Ten conference wins gets you in the tournament. The Gators forgot this Saturday when they took a dump on themselves for 30 minutes before rallying and losing. Florida (20-9, 9-5 SEC) cannot forget how important ten wins are when they face Vanderbilt (22-6, 11-3) in the O'Dome tonight.
When the Gators have failed last in the last two seasons, it has been because they did not focus, leading to blown possessions and bad defense. We saw all of that against Xavier and Georgia. But in between, the Gators won three-in-a-row, putting them in a position to seal up an NCAA bid. Then the focus dropped out in Athens.
One thing has changed since 2008 and that is Chandler Parsons. As he realized at Georgia, he needs the ball as much as possible. His play carried a team that did not want to be there. Hopefully, Parsons won't need 29-6-6 again. But he needs to be aware that if Erving Walker and Kenny Boynton are struggling, and Alex Tyus and Vernon Macklin cannot handle Vandy's A.J. Ogilvy and Jeffery Taylor, Parsons needs to take the game over. Otherwise, it's the NIT for UF, because there is no way in hell they beat Kentucky Sunday at Rupp.