Seniors KeVaughn Allen (5) and Kevarius Hayes (13) and the Gators open the 2018-19 season Nov. 6 at Florida State and begin SEC play Jan. 5 at home against Texas A&M.
Harry Fodder: 2018-19 Basketball Schedule Breakdown
Friday, August 24, 2018 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
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By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — As is the case every year, news of the opponents on Florida's non-league basketball schedule surfaced in piece-meal fashion the last few months, with most of the slate officially announced in July. Once again, the gauntlet of November and December games represented one of the most ambitious lineups of foes ever undertaken by the program.
Yes, we said that last year.
But it's true again.
On Friday, UF's 2018-19 schedule came further into focus when the Southeastern Conference released its docket of games. Considering the league is coming off a season when it placed eight teams in the NCAA Tournament (and has plethora of outstanding players returning and more marquee rookies on the way), Florida's overall schedule — with nearly half (15) of the guaranteed 31 games coming against NCAA teams of a season ago — may jump to the front of the all-time most-difficult line in what will be Coach Mike White's fourth season.
Below, we take a look at each ... because It's never too early for some basketball banter, right?
The Gators return three starters, including leading scorer Jalen Hudson, from a squad that went 21-13, earned a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament and lost to third-seeded Texas Tech in Dallas, one game shy of the Elite Eight. After struggling with both injuries and inconsistent play in the front court, UF should be a more balanced bunch this season, assuming its collection of bigs —several of which (junior Gorjok Gak, plus redshirt freshmen Chase Johnson and Isaiah Stokes) are unproven and coming off injuries — return healthy and ready to make an impact. The three-man freshman class, highlighted by five-star point guard Andrew Nembhard, was ranked among the nation's 10 best recruiting hauls.
Full-blown preseason practice begins Sept. 28.
Terance Mann has dominated the Gators in their last three meetings, and the Seminoles have owned the series since 2014, with a their first four-game winning streak ever against UF.
Oct. 30: Florida Southern, 7 p.m. (Exhibition) The buzz: Once again, the Gators get a dress rehearsal with an opponent from the Division II Sunshine State Conference. Make that seven straight years for the SSC to visit the O'Dome for an exhibition. Last year, it was Tampa. The years before that: Eckerd, Palm Beach Atlantic, Barry, and FSC, respectively. The Barry game was actually competitive, with UF winning 79-70, and last year a Spartan big man by the name of Duke Shelton actually banged on the Gators for a double-double (22 points, 11 rebounds), which in hindsight represented something of an omen, given Florida's struggles in the post. The Moccasins went 21-11 last season and 13-7 in SSC play.
Nov. 6: at Florida State, 9 p.m. (ESPN2) The buzz: By two days, this is the earliest opener in program history. The Gators and Seminoles have tipped off their seasons just five times since the series began in 1951, the last time coming in the 2000-01 season. UF has won four of those five games. And while football always will be king in the Sunshine State (and certainly commanding all the headlines in early November), the hype for this one should have some traction, given the state of the two programs. FSU was a minute from going to the Final Four last season, before falling to Michigan in the West Region final. The Seminoles return three starters from a team that went 23-12, including Gator-killers Terance Mann (12.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg) and Phil Cofer (12.8 ppg, 5.1 rpg), as well as 7-foot-4 center Christ Koumadje. They also added Albany grad transfer David Nichols (14.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg). FSU has owned the series of late, with a program-best four straight wins, including last season's 83-66 blowout at Gainesville after UF had risen to No. 5 in the nation.
Nov. 9: Charleston Southern, 7 p.m. (SEC+) The buzz: The UF football team opens the Dan Mullen era at home against Charleston Southern on Sept. 1. The basketball team's home opener will come against the Buccaneers on the eve of the South Carolina football game. CSU returns four starters from a team that went 15-16 overall and 9-9 in the Big South Conference last season, including junior guard Christian Keeling (17.6 ppg, 5.2 rpg) and senior forward Travis McConico (10.2 ppg, 4.1 rpg), out of Jacksonville Sandlewood High.
Nov. 14: LaSalle, 7 p.m. (SEC+) The buzz: The Explorers finished 13-19 last season, with a 7-11 mark in the Atlantic 10 Conference. They had respectable showings in a nine-point loss at eventual NCAA champion Villanova and an overtime home defeat against Rhode Island, which reached the Sweet 16. Senior point guard Pookie Powell, by way of Orlando Dr. Phillips High, averaged 16.9 points and 4.3 assists last season.
Come Thanksgiving week, the Gators will head back to Paradise Island, Bahamas, at the Battle 4 Atlantis for the second time in four years.
Nov. 21-23: Battle 4 Atlantis at Paradise Island, Bahamas (ESPN) The buzz: The Gators will make their second appearance in the exotic ballroom event. They went there for Thanksgiving in 2014 — in what turned out to be Billy Donovan's final season — and lost in the final seconds to Georgetown, beat Alabama-Birmingham and got drilled by North Carolina. The field is excellent, headlined by Virginia, last year's Atlantic Coast Conference regular season and postseason tournament champion. Yes, we know all about what happened to the Cavaliers, the No. 1 overall seed, in the NCAA Tournament, and will be reminded about it with Maryland-Baltimore County look-backs until the end of time. Doesn't matter. The Cavaliers, led by a trio of standout guards in Kyle Guy, Ty Jerome and De'Andre Hunter, figure to go into the '18-19 season ranked among the top five, and deservedly so. The Gators will face Oklahoma (and former UF coach Lon Kruger), which reached the NCAA Tournament last season but lost All-America guard and lottery pick Trae Young to the NBA, in their opening-round game. That one is set for a noon tip. UF's second game, for certain, will be against either Wisconsin or Stanford, and begin at either 1:30 or 7 p.m. The third game, depending into what bracket the Gators fall, could be against Butler, Dayton, Middle Tennessee or UVA.
Nov. 27: North Florida, 7 p.m. (SEC Network) The buzz: This will mark the fourth straight year the Gators and Ospreys have squared off (and fifth time over the previous six seasons), dating to the 2016 NIT date at Jacksonville in White's first season. UF has won the last three meetings by a combined 100 points, including the 108-68 blowout in last season's second game that included a 63-point second half. UNF is coming off a 14-19 season, but will return all five starters and five players (led by point guard Ivan Gandia-Rosa) who averaged in double figures.
UF has become regular visitors to New York City the last few seasons, with yet another Big Apple date coming this season in the 2018 Jimmy V Classic against West Virginia.
Dec. 4: West Virginia in Jimmy V Classic, New York, 9 p.m. (ESPN) The buzz: It's back to the Big Apple for the Gators, who will be playing a regular-season game in the NYC area for the third straight year, and heading that way for the fourth time in three seasons, counting the 2017 NCAA East Region semi and finals, also at Madison Square Garden (see Chiozza, Chris). The UF/WVU matchup will be the nightcap of the event, preceded by a date between Oklahoma at Notre Dame at 7 p.m. For the first time in five seasons, the Mountaineers will roll out a team without its hyena backcourt of Jevon Carter and Dexter Miles, but the Gators (including Johnson, the athletic 6-foot-9 forward and West Virginia native) can bank on seeing another version of Coach Bob Huggins full court-hounding "Press Virginia" style of play, this one with 6-8, 260-pound sophomore Sagoba Konate (10.8 ppg, 7.6 rpg) and 6-8, 230-pound junior forward Lamont West (9.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg). WVU went 26-11 last season and advanced to the Sweet 16 before losing to eventual national champion Villanova.
Florida and Michigan State have played seven times, including the Spartans' win in the 2000 NCAA title game at Indianapolis. The Dec. 8 date at the O'Dome, the return trip of a home-and-home contract, will mark Coach Tom Izzo's second appearance in Gainesville. The Gators defeated the Spartans 74-70 on Dec. 5, 2001.
Dec. 8: Michigan State, noon (CBS) The buzz: The Gators will barely have time to catch their collective breath from one likely top-25 opponents, just in time to face a potential top-10 one. This game, the return half of a home-and-home deal, was supposed to be played in the fall of '16, and then '17, but the Gators asked out of the former because the O'Connell Center was under renovation, and the Spartans did the same last season because the Big Ten scheduled an early conference game in December. UF went to East Lansing on Dec. 12, 2015, the first season under White. That MSU team, which won 58-52, was led by Denzel Valentine. Coach Tom Izzo lost a couple lottery picks from last year's squad (Jaren Jackson Jr. and Myles Bridges), but returns three starters and some really good backups to a squad that went 30-5, but was upset by Syracuse in its second NCAA Tournament game. Point guard Cassius Winston (12.6 ppg, 49.7 percent from 3) averaged nearly seven assists per game, while center Nick Ward shot almost 65 percent from the floor and actually had better numbers (12.7 ppg, 7.1 rpg) than Jackson, who went fourth overall in the draft to the Memphis Grizzlies.
Dec. 22: Florida Gulf Coast in Orange Bowl Classic at Sunrise, Fla., 5 p.m. (TBA) The buzz: They ain't in "Dunk City" anymore. Oh, the Eagles had another nice season in '17-18, going 23-12 and losing at Oklahoma State in the NIT, but the roster (and coaches offices) were gutted in the spring. FGSU lost it's top three scorers (and five of its top seven). The list included standout guard Zach Johnson (16.1 pig, 39 percent from 3), who went the grad transfer route to Miami after coach Joe Dooley left for East Carolina, where he was head coach for four seasons from 1995-99, as well. In five seasons at FGCU, Dooley went 114-58, with five postseason berths, including two NCAA trips. The event, as has been the case several years now, will be a Florida-Florida State doubleheader, with UF playing the nightcap. This will mark the 17th consecutive year the Gators have played in the OBC, and the 20th time overall, dating to 1997. UF is 16-3 in those games and had its seven-game winning streak snapped last season against Clemson after blowing a nine-point lead in the final five minutes to lose 71-69, making for a long bus ride back up the Turnpike.
Dec. 29: Butler, noon, 2 or 4 p.m. (ESPNU) The buzz: It's possible this game could be a rematch from a month earlier, should the Gators and Bulldogs meet in the Battle 4 Atlantis. If not, it'll be the two programs' first meeting since Butler staged a remarkable rally from 11 down with less than 10 minutes and won the 2011 NCAA Southeast Region title game at New Orleans in overtime, one of the most crushing losses of the Donovan era. This game, the last non-conference date before SEC play opens a week later, will be the front end of a home-and-home series the two schools announced last spring, with Florida scheduled to go to Indianapolis and play at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse (where the championship scenes for the motion picture "Hoosiers" were filmed) in 2019. The Bulldogs return three starters — including their second- and third-leading scorers in the backcourt of Kamar Baldwin (15.7 ppg) and Paul Jorgensen (10.2 ppg) — from an NCAA tourney team that went 21-14. By that time, they'll also gain eligibility for 6-7 sophomore forward Jordan Tucker, who transferred from Duke after the fall semester last season.
Will the Gators have better frontcourt answers for South Carolina war horse Chris Silva when they open the SEC schedule this season?
Jan. 5: South Carolina, 7 p.m. (ESPN2) The buzz: Hello, conference play. First-team All-SEC power forward Chris Silva bypassed turning pro and will return for his senior season, making him one of the favorite's for league player of the year. Silva has punished the Gators throughout his career, with White saying on more than occasion that no one in the country plays harder. Silva averaged 14.8 points and 8.0 rebounds, but also led the nation in fouls drawn. His 272 free-throw attempts were nearly 140 more than any player on the UF roster took last season. Forward Maik Kotsar and four-star combo guard signee A.J. Lawson loom as the rest of the front court. Georgetown grad transfer Tre Campbell has a line on the point guard spot. The Gamecocks were hoping to have Brian Bowen, who transferred from Louisville following the FBI recruiting scandal, but the former McDonald's All-American opted to play professionally in Australia.
Jan. 9: at Arkansas, 8:30 p.m. (SEC Network) The buzz: The Razorbacks went 23-12 last season, with their final victory a blowout of the Gators in the SEC Tournament, as UF dropped to 1-3 in the league's postseason event under White. That one was especially memorable for the late-game, highlight-show dunk 6-11 center Daniel Gafford threw down in transition. It was ill. Gafford, who averaged 11.8 points on 60.5-percent shooting to go with 6.2 rebounds in a terrific freshman season, decided against exiting early. That means he'll be the guy the Hogs build around after the team lost the high-scoring backcourt duo of Jaylen Barford (17.9 ppg) and Daryl Macon (16.8 ppg), as well as steady point guard Anton Beard (9.5 ppg). In his eighth season, Coach Mike Anderson will have to rely on guys mostly used to role-playing minutes, plus an incoming class of seven players (none ranked in the top 100), led by guard Keyshawn Embery.
UF will see Tennessee's first-team All-SEC center/forward Grant Williams (2) twice this season.
Jan. 12: Tennessee, 6 p.m. (ESPN2) The buzz: The Volunteers won a share of their first regular-season conference title in 2018, then fell prey — like a handful of good teams — to Loyola Chicago in the NCAA Tournament's round of 32. They are, however, well positioned to defend their SEC Championship and (at least) equal the 26-9 mark of a season ago. UT returns four starters and five of its top six scorers, led by All-SEC center/forward Grant Williams (15.2 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 47 percent FG), who was one of many bigs who destroyed UF's interior defense last season. Senior forward Admiral Schofield (13.9 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 39.5 percent 3-pt) has been one of the most physical and hardest-playing dudes in the league from the moment he arrived on campus. The two Jordan Bs, Jordan Bowden (9.1 pp) and Jordan Bone (7.3 ppg), are back as well, both of whom are solid in their roles and terrific on defense. The Vols signing class was one player deep: 6-9 freshman center D.J. Burns. Florida has won five of the last six home dates at UT, including three straight, after losing four of five to the Bruce Pearl-led Vols from 2005-10.
Jan. 15: at Mississippi State, 7 p.m. (ESPNU, ESPN2 or SEC Network) The buzz: Watch out for the Bulldogs in 2019. They went 25-12 last season, including 9-9 in SEC play, but a weak non-conference schedule left them for the NIT, where they beat Nebraska, then won at Baylor and Louisville to advance to the semifinals. MSU returns all five of its starters, including dynamic brother duo Quinndary (14.1 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 48.5 from the floor) and Nick Weatherspoon (10.8 ppg, 47.9 percent floor), plus 6-10 NBA prospect Aric Holman (66 percent from the floor, 44 percent from 3), and add McDonald's All-America power forward Reggie Perry to the mix in a beefy front court. Year 4 under Ben Howland will be an exciting one in Starkville.
Tom Crean, who won 161 games over 18 seasons at Marquette and Indiana, comes to the SEC this fall. And to Gainesville on Jan. 19
Jan. 19: at Georgia, The buzz: Coach Mark Fox, after nine years (and just two NCAA berths), is no longer in Athens. Perhaps of more significance (at least for the Gators), power forward and 2018 SEC Player of the Year Yante Maten, after four years, is gone, as well. The UGA rebuild will be overseen by Tom Crean, who in 18 seasons at Marquette and Indiana combined to go 161-146 while reaching nine NCAA tournaments (including the 2003 Final Four with Dwayne Wade) and five NITs. The Bulldogs, coming off their first regular-season sweep of the Gators since 1997, return three starters, led by guard William "Turtle" Jackson (8.4 ppg) and forward Derek Ogbeide (6.9 ppg, 6.2 rpg).
Jan. 22: Texas A&M, noon (CBS) The buzz: The Aggies withstood a rash of injuries last season, plus an 0-5 start in league play, and not only earned an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament, but made a surprising run to the Sweet 16, including an upset of reigning national champion North Carolina. A&M, though, was gutted when power forward and first-round draft pick Robert Williams, 6-10 center Tyler Davis and 6-9 wing D.J. Hogg all turned pro. There went the Aggies' vaunted size. They'll return the backcourt of Admon Gilder (12.3 ppg, 39.5 percent from 3) and T.J. Starks (9.9 ppg), but may not get much help from a signing class ranked 13th in the league by several recruiting services.
Florida played TCU only twice all-time, with the last road game against the Horned Frogs coming Dec. 21, 1974. The Schollmaier Arena (below), with its capacity of 6,400, looked much different back then, but after a renovation in 2014 is a slick and intimate site.
Jan. 26: at Texas Christian in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge at Fort Worth, Texas (ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU) The buzz: The Gators stomped Baylor by 20 to improve to 4-1 in the SEC Big 12 Challenge, with the previous wins coming against Kansas (along with a loss at Lawrence), West Virginia and Oklahoma. UF's sixth game in the event will send the Gators to Fort Worth to face the Horned Frogs, who lost the top two scorers from a squad that went 21-12 and lost to Syracuse in their NCAA opener. TCU returns a trio of starters, led by Desmond Bane (12.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg), and should get a jolt from marquee freshman forward Kaden Archie. The game will mark the third all-time meeting between the two programs and the first since the 1986 NIT.
Jan. 30: Ole Miss, 6:30 p.m. (SEC Network) The buzz: This will be the fourth time that White has faced the Rebels, the team for which he started at point guard for four years in the 1990s, so the nostalgia element of the storyline has pretty much run its course. Ole Miss won the first of those games last season, handing the Gators their first SEC loss, but the Rebels season went south after that, on the way to a 12-20 overall record and a last-place finish in the league at 5-13. Andy Kennedy, then the dean of SEC coaches, was fired and replaced by Kermit Davis, who did wonders at Middle Tennessee State. His teams there ranked 11th nationally in winning percentage over the last three years, twice reaching the NCAA Tournament and each time registering big upsets (in 2016 over No. 2-seed Michigan State; in 2017 over No. 5-seed Minnesota). Though Ole Miss lost guard Deandre Burnett, the team returns six of its top eight scorers, including four who finished in double figures, led by guard Terence Davis (13.8 ppg, 6.2 rpg). The Rebels incoming class isn't highly touted, but its six players deep, with 6-7, 230-pound forward Blake Hinson at the top.
Guard Immanuel Quickley heads the latest star-studded freshman class at Kentucky.
Feb. 2: Kentucky, 4 or 6 p.m. (ESPN or ESPN2) The buzz: The Wildcats underwent a major roster overhaul, losing a couple lottery picks (forward Kevin Knox and point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) and two second-rounders (guard Hamidou Diallo and forward Jarred Vanderbilt), to the NBA Draft (as well undrafted forward Wenyen Gabriel). So what else is new? UK is gutted annually by players turning pro, and actually have two leftovers from last year's fabulous freshman class in sophomore power forward P.J. Washington (10.8 ppg, 5.7 rpg) and point guard Quade Green (9.3 pig). The incoming crop of new Cats, ranked second nationally to Duke's embarrassment of rookie riches, features a trio of McDonald's All-Americans — most notably guard Immanuel Quickly, and forwards E.J. Montgomery and Kelvin Johnson — but also a rare graduate transfer. Former Stanford power forward Reid Travis was a two-time first-team All-Pac 12 selection who became just the third player in league history to tally at least 1,400 points and 700 rebounds in less than 100 games. UF, of course, swept the regular-season series against UK in 2018 for only the sixth time in school history, and has won three of the last four.
Auburn Danjel Purifoy and Austin Wiley won't be in street clothes this season.Feb. 5: at Auburn, 9 p.m. (ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU) The buzz: The Tigers claimed a share of the 2018 league title despite center Austin Wiley and forward Danjel Purifoy sitting out the season due to NCAA eligibility issues. Both players, though, returned to school, with Wiley, a projected NBA lottery pick, cleared to play right away and Purifoy set to sit out the first 10 games of the season, meaning he'll be back long before the Gators roll into the "Loveliest Village on the Plain." Auburn has back a bunch of guys, actually, with the transfer of leading scorer Mustapha Heron (16.4 pig, 5.3 rpg) to St. John's canceled out by the return of Wiley and Purifoy. Guard Bryce Brown (15.9 ppg, 38 percent from 3) was a first-team All-SEC selection, while point guard Jared Harper (13.2 ppg, 5.4 apg) made the second team.
Feb. 9: at Tennessee, 4 p.m. (ESPN, ESPNU or ESPN2) The buzz: UF's first conference rematch of the season. The Vols join LSU as this year's wild-card home-and-home opponents. Figures. Each year, it seems, the Gators get matched against two of the top projected opponents. Last season, it was Alabama (with its top-five signing class) and South Carolina (coming off a Final Four).
Feb. 13: Vanderbilt, 9 p.m. (ESPN2 or ESPNU) The buzz: Those who recall the early Donovan seasons, and the recruiting rampage his young staff went on, may want to take note. The Commodores and third-year Coach Bryce Drew pulled in a haul ranked among the top five or 10 in the country, with the duo of McDonald's All-Americans in 6-9 forward Simisola Shittu 6-3 guard Darius Garland, plus 6-5 swingman Aaron Nesmith, a top-30 guy. Granted, Vandy said goodbye to Gator-killers Jeff Roberson (16.9 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 40.5 percent from 3) and Riley LaChance (14.1 ppg, 41.8 percent from 3), but 2018 SEC All-Freshman point guard Saben Lee (10.6 ppg) has a year under his belt and a bunch of talented new guys to dish to. The Commodores won't repeat their 12-20, 6-12 record of last season.
Feb. 16: at Alabama, 2 p.m. (ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU) The buzz: They lost one-and-done NBA lottery pick Collin Sexton to the LeBron-less Cavaliers, but the Crimson Tide will return almost all of their roster. That means more beastly defense from 6-9 center Donta Hall (10.6 ppg, 6.6 rpg), who merely shot 72 percent from the floor, plus talented perimeter players John Petty (10.2 ppg, 37 percent from 3), Dazon Ingram (9.7 ppg, 5.7 rpg) and swingman Herb Jones (4.2 ppg, team-high 44 steals). Bama also got a medical waiver for guard/forward Riley Norris (6.9 ppg career average) to return for a fifth season as a grad student. The Tide's top newcomers figure to be transfer wing Tevin Mack, who averaged nearly 15 points and five rebounds at Texas in 2016-17, and freshman point guard Jared Butler, a four-star prospect from Louisiana.
That's LSU's Emmitt Williams on the dunk, with UF's Isaiah Stokes trailing the play, during their IMG prep days.Feb. 20: at Louisiana State, 7 p.m. (ESPN2 or ESPNU) The buzz: The last time they played at Maravich Assembly Center, on Jan. 26, 2017, the Gators dropped a school-record 19 makes from 3-point range — including a 5-for-5 effort off the bench from since-transferred guard Eric Hester — in a 106-71 annihilation the marked LSU's worst home loss in 54 years. The basketball landscape in Baton Rouge has changed considerably under Coach Will Wade, now in his second season. As a freshman, score-first point guard Tremont Waters (15.9 ppg, 35.1 percent from 3) was the story, as the Tigers went 18-15 and played in the NIT. This season, the headlines figure to be dominated by a freshman class ranked as a top-five signing haul — second in the SEC only to Kentucky — and includes six players and a couple hotshot Florida prospects. Forward Emmitt Williams, out of Orlando, and center Nazreon Reid were five-stars and 2018 McDonald's All-Americans, while power forward Darius Days, one of three four-star signees in the class, hails from Gainesville, but played at IMG Academy in Bradenton.
Feb. 23: Missouri, 4 p.m. (ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU) The buzz: The Tigers lost leading scorer and grad transfer Kassius Robertson, No. 2 scorer Jordan Barnett, and NBA lottery pick Michael Porter (who they had for just three games, anyway). What was supposed to be a splashy first season under Cuonzo Martin ended with a 20-13 record, a middling 10-8 mark in the league, and one-and-out date in the NCAA Tournament. The biggest names (and scorers) are gone, but it won't be a total rebuild this season, with 6-10 sophomore forward Jontay Porter (9.9 ppg. 6.8), Michael's brother, and four-year starting forward Kevin Puryear back. The new blood coming in this year isn't anything like it was last year.
Bryce Drew is on a recruiting roll at Vandy. Feb. 27: at Vanderbilt, 9 p.m. (SEC Network) The buzz: Under White, the Gators are 1-8 against Vandy, including 1-6 in head-to-head matchups vs Drew. Of course, White sees that record of 1-7 when you throw in Drew's miracle buzzer-beater for Valparaiso against Ole Miss when the two met as players in the 1997 NCAA Tournament, but that's neither here nor there. Anyway, that lone win came in last season's SEC opener at the O-Dome, when the Gators played a near-perfect offensive first-half and a equally near-awful defensive second half only to withstand a furious Vandy comeback for an 81-74 win. UF has not won in Nashville since the 2014 Final Four season.
March 2: Georgia, 8:30 p.m. (SEC Network) The buzz: Remember when the Bulldogs visited the O'Dome last year? The Gators led by seven with 1:10 to play, by six with less than 20 seconds to play — and lost in overtime. Two 3-pointers by Maten at the end of regulation bracketed UF's failure to execute an inbounds play. The Dogs forced the extra period and stole one on the road. Why bring it up? Not sure. This trip for the Bulldogs will be more about Crean's introduction to the Rowdy Reptiles.
March 6: LSU, 7 p.m. (ESPN2 or ESPNU) The buzz: Should be an emotional Senior Night for KeVaughn Allen, Kevarrius Hayes and Hudson. By then, the three could have in excess of a 4,000 points during their combined careers.
March 9: at Kentucky, 2 p.m. (CBS) The buzz: Ahh, another "Senior Day" at Rupp Arena where they'll honor seldom-seen walk-ons. This year, there's only one. Take a bow, Jonny David (who this season figures to build on his seven career points in 26 minutes). Travis surely will be honored, as well. After that, well, the fans will be seeing the latest collection of future UK lottery picks playing their final home game. And very possibly, playing with a conference title already clinched or in the balance.
The league's postseason tournament returns to Nashville in 2019.
March 13-17: SEC Tournament (Nashville, Tenn.) The buzz: After breaking the three-years-then-elsewhere Nashville cycle with a trip to St. Louis in 2018, the league's prime hoops event returns to the Music City in 2019. The SEC Tournament will be at Bridgestone Arena the next three years, then head to Tampa in 2022, and return to Nashville for 2023-25.