Florida Gators

ATHENS, Ga. — When they come, the warning signs usually are subtle. The coaches have a tendency to sense things first, but players have a feel, as well. 

"Sometimes you know it might get hard," Florida sophomore shooting guard Noah Locke said. "I can put it on myself sometimes, too. Like if I come in and I'm not as energetic as I can be. I know it rubs off on others." 

In this case, the "it" is everything. It's the vibe, bounce, readiness and respect the team has going into a game. For the Gators this season, sometimes they've had it, sometimes they've had … well … the aforementioned "it." 

"It" got UF a rap in the mouth at the outset against Florida State. "It" got the Gators 20 points in the first half at Connecticut. "It" got them deficits of 21 against Alabama and 22 points against Georgia at home. Most recently, "it" became a measly 17-point half and, ultimately, an insurmountable lead to overcome Saturday at Tennessee. 

Too many times during the 2019-20 season, Florida has been a slow-starter or drought-lingered. Afterward — whether it be in tough defeats or rousing comeback victories — players have cited a lack of focus or attention to detail relative to the scouting report as in-game culprits. In reviewing the most recent example, the 63-58 road loss to the Volunteers, UF coach Mike White pointed a finger at himself, but also pointed to the team sitting on the other bench. 

"It all starts with myself and our staff. We self-evaluate every single day what we're telling these guys and what we're not," White said, listing a litany of routine day-to-day items that reviewed. "Another big factor is the other team. Again, I thought Tennessee was really good early in that game. We'll continue to evaluate. Sometimes teams can lack confidence and sometimes, I think with this team, believe it or not, with as young as we are, we've got too much confidence; we're a little bit too comfortable when the ball's being tipped and not quite understanding how hard each one of these games is and that the margin for error, especially on the road, is very small."

Yes, it is. And such will be the case Wednesday night. 

The Gators (18-11, 10-6) better be on edge when they enter Stegeman Coliseum to face the rejuvenated Georgia Bulldogs (15-14, 5-11), who in averaging nearly 90 points over their previous three games are suddenly looking like a lot more than freshman standout Anthony Edwards and a posse of contributors. While UF was failing to reach even 20 points in the first half at UT over the wekeend, UGA was dropping 99 on Arkansas in a win at home. 

[Read senior writer Chris Harry's "Pregame Stuff' setup here] The last time the two played, the Bulldogs led by 22 two minutes into the second half and basically silenced Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center. The Gators, though, came alive to go on a wicked run of 37-5 and eventually won 81-75. That outcome came nearly a month to the day after Alabama came to town, jumped on UF for a three-touchdown advantage, and ultimately was sent back to Tuscaloosa with a 104-98 double-overtime defeat. 

Florida needs to understand that any lack of urgency, focus, whatever will be exploited by the high-flying exploits of Edwards, the Southeastern Conference's No. 3 scorer at 19.8 points per game and potential No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, and his high-scoring teammates. Getting such a recent taste of that in Knoxville should serve them well. 

Oh, and one more thing. 

The Gators, for now, would appear to be in good shape for at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament, but here's the rub: the regular-season isn't over now. Two games remain, with the finale set for Saturday against No. 6 Kentucky at the O'Dome. They need another win (or two) this week or next at the SEC Tournament to take any drama out of Selection Sunday. If that doesn't put them on edge, what will? 

"Every team has got issues. I hate for the narrative to be how many issues we have. We are who we are," White said. "We've consistently improved throughout the year. We've seen some really good halves; some games where we've played 30 really good minutes and we're just nitpicking. We're trying to max out the youngest team in the league, is what we're trying to do. It's not all negative. Going into Tennessee, we were playing very well and then played really well in the second half to give ourselves a chance. Is there another jump this team can make? Yeah, I think there's always [one] as long as you have games in front of you and practices in front of you. We've just got to take advantage of these. But, again, [this game] will be very difficult."

This time of year, "it" is supposed to be.