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Florida Is In Familiar Situation

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By MICK ELLIOTT | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 17, 2009

GAINESVILLE - Florida Gators sophomore guard and leading scorer Nick Calathes says "our backs are against the wall."

He didn't need to add that the Gators' heads also are spinning.

Following a loss Saturday at Georgia, the Gators have lost three of their past four and two in a row for the first time this season. After owning a one-game lead in the SEC Eastern Division at the halfway point of the season, the Gators now are one game out of the three-way tie between Kentucky, Tennessee and South Carolina.

Ordinarily, that would not be a reason to fret. The Gators (19-6, 6-4) return home Wednesday night to host Alabama in the O'Connell Center, where they are 13-0 this season.

"We've got to respond, and I think we will respond," Calathes said.

The problem is the Gators cannot say that with confidence.

Last year haunts. Uneasiness builds.

After an 18-3 start last year, the Gators endured a 3-8 meltdown at the end of the regular season and missed the NCAA Tournament field.

During that stretch, Florida lost to an LSU team that was at the bottom of its division with an interim coach.

After starting this year 18-3, Saturday's loss came against a Georgia team with an 0-9 SEC record going into the game and playing under interim coach Pete Herrmann.

Florida coach Billy Donovan already is hearing questions about whether the program he took to NCAA titles in 2006 and 2007 can make it back into the tournament field.

"I am not really worried about that," Donovan said. "That question always comes around this time of the year and I understand the attention towards that but our main focus right now is Alabama. I think sometimes people worry and are focused way too far down the road. Whenever that day does come, we will find out whether or not we performed well enough to play in it.

"The big thing right now for us is to come out and play well enough to beat Alabama. Outside of maybe the Tennessee game on the road, we've been in every game and we have had a chance, we just were not able to get over the hump and have been a couple of plays short here and there. For the most part, I think our guys have really tried pretty hard. We are limited this year, there is no question about that, but they are trying."

JUMPERS MUST START TO FALL

Florida is a good basketball team only when outside shots are falling. That was made especially clear in Saturday's loss at Georgia.

Florida failed to score on five of its final six possessions - two points in the final 5:57.

"I thought we got good shots," Donovan said.

Calathes missed two baskets during the Gators' six final futile possessions. Dan Werner and Chandler Parsons missed open 3-point attempts in the closing minutes. Freshman guard Erving Walker raced down the floor in the final 12.2 seconds and threw up a fall-away 14-footer that barely grazed iron.

ON FURTHER REVIEW

Calathes had a triple-double taken away after the Georgia game. Calathes, who wears jersey No. 33, was credited with a rebound that should have gone to Trey Thompkins, who wears No. 33 for Georgia. Calathes finished with 16 points, 13 assists and nine rebounds. He had a triple-double in his previous two games against Georgia.

GATOR BITES

•The SEC preseason baseball coaches' poll picks Florida to finish second in the league's Eastern Division, behind Georgia. LSU, ranked No. 1 nationally in multiple preseason polls, is predicted to win this season's SEC championship. Under second-year coach Kevin O'Sullivan, the Gators return six position starters and 17 letter winners from last season's squad that finished 34-24 and advanced to the NCAA Regionals.

•Senior Toby Ragland sank a birdie putt on the seventh playoff hole to beat teammate Billy Horschel for the individual medal as the men's golf team won the SunTrust Gator Invitational by 18 strokes. The Gators shot a final-round 279 (1 under) at Mark Bostick Golf Course to finish at 16-under-par 824 for the tournament.

•Since defeating Tennessee a week ago and climbing to a No. 11 national ranking, the Lady Gators basketball team has lost two straight. Saturday's 66-47 loss at LSU was UF's ninth loss in 10 games against the Tigers. The Gators (22-4, 8-3) play their last two home games of the regular season this week, hosting Arkansas on Thursday night and South Carolina on Sunday.

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