By Franz Beard
A few thoughts to jump start your Friday morning:
ANOTHER WHITE KNUCKLES LOSS PROBABLY MEANS NIT FOR UF
Hassan Diarra shoots 17 percent from the 3-point line in SEC basketball games. It would only figure that a guy who can’t find the ocean from the end of the pier would rattle home the game-winning 3-pointer in overtime with 0:00.4 left to give Texas A&M an 83-80 win over the Florida Gators in the SEC Tournament.
Diarra’s three is just one more heartbreak for the Gators (19-13) who have lost five two or fewer possession games this season. Find a way to win three of those five white knucklers and the Gators are 22-10 and a no-brainer pick to join the 68-team NCAA Tournament field that will be announced Sunday. Because they’ve lost five close encounters, the Gators are in need of a miracle of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the fiery furnace proportions to make the Big Dance instead of the NIT.
What makes this loss so painful is the way the Gators rallied from as much as 16 down in the second half – nine with 1:07 to go – to send the game into overtime. Down 67-58, Phlandrous Fleming Jr. and Kowacie Reeves put the Gators on their backs. Fleming hit a 3-ball and a pair of free throws. Reeves scored seven including a 4-point play with 37 seconds left in regulation and a 3-pointer from the corner with 17 seconds to go to tie the game at 70-70 to make overtime a necessity.
Once in overtime, the Gators had their chances to win the game, but their chance to take the lead with 17.7 seconds left fizzled when Fleming’s three lodged between the rim and the backboard. The possession arrow pointed the Aggies’ way and Diarra settled the outcome with his touch-em-all three that banged in to win it.
It was heartbreaking, not only because the Gators had played so valiantly to force an overtime, but also because of the unexpected heroics of Reeves, who scored all 21 of his points in the second half, and Niels Lane, who had career highs in both points (16) and rebounds (9). Their efforts helped make up for the absence of CJ Felder, who missed another game due to his bad hip, and limited duty from Anthony Duruji, nursing a bad leg that has been limiting him lately.
We’ve come to expect injuries in the Mike White era. John Egbunu (2017) comes to mind prominently. His ACL tear in late February might have prevented the Gators from making the Final Four. The Gators have never compensated for Keyontae Johnson’s absence since his collapse on the floor in Tallahassee on December 12, 2020. Colin Castleton has played the entire season with a bum shoulder that keeps him from practicing and caused him to miss six games during a crucial stretch in January and early February.
The injuries have been a real issue, so is a 37-52 record in games decided by two or fewer possessions since White became Florida’s head coach. The Gators play a lot of close games but far too often – Thursday against the Aggies is the perfect example – they can’t make the shot or turn the ball over at critical moments. The Gators hit a few threes in the last couple of minutes, but they were 5-24 overall from distance. Take away the 3-7 effort from Reeves and the rest of the team shot 2-17 from the 3-point line. The Gators also had more turnovers (18) than assists (17).
The Gators seem capable of playing everybody close and while they’ve won some close ones, they’ve lost far too many. If they’re going to take the next step in developing the program, they’ve got to start winning more of these close ball games.
SEC Basketball
Thursday’s scores: Texas A&M (21-11) 83, FLORIDA (19-13) 80; LSU (22-10) 76, Missouri (12-21) 68; Mississippi State (18-14) 73; South Carolina (18-13) 51; Vanderbilt (17-15) 82, Alabama (19-13) 76
Friday’s games: Texas A&M (21-11) vs. No. 4 Auburn (27-4); LSU (22-10) vs. No. 15 Arkansas (24-7); Mississippi State (18-14) vs. No. 9 Tennessee (23-7); Vanderbilt (17-15) vs. No. 5 Kentucky (25-6)
BRACKET WATCH
Oklahoma (18-14) 72, No. 3 Baylor (26-6) 67: The game doesn’t affect Baylor, but another win in the Big 12 Tournament could get Oklahoma in and cost an SEC or ACC team a spot.
Indiana (19-12) 74, Michigan (17-14) 69: Joe Lunardi and Jerry Palm still have Michigan in the tournament. This seems doubtful. Indiana is in the last four in line for Lunardi, first four out for Palm.
Colorado (21-10) 80, Oregon (19-14) 69: Colorado could sneak in as the fourth team from the Pac-12 especially if it goes white knuckles today against No. 3 Arizona.
No. 25 North Carolina (24-8) 63, Virginia (19-13) 43: If Virginia gets into the tournament it is because of tradition and everybody likes and respects Tony Bennett. Beware of the Tar Heels, who have now won six straight. They play Virginia Tech (21-12) Friday. It VaTech loses, it probably won’t make the tournament.
TOM CREAN FIRED AT GEORGIA
As expected, Georgia fired basketball coach Tom Crean Friday following a 6-26 season that is the worst in school history. Crean was 47-75 in his four years at Georgia. The Bulldogs never had a winning record in SEC play and were 1-17 this past season.
Brian Hamilton of The Athletic says that the replacement coach should be one of the following: Xavier associate head coach Jonas Hayes and Cleveland State head coach Dennis Gates. Smart money is on Hayes, who played for Jim Harrick at Georgia.
On the hot seat: In addition to Cuonzo Martin at Missouri, talk around Amalie Arena in Tampa is that Mississippi State’s Ben Howland could be leaving, perhaps not on his own volition.
SEC FOOTBALL
Arkansas: Arkansas extended the contracts of coordinators Barry Odom and Kendal Briles. Odom, the DC, got a bump to $1.85 million while Briles got a raise to $1.2 million. Both contracts were extended to 2024.
Georgia: Former Georgia QB JT Daniels is remaining in Athens until he graduates so he can transfer without having to get a waiver to play immediately. Oregon State, Missouri and West Virginia are his top three transfer destinations … Lonnie “LB” Brown has been hired away from Arizona to be an assistant strength coach at Georgia.
Tennessee: Former Jacksonville State interim head coach Maxwell Thurmond has been hired as an analyst.
UF BASEBALL: SETON HALL
Seton Hall (0-10) of the Big East comes to Gainesville for a 3-game set with the 11th-ranked Gators (11-3). Lefty Hunter Barco (2-1, 2.65 ERA, 28 strikeouts in 17 innings) is the expected starter for today’s 6:30 p.m. start (SEC Network+). Brandon Sproat (2-1, 1.17 ERA) probably gets the ball Saturday (4 p.m., SEC Network+) and lefty Timmy Manning (0.0, 4.38 ERA) could be the Sunday (12 noon, SEC Network+) starter.
Led by Sterlin Thompson (.368, 5 homers), Colby Halter (.397 4 homers) and Jud Fabian (.280, 4 homers), the Gators rank second in the nation in home runs with 29.
UF SOFTBALL: NO. 3 GATORS OPEN SEC PLAY WITH MISSISSIPPI STATE
Florida’s 3rd-ranked softball team opens SEC play at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium Saturday (12 noon, SEC Network). The Gators (21-1) face the Bulldogs (15-8) Sunday at 4 p.m. and again on Monday evening at 7 p.m., both games on the SEC Network.
The Gators are second in the SEC in batting (.372), first in stolen bases (64 in 70 attempts), third in ERA (1.45) and second in fielding percentage (.983). Kendra Falby (.514 batting average) and Skylar Wallace (.482) are tied for the SEC lead in stolen bases with 20 apiece. Falby has a 14-game hitting streak. Charla Echols is tied for the SEC lead in RBI with 28.
ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: I am not blaming the zebra crew of Pat Adams, Joe Lindsay and Steven Anderson for Florida’s 83-80 overtime loss to Texas A&M at the Southeastern Conference Tournament Thursday afternoon. What I am going to blame them for is calling an absolutely rotten game and rotten might be giving them far too much credit.
In the first half, which was every bit as physical as the second half and the overtime period, the zebras called six fouls, ZERO against the Gators and six against Texas A&M. There were five free throws shot. In the ENTIRE half. Could they have called more fouls? Sure, but nobody was really complaining. The physicality seemed pretty much the same at both ends of the court.
Those same zebras called FORTY (40) fouls in the second half and overtime. Whereas it seemed no body bag, no foul in the first half, there were way too many touch fouls and phantom calls in the 25 minutes. There were at least five no-calls that were head scratchers because there are people doing hard time in Raiford for less.
The only thing consistent about the way the second half and overtime were called is the inconsistency. Adams, Lindsay and Anderson were all over the place to the point that fans from other schools were booing.
The call that made the least sense was with 38.4 seconds remaining in overtime. On a too high inbounds pass that both Tyrece Radford of A&M and Florida’s Phlandrous Fleming Jr. were both going for, there was contact as the ball went out of bounds. The play was five feet from Anderson, who had a very good view. Anderson saw two players going for a high pass that neither player could have caught. A no call was the right call and Anderson awarded the basketball to the Gators, who had an 80-78 lead at the time. As soon as he pointed in Florida’s direction, Adams came rushing in as did Lindsay. They held a conference and Adams then signaled a foul on Fleming. Radford was awarded two free throws, which he hit to tie the game at 80-80.
The right call was a no call. The wrong call was Adams overruling Anderson, who had the best and clearest view. Now, that call didn’t cost the Gators the game. They made too many mistakes and shot themselves in the foot far too many times. That call is just a good example of the inconsistency of the zebra crew.
Adams, if you recall, was on the whistle in the Florida-Kentucky game. He was horrible in that game and quite frankly, has had the kind of year that lots of folks on media row believe ranks with the worst in recent SEC memory. Joe Lindsay isn’t much better and some think he’s worse.
These guys aren’t the only bad officials in the league. I watched the crew of Terry Wymer, Tony Greene and Owen Shortt struggle Wednesday night when Missouri beat Ole Miss. Calling them disastrous would be one of the understatements of 2022. Tony Greene shouldn’t be allowed to call a game at the YMCA. The other two shouldn’t be calling games at this level.
As much money as the SEC rakes in, it can afford to spend the money for the best officials whether it’s basketball or football. SEC football is unquestionably the best in the country. SEC basketball now ranks with the very best leagues in the country. The officiating stinks in both sports. It’s about time Greg Sankey takes charge of an untenable situation to do whatever it takes to make SEC games the best officiated in the country.
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