Florida: post mortem

I don't think I'll have time to post the situation this week, but that's ok, because there is no situation.  Georgia blew its last chance at a nice win, and its only "good" win just lost at Missouri.  Barring a very unlikely run in the SEC tournament, this team is not dancing.

It doesn't have to be this way, but I'll leave that for another post.

For now, a post mortem, even if my heart isn't in it:

• Georgia wasted a great crowd.  The stands weren't full, but those that were there were loud.  Too bad they didn't get much to cheer for.
• Derek Ogbeide was an absolute beast in the first three minutes of the game.  He was "eating glass" as the team would say.  If you heard someone yelling, "No!" as Houston Kessler inexplicably replaced him three minutes into the game, you were probably sitting near me.
• The defense is good enough.  Plenty good enough.  If you hold a team to 19 first half points, you have to be up big at half.
• If you want to find a half in which Georgia put up more than 40 points, you have to go all the way back to the LSU game.  It came in a loss.
• It's not like this team lacks talent.  In fact, I'd go so far as to say Georgia had at least as much talent as Florida.  You think Michael White couldn't find a way to put up points with Yante Maten, Kenny Gaines, and J.J. Frazier?
• I don't know what Maten plans to work on this summer, but if he decides to extend his range out past the 3-point line, Mark Fox's "offense" will be the only defense that can stop him.
• Florida decided to take Maten away last night.  Fine.  That shouldn't be bad news!  Georgia should be a pick-your-poison type team on offense.  Instead, it was Frazier and Charles Mann playing hero-ball.  Hint: that's a bad formula.
• Why didn't White press Georgia all night?  It's almost like he felt bad about his two previous dismantlings of Mark Fox Georgia teams and wanted to throw him a bone.
• You think ESPN is tired of having the Bulldogs on Super Tuesday?  Two weeks in a row, just over 100 points scored.  Yuck.
• It's not helping that I'm watching Duke - North Carolina right now.  61 points have been scored, and there are 6 minutes left in the first half.

Basketball is supposed to be fun.  When's the last time you had fun watching this team?  Clemson?  Georgia Tech?  Oakland?

It's not the losing that gets me.  I'm a Georgia basketball fan.  I can handle losing.

It's how Georgia loses.

I'll keep watching.  I'll keep cheering.  But as hope for this season wanes, it's going to have to be hope for the future that keeps me going...

Donovan out at Florida

Billy Donovan - unless he pulls a Billy Donovan - will be the next head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Let's not mince words here.  Donovan was an all-time great hire by Florida who pulled a moribund program up from the muck and mire and made it elite.  Replacing him will not be easy.  The fact that it's nearly May complicates things more.  Does Florida try to go steal a coach now, or do they turn it over to Anthony Grant for a year?  If they do give it to Grant, does he have a chance to earn the job (please make this happen)?

The SEC coaching ranks got a lot weaker today, but Georgia's position in the conference likely improved.  I'm happy to make that trade.

Best of luck to Coach Donovan in the show.  I suspect he'll do just fine.

[ESPN]

Florida: post mortem

It's not the same Florida team we saw last year, but don't let anyone tell you those guys are pushovers.  That was a great win over a game bunch of Gators.  The 0-2 start to conference play still stings, but it's effectively been neutralized with the two wins.  I said I wanted a 2-2 start to conference play, and I got it, though that's not exactly how I thought it would go:

• Nice crowd.  Georgia getting two early baskets despite the fake shot clock countdown of the Gator fans was beautiful.  I couldn't hear a peep from them during the first media timeout, and I sit on that corner of the court.
• The box score reveals what we all know:  Georgia was hot.  That doesn't tell the whole story though, because so was Florida.  They shot 50% from the field and had one more made field goal than the Bulldogs.  I heard some Gator fans in line for the bathroom at halftime saying Georgia had hit a few "crazy shots."  I disagree.  They hit open shots.
• The difference, in this case, was turnovers and free throws.  Georgia wasn't particularly good in either category (16 and 66%), but Florida was worse in both (19 and 57%).
• Cameron Forte putting it in the spin cycle.  Pretty.
• J.J. Frazier:  6 assists and 0 turnovers.  That's a sexy line.
• It's time for Kenny Gaines to start being selfish.  Don't stop shooting, big guy.  Perhaps his late-game illness had something to do with it, but the fact that he only shot 8 times is insane.  Georgia needs to run offense for him.
• Charles Mann was great in the second half.  That's the Mann we need.
• Yante Maten with another block.  And oh what a block.
• I didn't see the game on TV, but was the moving screen call on Kenny Gaines as bad as it looked live?  It looked bad.
• Again, I'll point you to the scoring distribution.  Four players in double figures and one two points away.  That's the sign of a good team, folks.
• Just curious:  why was Florida awarded bonus free throws after an offensive foul in the second half?  I don't even remember who the foul was on, but suffice it to say I was very confused.
• I don't remember who was on the receiving end, but J.J.'s spinning post feed was one of the prettiest passes I've seen in a long time.  It was coming right at me, and I'm still not sure how it got through.
• Georgia continues the trend of starting hot.  Don't stop now.

Can we expect a start that hot every night?  No.  Will the 3-pointers keep falling the way they have in the last two games?  I doubt it.  Regardless, this team is playing with confidence.  Some fans likely gave up after the 0-2 start, but they clearly didn't.  Next up is a red-hot Rebels team (check out what they did Saturday night).  Just another night in the suddenly-reborn SEC.

Game card: Florida

Opponent:  Florida
Mascot:  Gators
Primary color(s):  Orange and blue
Record:  10-6 (3-0)
Best player:  Dorien Finney-Smith
Line:  Pick

Why Georgia will win:  Georgia can't lose two in a row at home, can they?  After a confidence boosting win in Nashville they will come out focused and firing on all cylinders.  Kenny Gaines is back to form, and that makes Georgia very difficult to beat.

Why Georgia will lose:  Florida's record isn't indicative of just how good these guys are.  They lost a lot of talent off of last year's squad that went undefeated in SEC play, but they've still lost close games to tough Miami, Georgetown, Kansas, Florida State, and UConn teams.  They also press, and that has been an Achilles heel for Georgia this year.

What I think will happen:  Can they prove me wrong again?  Gators win 78-71.

What I hope will happen:

Florida invents a new way to lose

I've heard of "beating yourself," but Florida took that to a whole new level last night:

The ball took an odd bounce off the rim because it was short and Florida forward Jacob Kurtz accidentally tipped in the miss with 0.4 seconds left to give Florida State a 65-63 win.

This is as close as I've come to feeling bad for Florida in a long, long time...

A squeaker in Gainesville

Just a reminder that, when it comes to exhibition games, it's about more than just the final score.  Unless you think Florida is only 9 points better than the might Barry Buccaneers, that is.

This is not to say there's nothing to be concerned about from a Georgia perspective, but the primary purpose of an exhibition for a team like Georgia is to experiment with rotations and see players at close to full speed.  You definitely don't want to lose, but margin is not much of a concern.

**Warning:  link contains excessive use of awful Florida color scheme.

h/t www.onlygators.com

Butts in the seats

Mark Fox wants the Gators in Stegeman every year.  And he should.

He beats around the bush a bit:

“Those are the games that our fans will traditionally come out and see,” Fox said. “To not have any of those games at home, that’s an issue that all teams run into. Maybe with more partners that you play every year you can avoid some of that.”

What he's actually trying to say is, hey, we get 3,000-4,000 more fannies in the arena for that game, and we desperately need that.  The fact that it's either an OK loss or a great win is icing on the cake.

I've said on this blog that I think (and hope) the Gators will be one of the Dawgs' new permanent opponents.  Quite frankly, almost every team in the league is hoping to draw Florida or Kentucky, so Georgia isn't alone there.  Fortunately, there is some tradition that may give us the edge.

h/t Nicole Saavedra

I'll Take What He Has

Billy Donovan thinks teams that play on Sunday shouldn't have to play again until Friday:

If Donovan's team advances to the SEC tournament final this week in Atlanta, the Gators would play three games in three days. Florida would follow with a relatively short week considering it would have to return to Gainesville and then travel to Orlando a few days later.

"That's a lot, in my opinion," Donovan said.

 I think I agree with him, but as a Georgia basketball fan, sign me up.  File this one under "nice problems to have."

h/t ESPN