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I spent the afternoon in Nashville for the game and was pleasantly surprised the Gators even came close in this one. The game was phenomenal; an emotional roller coaster careening at unsafe speeds all afternoon through the Memorial Gym. It was a tidal wave back and forth as Vandy took the lead, then Florida came back and went back on top.
First Impressions
Florida’s defense was better, but not great. We still gave up several open looks at the basket. Vanderbilt made two 3-pointers right out of the gate. On both plays it looked like Dan Werner was standing in the lane guarding air. We forced 13 turnovers to our 10. We out-rebounded the ‘Dores 34 to 31.
Key Numbers:
1… The number of fouls Vanderbilt was charged with in the first half.
2… The number of fouls Vanderbilt had 30 minutes into the game (more on this later).
1… The Gator’s made one 3-pointer the entire game. One! Werner was 1-6 and continues to put up bricks. Werner needs to develop his inside shot and stop putting up prayers. He is barely making 1 of 4 shots from behind the arc, and is costing points.
11… Florida’s leading scorers, Calathes and Speights, had only 11 points. Walter Hodge also had 10 points. Unless our bench is averaging 9 points a peice, that’s not going to win ball games with the way the defense has been. It is amazing we stayed in the ballgame with this kind of production from the offense. We did make 11-13 free throws, which was encouraging. Speights was 5-6 from the line.
Final Score: 58-61
Alex Gordon sinking the game-winning free throw.
Saturday the Gators took down a struggling Georgia team that has lost 5 in a row. The Gators didn’t shoot extremely well, making less than 50% from the field and only 14 of 22 from the free throw line, but it was enough for a 10-point victory. Notably, Calathes scored only 7 points on 1-7 from the field; not good for the Gators go-to guy. The final score was 77-67. With a two game home stand this week, the Gators should pick up another win against LSU, before heading to Nashville to face Vandy next weekend. I’ll be at that game and will be posting some pictures afterwards.
After Saturday’s shellacking at the hands of Arkansas, I didn’t think it could get much worse. I knew we were in for a game against Tennessee, but the first half got me thinking we could actually win. Then came that other team onto the court. The one that forces shots. That doesn’t drive to the rim. That plays like midgets running around in circles against a team full of Shaqs.
UT must have thought it was Christmas the way Florida turned the ball over in the second half. After a solid shooting performance in the first half, Florida finished the night still shooting 52.8% to UT’s 49.3%, but the 3-point percentage dropped below 30%. UT hit on 43.3% of their 3-pointers. Florida defended the lane well for much of the game, but gave Lofton and company way too many open looks from beyond the arc. Lofton finished 6-11 from three point range, and Jujuan Smith finished 6-12.
What truly killed all momentum from the first half was the officiating in the second half. The first few minutes were clean, but from about five minutes in to the end, Florida couldn’t breathe without a whistle being blown. There were several clean blocks called fouls. At one point Chandler Parsons reached out and whiffed as Prince blew by him to the basket, and was called for the foul.
Florida needs another signature victory to add to their resume down the final stretch. They should be looking for revenge when the Vols come to town, and a win at Vandy on the 16th should help their case. Look for Florida to win 6-7 out of their remaining 8 games and pick up steam heading into the SEC Tourney. If they fare well in the SEC Tournament, I’d guess they may pick up a seed in the 5-8 range for the NCAA Tournament. Otherwise, there’s a chance they could be left out when March Madness rolls around.
With National Signing Day tomorrow, and classes beginning to take shape, it’s time for an early look at the pre-season Power Rankings. Right now, this is somewhat arbitrary and won’t begin to take shape for a few months. Here’s the Top 10 as I currently see it:
1.UGA
2. Oklahoma
3. Florida
4. USC
5. Missouri
6. LSU
7. Ohio State
8. West Virginia
9. Clemson
10. Texas
With Georgia losing only 5 starters, they look like the team to beat in 2008. Matthew Stafford will carry a lighter load as long as he can hand off to Moreno, and the defense should be good enough to carry this team. Their season will hinge on a date with the Gators, November 1st in Jacksonville, and you better believe the Gators want revenge after last year’s antics. Look for Florida to pull this game out and topple Georgia from atop the rankings. When all is said and done though, the SEC East race will likely determine our BCS Champion in 2008.
Oklahoma returns a majority of their team. If they stay healthy, the date with Texas will determine their fate in 2008. This is almost always their pivotal game, and looks to be the same in 2008. They also exchange Mizzou for Kansas (at home) on the schedule this year. Kansas may have another great season in 2008, but expect them to lose at least 2-3 games, including the game in Norman. If OU escapes, they may face the SEC Champion or USC in the National Championship Game.
Florida returns nine starters from a young defense. The depth should continue to improve as Meyer’s recruiting classes begin to take shape. If Meyer can find somebody on the front four to put pressure on the QB, a lot of pressure will be taken off a secondary that got torched by UGA and Michigan this past season. There will be a couple holes to fill on the O-line, but Phil Trautwein will return after missing 2007 with a stress fracture in his foot. Andre Caldwell is the only skill player Florida loses, and while he’s not easy to replace, Florida has unbelievable depth at receiver. Look for Meyer’s excellent recruiting to start showing dividends in 2008, and if Florida gets past UGA, another shot at a National Championship in Gainesville.
USC should be near the top again next year, as much as I hate to say it. The Pac-10, without the likes of Dennis Dixon, should be another cake walk for USC. They will have to deal with the loss of 9 seniors who participated in the Senior Bowl, but USC has recruited extremely well lately, and should have no problem. It may come down to another vote between USC and Oklahoma for the BCS Championship Game.
Chase Daniel returns for his senior season at Missouri. Losing Tony Temple may prove to be huge. If his shoes are not filled, Mizzou’s passing attack will suffer. After seeing what Temple was capable of against Arkansas, it’s obvious that the threat of him in the backfield was enough to keep defenses honest. Oklahoma is off the schedule this year, but Missouri should win the Big 12 North and probably end up facing OU in the Big 12 title game.
LSU has some question marks after losing Dorsey, Steltz, Hester, Flynn, and company. Additionally, they lost Bo Pelini as defensive coordinator. Look for Ryan Perrilloux to run more of an Oregon-style spread system against a wide open SEC West. LSU has a good shot at winning the West again, but may run into some problems at Florida and playing UGA at home.
With Michigan in transition, Ohio State is the obvious pick to win the Big Ten (or eleven, but who’s counting?). Wisconsin and Illinois might sneak in and be spoilers next season, but let’s face it, OSU owns the Big Ten. If OU and USC slip up down the stretch, we could end up with another OSU blow out in the title game (Please NO!).
West Virginia’s offensive cupboards are full and their run this season will depend on who steps up in the Big East and whether new coach Bill Stewart can continue to motivate this team.
Clemson has nine starters returning on defense and plenty of offensive firepower returning. They’ll have to fill four spots on the offensive line, which is their biggest concern. Depending on how well the line holds up, second year starter Cullen Harper could put up another season’s worth of impressive numbers. CJ Spiller and James Davis are always a threat to break a play down field. Expect these two to look similar to the McFadden/Jones tandem we’ve seen the past two seasons.
Texas’ success hinges on their ability to replace several defensive starters and RB Jamaal Charles. Will Muschamp comes in to take over a defense that has had problems recently. Muschamp ran some great schemes at Auburn and was able to win games with his defense; good thing since Auburn didn’t have an offense!
That rounds out the Top 10. Look for some moves in the rankings in response to Super Wednesday.
From the Field to the Court 
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