Florida basketball: The Gators schedule lightens up the rest of the way
By Will Thomas
Florida basketball has been going through a gauntlet of games these past two weeks. Road games against Kansas State and Kentucky, a home matchup with Tennessee, and they go up to Tuscaloosa later this week.
There is light at the end of the tunnel, however. Once the Gators get past their game against Alabama, the road to March gets much, much easier.
After their trip to play Nate Oats’ Crimson Tide, the Gators play Vanderbilt twice, have home games vs Ole Miss and LSU, rematches with Kentucky (home) and UGA (away), and travel to Fayetteville to take on Arkansas.
Let’s get the easy ones out of the way here. The Gators should, and probably need to go 2-0 against Vanderbilt. The Dores are 4-6 in the SEC and don’t match up very well against the Gators.
Ole Miss comes into town, but the Rebels are even worse than Vandy. Sitting at 9-14, with a 1-9 conference record, there is no excuse for that game to even be close when they visit Exactech Arena.
LSU comes to town in the regular season finale. The Gators handled business in Baton Rogue, and the Tigers have been slowing down since then. A home rematch against LSU shouldn’t be a problem.
Their other home game over this stretch is a rematch with Kentucky. That game last night was close, and the Gators had a possession to tie the game late before Myreon Jones fired off a bad shot with plenty of time left on the shot clock.
The Rowdy Reptiles will be out in full force for that one, and the Gators can get their revenge on the Wildcats.
When they travel to Georgia for their rematch against Mike White’s Bulldogs, there is a chance this game could be close. Kario Oquendo, who struggled against UF in Gainesville, is a different player at home.
Even with Oqeundo playing well, the Bulldogs should be outmatched by the Gators, and beaten for a second time.
The hardest game in this stretch is when the Gators travel to Arkansas. Bud Walton Arena is never an easy place to play, and that place will be rocking on the Saturday that the Gators come to town.
This is a spot where the Gators need to rely on Colin Castleton to lead them to a win, and I think they can get it, espeically if they come in on a win streak.
So let’s say Florida basketball drops the game to Bama and lose one of these games over the rest of the season. That would put the Gators at 19-12 overall and 12-6 in the SEC.
That’s a good looking record in the SEC, and with a win or two in the SEC Tournament, they can lock themselves into March Madness.
Keep up with Florida basketball at Hail Florida Hail.