange-and-blue elephant in the locker room.

"I don't know if they'll receive it positively negatively," he said. "I think 99 percent of [Saturday] will come down to execution, both offensively and defensively by us and by Vanderbilt."

The term "sense of urgency" is generally overused in sports. Sometimes, though, it applies.

Like now.

"We don't want to be in the NIT," freshman guard Mike Okauru said. "We know what we have to do."

CHARTING THE GATORS
Florida is at 17 wins, but also in a tie for third place (along with Alabama and Missouri) in the SEC standings and just 53rd in the RPI after sitting at 24th just three weeks ago. The Gators have top-shelf wins against Gonzaga (No. 42 in RPI), Cincinnati (10th), both on neutral floors, plus road wins at Texas A&M (17th), Missouri (22nd) and Kentucky (18th). That's five "Quadrant 1" victories, as determined by the revamped NCAA selection process. UF has five games remaining, with their final four very well making up the most difficult finish of any team in the country. Here's the good news: the Gators should be OK with two wins over the final five. Here's the bad news: the Gators aren't playing well, have seemingly lost the 3-point bombing prowess that carried them the first half of the season, and have shown the last few weeks they are more than capable of losing to anyone. The rest of the schedule looks like this.

Date	Opponent	Record	RPI	2018 rematch?	KenPom projection	Comment
Saturday	@Vanderbilt	10-16, 4-9	108	UF won 81-74 Dec. 30 at Gainesville	58 percent (UF 74-72)	Commodores always give Gators fits; UF 1-4 in last five at Vandy
Wednesday	@Tennessee	19-6, 9-4	13	No	28 percent (UT 73-66)	Volunteers are tough, physical, warriors on the glass; bad matchup for Gators
Feb. 24	Auburn	23-3, 11-2	4	No	45 percent (AU 79-78)	Tigers have shooters all over the floor; UF has been poor at home all season.
Feb. 27	@Alabama	17-9, 8-5	30	Crimson Tide won 68-50 Feb. 3 at Gainesville	40 percent (ALA 7-69)	UF performance vs Bama was worst of the season.
March 3	Kentucky	17-9, 6-7	18	Gators won 66-64 Jan. 20 at Lexington	63 percent (UF 74-70)	Postseason could be riding on 'Senior Day' vs Wildcats.