Florida survived against Kentucky despite an abysmal shooting performance from three. We noted afterwards that it was the type of win that showcased Florida should have a pretty safe floor in the first two rounds of March Madness because the Gators could get by against an eight-seed based on their size alone.
But at some point, as the tournament gets deeper, Florida is going to need to be able to knock down some shots from range, and Saturday’s semifinal loss to Vanderbilt brought back Florida’s fatal flaw from the beginning of the year that it thought it had long since overcome.
Florida falls to Vanderbilt in SEC Tournament
If one had said prior to the game that Florida would have 20 offensive rebounds to Vanderbilt’s eight and Florida would go 17-23 from the free throw line, most Gator fans would have felt pretty good about Florida’s chances.
But the Gators regressed back to their old habits and went 5-17 from three. Boogie Fland and Xavian Lee combined to go 2-8 while Isaiah Brown was 0-3. Urban Klavzar only took one three-point attempt, but at least he made it.
It is a step backward for a team that had shot 40% in its final two regular-season games and had been trending upwards in the area.
Throw in Florida’s other fatal flaw, returning with 14 turnovers on the afternoon, and it all added up to a game where the Gators never really regained contact with Vanderbilt after it was 14-14 with 11 minutes to play in the first half.
The positive news for the Gators is that only four of the previous eleven national champions also won their conference tournament. In fact, five of the last ten national champions lost in the semifinals of their respective conference.
The concerning part is that this shooting performance in Nashville isn’t some fluke or some one-off thing; it was a constant theme that haunted the Gators up until its 12-game winning streak that put them back into the conversation of repeating as national champs.
We’ll see whether the loss costs Florida a No. 1 seed to UConn. In some way, if Florida winds up as a No. 2 seed in UConn’s regional, it is almost better than being a No. 1 seed with Houston as the No. 2 seed, given that Houston would have home-court advantage.
But no matter who Florida plays, Saturday’s abysmal shooting will need to be the last one the Gators have unless they want to be someone else's One Shining Moment in March.