Gator Basketball at Kentucky

Gentlemen, it all comes down to this. Can you be a Man and play some defense? Can you block out 24,000 people looking for blood and riding a wave of momentum after nearly drowning a few months ago? And for the love of God, can you play 40 minutes? By now you realize that you can't take five minutes or an entire half off, right?

As a fan, I've been pretty lucky. My teams have won a Stanley Cup, a Super Bowl, and numerous World Series. But none of that, even being at Game Seven when the Lightning won the Cup, compares to when the Gators have won titles. That's what has made this year so hard. When the Bucs, Lightning, or Yankees played poorly, I had someone to throw under the bus (Jon Gruden, defensemen not named Boyle, Alex Rodriguez). With the Gators, I only get upset at Dan Werner, especially when he makes comments like this;

Great. One of the guys who is supposed to be a leader on our team would rather watch guys shooting a deer from 1000 yards than Joe Lunardi saying Florida is one of the last four out. Well, at least we know who on this team has a sense of urgency.

The attempted comeback against Tennessee is the first time all season the Gators have played desperate. Today, and Thursday against Alabama in the SEC first round, they have to play desperate. The fact that Florida has lasted so long in the bracket projections is a sign it won't take much to get the Gators in the tournament. Winning at Kentucky and two games in the SEC tourney will go a long way.

Florida is unlike any other bubble team in that they have a pedigree. Who would the committee rather have in; Arizona State or the two time defending national champs? What about a competitive mid-major like Illinois State over a team with youthful talent and a guy that watches hunting shows? The committee needs a reason to put UF in, but this isn't like South Carolina going to the SEC finals and getting screwed into the NIT. Florida gets that far and we're looking at a 10 seed.

I have no idea what to expect today, but Kentucky has played very well without Patrick Patterson and today is Senior Day. Can Florida win their eighth consecutive over UK on Senior Day? I don't know, considering they couldn't beat a neutered LSU in Gainesville. But people react differently when they are under stress. Maybe this squad could surprise us for the first time all season.