Florida basketball’s 2021-22 campaign came to a fizzling conclusion when it took a final loss to the Kentucky Wildcats on the O’Connell Center court. The home defeat finished off the Gators’ regular season with a 19-12 record overall and an even 9-9 mark in Southeastern Conference play.
It was a tough position to be in, but most in the media believed that not only was a win over UK was a necessity to get an invitation to the NCAA Tournament, but that it might not have been enough without a strong showing in the upcoming SEC Tournament anyways. One of the indices that has not been working in Florida’s favor is the NET rankings, in which the Gators have struggled to make headway over the second half of the season.
The Orange and Blue entered Saturday’s matchup ranked No. 52, and when the rankings were released the following day, found itself one spot lower at No. 53. Florida had been ranked No. 51 prior to and after its win over the Vanderbilt Commodores, and had not been in the top 50 since its loss to the Arkansas Razorbacks on Feb. 22.
The Gators’ final résumé features a 2-9 record in Quadrant 1 play, 4-2 mark against Quadrant 2, 6-0 against Quadrant 3 and a 7-1 tally in Quadrant 4 matchups, which includes Florida’s biggest black eye — that 15-point home loss to the Texas Southern Tigers.
The SEC Tournament begins for the Gators on Thursday at noon EST against the Texas A&M Aggies at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. The opening two games will be played on the day before, starting at 6 p.m. EST.
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