Florida basketball: Gators’ bubble could burst over next stretch

It’s been a decent stretch for Florida basketball over the last six games, but the end of February will tell the tale for the Gators.

At moments (more so than you’d like to admit), watching Florida basketball has been painful.

A horrendous first half against Georgia and losses to Mississippi State and Ole Miss are just the ones in recent memories.

It’s safe to say the Florida basketball team going into the season is not the same Gators team we see now.

Remember, we were picked No. 6 in the nation in preseason polls.

Now, the Gators are 16-9 overall, 8-4 in the Southeastern Conference and heading into a stretch of games that will likely determine just where Florida basketball will be playing in the postseason (if at all).

Florida basketball has back-to-back wins against Texas A&M and Vanderbilt, as they should have.

But, in the next two weeks, Florida will face Arkansas, travel to Kentucky and host LSU to close out the month of February.

Three losses here and the Gators will be lucky to make the National Invitational Tournament. Three wins may be enough to set Florida basketball on a path to the NCAA Tournament.

At present, the Gators are projected as the No. 10 seed in the East and would face No. 7-seeded Houston in Greensboro, North Carolina. But, as with most things, nothing is set in stone.

Don’t be mistaken, the season may be a disappointment, but it’s not over by any stretch of the imagination. Florida basketball has a quality win over Auburn earlier in the season and a lot of quality opponents left on the schedule to push themselves higher in the seeding chart.

But, the Gators have been nothing if not inconsistent.

Despite going 4-1 in their last five games, the Gators have tried to lose a few of those (ahem, Georgia). And they haven’t necessarily been playing the cream of the SEC crop during that stretch.

Tuesday, they host an Arkansas team facing the same situation as the Gators. A team looking up, trying to solidify its resume for the tournament.

Then, they travel to Lexington to take on nationally-ranked Kentucky for the first time in two before March 7.

Finally, they will get LSU at home — a team that barely nipped the Gators, 84-82 in Baton Rouge back in January.

The biggest question is which Florida basketball team will show up to these three games. Consistency has not been the Gators’ best friend as they have shown dominance at times and meek-ness in others.

There is little doubt that if Florida basketball doesn’t want to rely solely on the SEC tournament in March to get into the NCAA tournament, they have to step up and win two of their next three.

Any less will leave the postseason in question.