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Gators Finish Off Hogs, Face Crucial Game Tonight

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By MICK ELLIOTT

melliott@tampatrib.com

Published: March 13, 2009

Updated: 03/13/2009 01:27 am

TAMPA - Florida Gators basketball coach Billy Donovan saw one thing in Thursday night's 73-58 opening-round SEC Tournament victory over Arkansas that overshadowed everything else.

"As they say, survive and move on," Donovan said. "Right now you want to find a way to win.

"Sometimes this time of year, it's not the team that looks the prettiest, but it's the team that can make more winning plays. And that is something that I think that our guys are trying to figure out."

The Gators took care of business, keeping their NCAA Tournament hopes alive.

The win was neither artful nor impressive, but did improve Florida's record to 23-9 and moved it into tonight's second-round game against 21-10 Auburn. By almost all projections, the scheduled 9:45 tipoff between the Eastern Division No. 3 seeded Gators and the West's No. 2 Tigers essentially is a play-in game for an NCAA at-large invitation.

In the previous meeting between Florida and Auburn this year, the Gators won 68-65 on the road in mid-January. Since then, the Tigers have gained momentum, finishing the regular season by winning eight of their last nine games. Florida, which slumped down the stretch, at one point losing five of seven, now has won two in a row.

Thursday night's opening-round win, however, is unlikely to produce a feeling of unstoppable momentum.

Florida hit only 26 shots in 61 attempts and was six for 23 from three-point range. Before a friendly crowd in the St. Pete Times Forum, the Gators were good on just 11 of 33 first-half field-goal attempts – three of 13 from three-point range – and still managed a 29-26 lead at intermission because Arkansas connected on just 11 of 31 and only two of 12 from outside the arch.

Finally, after Arkansas hit the opening field goal of the second half to tie the game, and trailed 39-38 with 14:50 remaining, Florida found its way to win.

The Gators forced Arkansas into turnovers and produced 10 unanswered points – six of them by senior guard Walter Hodge. The Razorbacks would never get closer than nine.

"I think to start the game, it certainly appeared offensively both teams were a little bit uptight," Donovan said. "I thought we settled down in the second half and played a good half on both ends. I'm just happy for these guys that they could move on and play again."

Hodge, a member of Florida's two national championship teams, led the Gators with 16 points. Junior forward Dan Werner added 15 points and a season-high 13 rebounds. Freshman guard Erving Walker added 12 and sophomore guard Nick Calathes had 11.

"I told the guys we had to come with crazy energy in the second half and make them turn the ball over, and we did a great job," Hodge said.

Arkansas, which began the season 12-1 only to win just two games in conference play, finished its season 14-16. The Razorbacks were led by center Michael Washington with 15 points and 18 rebounds.

Florida now has an opportunity to earn a return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since winning its second straight national title in 2006-07. Last year, overloaded with youth, the Gators tanked badly in the late season and were banished to the NIT.

An eerie similarity between this season and last had been developing – both years began 18-3 before struggles took over -- but the decisive win over Arkansas changed that concern.

"I haven't thought about last year at all," Werner said. "I'm happy for all my teammates to get this win. I'm just worried about this year and what we need to do (today against Auburn)."

While still short on experience – three sophomores start and the first four players off the bench are freshmen – the Gators have taken a giant step toward distancing themselves from last year's edition.

"They've got to battle," Donovan said. "There's the mental toughness of being able, when you are not doing well, to not get discouraged or disappointed. I think young players a lot of times have a tendency to go 'woe is me,' and 'I'm not playing well.' There's a mental toughness you have to have.

"It took like a half for them to kind of get out of it a little and start to focus on what they needed to do. I think today was an indication in the second half that they are trying to get better."

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

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