By Franz Beard
A few thoughts to jump start your Monday morning:
TUESDAY MAY DETERMINE UF’S FATE IN THE POSTSEASON
We may only be halfway through February, but we’re already in the must-win section of Florida’s basketball schedule. The Gators (16-9, 6-6 SEC) got hosed at Rupp Arena Saturday by a Kentucky (21-4, 10-2 SEC) team that has a Final Four look about it. That was pretty much expected since the Wildcats are talented and deep and the Gators have had to wade through another season of injuries. It’s not so much the Gators were exposed by Kentucky since we already know UF has serious limitations, but it was painfully clear just how fragile the Gators are. They can play for stretches with just about anyone in the country, but it takes stars and planets aligning for the Gators to beat a ranked team.
Tuesday night in College Station, the Gators will be facing a team that in many respects bears a strong resemblance. Like the Gators, there are nights when Texas A&M (15-10, 4-8 SEC) can play with anyone but the Aggies do have limitations. They don’t shoot the ball very well, they turn the ball over a lot and they have problems rebounding since they typically play a 4-guard lineup. They’ve lost eight straight and have gone from a team that was on every bracket a month ago to one that needs to right itself to even make the NIT.
The Gators still can make the NCAA Tournament, but they can’t afford a slip-up on road trips to A&M, Vanderbilt and Georgia, three teams that the NCAA Net Rankings say UF should beat. Florida’s No. 49 NCAA Net Ranking puts the Gators squarely on the NCAA bubble and since neither Texas A&M (73), Vanderbilt (76) or Georgia (205) is a Quad 1 opponent, a loss would be devastating to UF’s chances. Lose one of those three and it might take a small miracle for UF to avoid playing in the Nobody’s Interested Tournament. Win those three and then score a win in one of the three remaining home games – No. 1 Auburn, Arkansas and No. 5 Kentucky – and the Gators should make the NCAA Tournament with room to spare.
SEC Basketball
Tuesday’s games: FLORIDA (16-9, 6-6 SEC) at Texas A&M (15-10, 4-8 SEC); South Carolina (14-10, 5-7 SEC) at Ole Miss (12-13, 3-9 SEC); No. 5 Kentucky (21-4, 10-2 SEC) at No. 19 Tennessee (18-6, 9-3 SEC); Arkansas (19-6, 8-4 SEC) at Missouri (10-14, 4-7 SEC)
Wednesday’s games: Georgia (6-19, 1-11 SEC) at LSU (18-7, 6-6 SEC); Mississippi State (14-10, 5-6 SEC) at Alabama (16-9, 6-6 SEC); Vanderbilt (13-11, 5-7 SEC) at No. 1 Auburn (23-2, 11-1 SEC)
A WIN TONIGHT MOVES WOMEN’S BB ONE STEP CLOSER TO THE DOUBLE BYE
The 19th-ranked Gators (18-6, 8-3 SEC) have to be wary tonight when they face Auburn (9-13, 1-10) on the road. Although Auburn sits dead last in the SEC, their only win in league play was over Tennessee, which was ranked 4th nationally at the time. Since that win Auburn is 0-3 but the Tigers had lost seven straight when they beat Tennessee.
It’s coming down to crunch time for the Gators, who need to win three of their last five games to ensure they’ll have the double-bye at the SEC Tournament. So, a win tonight gets them one step closer, and to a place Florida women’s basketball hasn’t been in years. The last time a Florida women’s team had 10 SEC wins was 2016. Kelly Rae Finley also has the Gators within striking distance of the school record for wins in a season (24), achieved by Amanda Butler and twice by Carol Ross, and most SEC wins in a season (11 by Ross in 2001).
SEC Women’s Basketball
Sunday’s scores: No. 13 Tennessee (21-4) 66, Vanderbilt (12-14, 3-9 SEC) 52; No. 1 South Carolina (23-1, 11-1 SEC) 72, No. 17 Georgia (17-7, 6-6 SEC) 54; Kentucky (10-11, 3-8 SEC) 67, Alabama (12-11, 3-9 SEC) 63; No. 14 LSU (21-4, 9-3 SEC) 74, Texas A&M (14-10, 4-8 SEC) 58; Arkansas (16-8, 6-5 SEC) 88; Missouri (16-9, 5-7 SEC) 71; Mississippi State (15-8, 6-5 SEC) 70, Ole Miss (18-6, 6-5 SEC) 59
Monday’s game: NO. 19 FLORIDA (18-6, 8-3 SEC) at Auburn (9-13, 1-10 SEC)
UF SOFTBALL: GATORS 24, EVERYBODY ELSE 1
To be sure, Tim Walton already has a list that he’s checked more than twice, dissecting every single thing that could have been or should have been in Tampa this weekend. That’s what great coaches do, but you can also know that he’s not the least bit disappointed with the results at the Rawlings USF Tournament – a 4-0 record by the 5th-ranked Gators that includes a win over 16th-ranked Michigan, three shutouts, a near no-hitter by freshman Lexie Delbrey, a clutch game-winning grand slam by Cheyenne Lindsay, home runs by freshmen Kendra Dalby and Samantha Roe, and four errorless games.
Because it’s the first weekend of the season, Walton isn’t going to read too much into the outcome, but instead he’ll think of it as a really good start. In going 4-0, the Gators shut out Illinois State 3-0, knocked off Kansas City 7-1, took a 4-0 win over Michigan when Delbrey pitched her gem and Lindsey the grand slam, and then Sunday, got a third shutout and 12 hits when they blew the doors off host South Florida.
Here are a few highlights:
Falby, hitting in the 9-slot, went 6-11 with a double, a home run, four RBI and 4-4 on stolen bases.
Hannah Adams went 6-12 with a triple and two RBI.
Alabama transfer Skylar Wallace went 5-14 with an RBI and 3-3 on stolen bases.
Roe went 2-6 including a home run, two RBI and two sacrifices.
Delbrey gave up one hit, two walks and struck out five in her first career start against Michigan.
Elizabeth Hightower got three wins in 12-1/3 innings, giving up six hits, four walks and striking out 12.
Natalie Lugo pitched 3-1/3 innings, gave up three hits, two walks and struck out three.
Next up for the Gators is a road trip to Jacksonville Tuesday night followed by the Wednesday home opener against the same JU Dolphins on Wednesday.
UF GYMNASTICS: THIS COULD BE A VERY SPECIAL SEASON
Jenny Rowland has assembled a powerful Florida team and barring injuries, could be one that hoists a national championship trophy when the season ends. Florida’s heart-stopping win over 5th-ranked LSU on Friday showed the kind of talent Rowland has. The Gators overcame a bad day at the office by Sloane Blakely and a 9.7 on the balance beam that she absolutely owns by Trinity Thomas to go into the final rotation tied at 148.350. So all the Gators did was dial up a 49.800 finish with two 9.9s (Alyssa Baumann and Megan Skaggs), a 9.950 (Blakely), a pair of 9.975s (Leanne Wong and Thomas) and a 10 (Nya Reed) to score the win.
What’s amazing about what the Gators have done so far is that (a) Rowland still hasn’t settled in on the rotation that’s going to take her to nationals and (b) Wong, the 2021 World Championships silver medalist, is just now getting into a groove. By the time the Gators face Oklahoma (February 25, O-Dome) and Auburn (March 4 on the road), Rowland should have the Gators starting to laser in on the run to a championship.
OTHER UF SPORTS: With Fred Biondi tying the tournament record at 14-under par, the 29th-ranked Gators scored a 12-stroke victory over 4th-ranked Oklahoma State in the VyStar Invitational. It was Florida’s third straight win in the VyStar … With their win in the FAU Paradise Invitational last week, the Florida women’s golf team is now ranked 6th by GolfWeek ... Florida’s 7th-ranked lacrosse team opened its season with a 22-7 win over Kennesaw State behind six goals by Emma LoPinto ... The 13th-ranked Florida women’s tennis team (7-2) salvaged the weekend at the ITA Women’s Indoor Championships with a 4-0 win over 16th-ranked Washington. The Gators lost to 7th-ranked Virginia, 4-2, and 11th-ranked Ohio State, 4-3, in their matches Friday and Saturday … The 5th-ranked Florida men’s tennis team begins competition in the ITA Men’s Indoor Championships today ... The Florida men’s and women’s swimming teams will be competing at the SEC Championships starting Tuesday in Knoxville. The Florida men are ranked 5th nationally while the Florida women are ranked 17th … At the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Florida’s 4X400 men’s relay team ran a 3:02.09 to win with the best time in the NCAA and the world this year. Talitha Diggs ran a 22.75 200 meters, best time in the NCAA and fourth fastest in the world this year. The Florida women are ranked No. 1 in the country while the Florida men are ranked 9th.
ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Writing for Saturday Down South, Dave Hooker compared the hire and subsequent soap opera that involves Auburn’s Bryan Harsin with Mike Price, the former Alabama coach who never actually coached a game after an infamous outing at a Pensacola strip joint where he partied with a debutante named Destiny. Writes Hooker, who was assigned to write about the 10 worst coaching hires in SEC history, “Price is simply the GOAT of bad hires and it’s not even close.” Harsin might be a truly bad fit for Auburn, but you can blame Auburn for that. After spending $21.7 million to make Gus Malzahn go away, most of the good coaches wouldn’t give Auburn a sniff. Desperate times call for desperate measures and Harsin, who actually can coach football, was willing to say yes when Auburn threw a bunch of money at him. But, that doesn’t make him the worst hire ever or even one of the top 10 worst in SEC history.
Hooker gave a few bad hire examples, but didn’t elaborate on a top 10 worst, so I’ll offer my list of the 10 worst:
1. Mike Price, Alabama: Hooker is right. Second place isn’t even close.
2. Ears Whitworth, Alabama: He went 4-24-2 and that was WITH Bart Starr as his QB. He was so bad they had to go hire Bear Bryant.
3. Robbie Caldwell, Vanderbilt: He went 2-10 in 2010. He was really bad.
4. Curley Hallman, LSU: Couldn’t coach, couldn’t recruit in a talent-rich state where kids essentially recruit themselves to the school.
5. Derek Dooley, Tennessee: Prior to Tennessee, where he had three straight losers, Dooley had two losing seasons out of three at Louisiana Tech. They must have thought that because his last name is Dooley he could actually coach.
6. Ed Orgeron, Ole Miss: Yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, football! He had never been a head coach or a coordinator and it showed.
7. Jack Crowe, Arkansas: He got fired one game into his third season for losing to The Citadel.
8. John L. Smith, Arkansas: He took over plenty of talent left behind after Bobby Petrino’s infamous motorcycle encounter of the closest kind and ran the program in the ground. That was 2012 and Arkansas hasn’t recovered yet.
9. Will Muschamp, Florida: Great guy. Knows his defense, but should have spent three or four years beating the bushes and learning how to be a head coach. That he was a bad hire at Florida is as much or more on the administration as it is on Will. Florida is not a place for on the job training.
10. Ray Goff, Georgia: He had two decent seasons in seven years after taking over for Vince Dooley. Georgia fans will always remember him for going 0-7 against the Gators and giving up 52 points to UF between the hedges in 1995.
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