The Gators got back in the win column on Saturday with a 66-55 win over South Florida in the Orange Bowl Classic in Sunrise, and that helped wash out the bad taste of a loss to a Maryland team in Brooklyn that was led by an interim coach. But the Quadrant 4 win against the 4-5 Bulls didn’t do much to help UF’s tournament resume. In fact, Florida dropped one spot in the latest update to the NET Rankings, falling to No. 60.
A great start to the season for the Gators has been overshadowed by a stretch in which they’ve lost three of their last five, and their pedigree isn’t looking great right now. Luckily for Florida, Texas Southern has risen enough in the NET that its embarrassing home loss to the Tigers (who were winless at the time) no longer counts as a Quadrant 4 loss, and UF is now a perfect 5-0 in those games.
But against Quadrant 3 opponents, it is just 2-2, and it’s 1-1 in Quadrant 1 games, with the lone win coming over Ohio State. That’s far from ideal at this point in the season, but the team will certainly have a chance to improve its resume.
After one final tuneup at home against Stony Brook on Wednesday night, Florida begins SEC play on Dec. 29 with a road matchup against Ole Miss, and after that, it faces three-straight Quadrant 1 games against Alabama, Auburn and LSU. This team will have its feet held to the fire early on in conference play, and the way it responds will be crucial for this team’s tournament hopes.
The SEC is perhaps the strongest it’s ever been, and it’s currently among the toughest conferences in college basketball. The Gators will be thoroughly tested come conference play, and they will need to be much better than they’ve been the last few weeks if they want to keep coach Mike White’s NCAA Tournament streak going.
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