The Florida Gators reached the Final Four last season after making the Elite Eight the three previous seasons. Now, though, the team will have to start over at some spots. Can it travel the road back?
What Went Wrong Last Season?
The Gators had almost nothing bad happen to them last season until the very end when they lost to Connecticut and failed to advance to the national championship game. The Gators, who also lost to UConn in the regular season, won an incredible 30 straight games before their second meeting with the Huskies, which ended with a 63-53 loss for the Gators. Florida got off to a 16-4 lead early in that game but then went stone cold from the field. The Gators’ offense ground to a halt while Connecticut hit some threes, found some energy, and was able to get some fast-break baskets off its defense, which enabled the Huskies to feel comfortable even when they weren’t hitting their perimeter shots.
What really hurt Florida against Connecticut in the Final Four was a combination of two failures in particular: First, point guard Scottie Wilbekin, a senior, was dominated by Connecticut’s Shabazz Napier in the game’s premier matchup. Wilbekin dealt with cramps and was not moving well, but those problems could have been the result of nerves on college basketball’s biggest day. Wilbekin looked lost on the court. He had a bad game and didn’t know how to get himself out of trouble. Connecticut swarmed him and sensed his weakness, but Wilbekin couldn’t make an adjustment.
With Wilbekin out of sorts, Florida needed someone else on the perimeter to help out. Florida big man Patric Young was excellent in the paint, by far the Gators’ best player in that game. However, someone on the roster needed to hit three-point shots to extend the defense and give Wilbekin more freedom in which to move. Dorian Finney-Smith had some available threes during the course of that game but could not hit a single one. This enabled Connecticut’s defense to continue to hound Wilbekin and Michael Frazer II. Florida needed to score points in bunches, but the Huskies’ guards, Napier and Ryan Boatright, were able to maintain total control of the game on defense. The loss snapped a 30-game winning streak by Florida and represented the only black mark in a season that witnessed a perfect SEC record of 21-0, spanning both the regular season and the SEC Tournament in Atlanta.
Offseason Changes
The Gators are having to replace the core of their lineup. Young and Wilbekin are gone, as are other seniors Will Yeguete and Casey Prather. Florida got so much production from those four players that this year’s team will have to grow up quickly and get a lot from its bench. Kasey Hill will be the starting point guard, though transfer Eli Carter from Rutgers will also be asked to step up. Chris Walker will anchor the paint as the center. Finney-Smith and Frazier will return, giving this team a chance to make a run at the SEC and the Final Four once again. Jon Horford, a transfer from Michigan, will be asked to provide a lot of rebounding and defense. So will Jacob Kurtz.
Projected Finish
The Gators probably won’t be better than Kentucky in the SEC, but they’ll be better than everyone else. Kentucky and Florida are the two best programs in that conference. Florida can probably get to the Sweet 16, but anything beyond that is uncertain.
Pick: 2nd In The SEC, Sweet 16
