Will Gators Give Sellout Crowd Something to Cheer About?

Saturday, February 24

Gainesville, FL

8:30 PM

Florida Gators

Auburn

Buy Tickets

UF coach Mike White wants his players on edge at home, rather than feeling too comfortable.

Will Gators Give Sellout Crowd Something to Cheer About?

Saturday, February 24, 2018 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry

UF hosts No. 12 and SEC-leading Auburn in a game that could prove pivotal for the Gators' postseason aspirations.

By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The place known as the O'Dome is supposed to be a sanctuary for the Florida basketball team. In the last 20 seasons, the Gators have gone unbeaten three times at home (including a school-record run of 33 straight victories spanning three seasons), posted records of just one home defeat three times, and dropped only two another five times.

The Gators — and the Rowdy Reptiles — have always taken the protection of their house personally.

So what's gone wrong?

The same question, of course, could be asked about the Florida basketball team in general. The Gators, riding high atop the Southeastern Conference just five weeks ago, have dropped three straight and six of the last eight league games, and with just three games remaining in the regular season are running out of chances to stockpile enough wins to impress the NCAA Tournament selection committee.

Two of UF's final three games will be played at Exactech Arena, with the first Saturday night when the Gators (17-11, 8-6) take on SEC leader and No. 12 Auburn (24-4, 12-3). The building will be sold out. In most years, being at home would give UF and its fans a reason to feel better about the game. Not this year. Not at 10-5 at home. Not when the season's two most lopsided losses (Florida State and Alabama) have come at the O'Dome. Not when mid-major Loyola Chicago came in and won. Not when Georgia erased a seven-point lead with three 3-pointers in the final 1:08 to force overtime and won. Not where South Carolina scored on 10 of its last 13 possessions and won.

UF's five home losses match the most of any Gators team the last 21 years. A sixth would match the second-most in a single season since the O'Dome opened its doors in 1981.

"With this current Gator team, it's more about our mindset. Our level of edge, excitement, intensity, level of entitlement. Those are the factors [holding the team back] and a lot of those factors are between the ears," UF coach Mike White said. "Unselfishness, playing together, making the extra pass, how defense is affected by offense, our communication … ."

Those are the outside-the-ears factors that have carried this team on its best days.

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

Renovated Exactech Arena opened in December 2016 and the Gators won nine of 10 games there in its first season. The team is 10-5 at home in its second season.

In Wednesday night's loss at Tennessee, the Gators had all kinds of problems putting the ball in the basket (35 percent overall; just 27 percent in an ugly 18-point first half). But Florida played hard and matched the Volunteers' effort level, which was no small feat. The intensity allowed UF to stay in a game, via defense, that easily could have gotten out of hand on the road.

And now they're home, where — presumably — they should be more inspired and determined to play for the packed house.

But that has not been the case. Not with this group.

"Hopefully we can turn that around," junior guard and leading scorer Jalen Hudson said. "We want to be aggressive."

UF has done that its last two O'Dome outings. The Gators beat LSU, but blew the big lead against Georgia. Rare on the home floor this season have been performances like the the day the Gators put it all together and obliterated Baylor 81-60 in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge on Jan. 27.

Florida is 2-5 since that one, with two of the losses coming at home, and have reached the 70-point threshold just once. Aren't teams supposed to shoot better in their home gym?

White finds it hard to accept how his team has laid it on the line in some road games, but gone the other way when back in the comforts of their dome. His players get too comfortable and, perhaps, make some assumptions that the environment will carry the day.

"I think it'd be hard to argue that we play as hard at home," White said.

Now would be a good time to start doing so. Screaming fans can only do so much.

"Hopefully, the fans can give us some juice," Hudson said.

And vice versa.