Golden: Florida Gators Control Own Destiny to an NCAA Tournament Bid
Florida hit a bump in the road with a forgettable 28-point loss to No. 3 Alabama on Wednesday night.
Despite being considerable underdogs to the Crimson Tide, the Gators were thoroughly dominated on both sides of the ball en route to a statement victory by Nate Oats' squad as it looks to secure a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
They fell from Joe Lunardi's second team in the First Four Out to the last team in his Next Four Out. The significant slide creates worry for the Gators' ability to earn an at-large bid in the tournament field, even if they make a considerable push down the stretch.
However, when they entered the four-game gauntlet that included three teams ranked in the AP Top Five (Kansas State, Tennessee and Alabama) and a trip to Rupp Arena (Kentucky), the outside perception was that Florida would be fortunate to make it out of that part of its schedule anything but 0-4.
While 2-2 seemed attainable, especially when Florida closed a gap on the road against Kentucky in the game's closing stages, 1-3 is the reality.
Todd Golden's unit stole a victory over No. 2 Tennessee in the lone home contest of the sequence. Earning that resume-bolstering win in a marquee conference matchup, Florida is in a position to control its destiny moving toward March.
"'Hey, it's February. We control our own destiny,'" said head coach Todd Golden.
The road ahead gets easier from an opponent skill perspective, facing just one more Quad I opponent after four-straight games that fell into the category. Other matchups fall into the second and third quadrants.
However, it will take a near-perfect finish for UF until the season-finale on March 4 against LSU at home.
"We've gotta win the games we're supposed to win down the stretch in conference play," Golden said when asked about what it will take to get Florida into the tournament before the trip to Tuscaloosa. "And, you know, winning the ones that we're not maybe expected to win will obviously give us a lot more room to play with."
Admitting to checking the Gators' resume almost daily, Golden is privy to where Florida is in the grand scheme of the process.
After taking the San Francisco Dons to their first NCAA Tournament since 1999 a season ago, he understands what appeals to the selection committee come time for them to build brackets on March 12.
"Being where we are, that Tennessee win was humongous for us. That's a win that travels all year. Very few people in America have a better win, you know, against the No. 2 team. So, now we have a couple quad one wins [Mississippi State]."
"We have no bad losses. I mean, we don't even have anything even close to a bad loss. We haven't even lost to a team outside the top 50 all year, so we'll get credit for our strength of schedule as good as it is. The committee's shown time after time that they respect teams that challenge themselves and don't really hold it against you for losing against good teams."
"So I think we're in really good shape that way, and so now it's just all about cobbling wins together and making sure we're getting to a respectable level that way. "
The Gators are currently a perfect 10-0 against teams that align within the Quad III and Quad IV categories. The lone loss to a non-power six program came against FAU in the first month of the season. The Owls are one the best mid-major in all of college basketball, coming in at 23-2 in their first 25 appearances.
That's a Quad I loss as a result.
Winning the games it’s supposed to has kept UF afloat despite a 13-11 (6-5 SEC) record.
Florida will look to begin winning the in-between games in the Quad II category, only playing three throughout the year to sit at 1-2.
Holding a 2-9 record against Q1 opponents, Florida has one more chance to earn a highlight win this regular season when it hits the road to take on an Arkansas team on the rise after injuries derailed their expected early-season success.
Securing that win would build a strong case for Florida's inclusion in the field of 68. However, even without it, Florida is right where it wants to be.
"Controlling your destiny, you always want to be there; there's nothing else," starting point guard Kyle Lofton said on Tuesday. "We're depending on no one else but ourselves, coming in each day and worrying about yourself. Being in the gym, staying consistent, staying together is definitely key going down the stretch in February."
While the tournament talks are indeed a discussion point — given the preseason goal the team laid out to make it back after missing it in 2021-22 — Florida's players are focused on the task at hand each week.
"I feel like we need to win the games that we're supposed to win – Vandy and teams like that," freshman Riley Kugel said on Feb. 3. "No disrespect, they're good teams, but we should be able to beat those teams."
"I feel like we're just a very good team. We can compete. We should be able to get the job done the rest of the season."
The Gators will host two straight opponents inside the Stephen C. O'Connell Center before heading to Fayetteville, Ark., for a crucial matchup with the Arkansas Razorbacks on Feb. 18.
The road to March Madness continues on Saturday with Vanderbilt — a team freshly off a buzzer-beater victory over the Volunteers — at 3:30 p.m. EST on SEC Network.
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