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Gators, Wildcats Still Searching For Respect

The Associated Press

The Gators will have to find a way to shut down Kentucky's Jodie Meeks, who leads the SEC in scoring.

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By MICK ELLIOTT | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 10, 2009

GAINESVILLE - Tonight in Lexington, Ky., at sold-out 23,000-seat Rupp Arena, Southeastern Conference basketball's steel-cage match, must-see, throw-down, battle of the titans tips off between Barney Fife and Gomer Pyle.

Actually, the Florida Gators are there to play the Kentucky Wildcats but it's easy to be confused.

The 9 p.m. ESPN-televised meeting has all the making of a red-carpet affair. Florida is 19-4 and leads the SEC Eastern Division with a 6-2 league record. Kentucky is 16-7 and one game back in conference play at 5-3. Kentucky is Kentucky, with its rich history and passion and banners hanging everywhere. Florida, under Coach Billy Donovan, has made itself a college basketball glamour name with back-to-back NCAA national championships in 2006 and 2007.

But as big as the game may loom for all involved, there is one thing missing.

A national ranking.

For either team.

Funny how two teams at the top of the SEC standings begin the second half of their conference seasons, backed into a corner desperately needing to validate themselves.

"It's a great challenge," Donovan said.

There simply is not much respect being directed either team's way. Florida cracked the Top 25 earlier this year, then lost to Florida State and didn't return until improving to 18-2. Immediately, the Gators lost and fell out of the rankings, replaced by Kentucky as the only SEC team in the national poll. So what happened to the Wildcats? They have since lost three straight - two of them at home - and also vanished from the polls.

"We've got to understand, we're going to get Kentucky's best effort," Donovan said. "They're going to play their best game of the year. That's how we've got to approach it."

The Gators have been here before already this season; not UK's Rupp Arena but the same situation. That was two weeks ago when they went to Tennessee - tied now with UK at 5-3 despite being the SEC preseason pick - with a chance to grab control of the division race and laid an egg.

In a 9 p.m. ESPN nationally televised game - sound familiar? - Florida trailed by as much as 23 and lost 79-63.

"I guess the similarities are there," junior forward Dan Werner said. "But we're hoping we are a better team now, more prepared. I think we are better rested and in that game, some things happened and we were in early foul trouble and stuff."

The Gators face the task of stopping the SEC's leading scorer in the Wildcats' Jodie Meeks. Meeks, who went off on Tennessee for 54 points earlier this season, is averaging 25.1 points per game.

He also receives strong help from forward Patrick Patterson, who is scoring 18.3.

"To be honest, I think our backs are against the wall, too," Florida guard and leading scorer Nick Calathes said. "We need this win more than them because this would put us first in the SEC."

Reporter Mick Elliott can be reached at (813) 281-2534.

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