Florida Basketball hasn't made it past the second round of the NCAA Tournament since their Elite Eight run in 2017. Florida's 24 wins last year were also the most they had since the 2016/17 campaign.
Anything short of the Elite Eight in 2025 is going to feel like a massive disappointment, and there hasn't been this level of hope in Gainesville for a decade. And as Georgia fans are experiencing right now, there is a reason why the level of hope in Gainesville had a ceiling on it during that time frame.
Florida Basketball: White Out
Something we brought up this week with Billy Napier is that there is a difference between "good" and "elite" in the world of college football. Teams that are "good" can pull upsets here and there, but in the long run, it's the teams that are "elite" that have genuine sustainability.
This phenomenon works in basketball too and played out annually during the Mike White Era in Gainesville. White isn't a "bad" coach, and he got Florida to the NCAA Tournament in four of his seven seasons in Gainesville. He also never lost in the first round, and Florida had a tournament record of 6-4 during his tenure.
White left for Georgia in 2022 and last week the Bulldogs were ranked 23rd in the AP Poll. It was the first time since 2011 that Georgia had been ranked in basketball.
In true Mike White fashion, the Bulldogs celebrated getting ranked by promptly losing three in a row, including blowing a 15-point lead to hand Arkansas their first SEC win of the season.
The problem with the Mike White Era in Gainesville is that it was always two steps forward followed by two steps back.
In 2018, the Gators beat Baylor and moved into the top 25, only to lose five of their next seven.
During the final eleven games of the 2019 regular season, Florida lost three in a row, then won four in a row, then closed out by losing three more in a row. Florida then made a run to the SEC Tournament semi-finals, won their first-round game in the NCAA Tournament, then was pummeled 64-49 against Michigan.
In 2021, Florida also entered the AP Top 25, only to turn around and lose to South Carolina and Arkansas back-to-back. After beating Virginia Tech in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Florida lost to 15th-seed Oral Roberts.
So, as Georgia gets ready to come into the O'Dome, White and the Bulldogs may come away with a victory. But be aware Georgia fans that sustaining any momentum is more a feeling of hope rather than reality with White in charge.
Trust us on this one.