Gator Hoops: The Week Ahead (Feb 10th)

Florida has won four straight, successfully navigating the soft part of the schedule.

Things get more difficult the rest of the way with games against four ranked teams among the final seven regular season games.

The good news for Florida is that Colin Castleton has made it through the last two games, although the Gators got a scare in the second half of the Georgia game when Castleton left the game clutching his left shoulder only to return two minutes later.

There’s that and there is also the sudden hot streak that Myreon Jones has been on. After making only eight threes in a seven-game stretch (and playing with a broken finger), Jones has made 14 in his last three games on 23 attempts.

It’s not going to be easy for the next two weeks with road games Saturday and Tuesday and then Auburn and Arkansas coming to town.

 

NET REPORT: This shows how fickle the NET Ranking system is – Florida dropped five spots to No. 48 after the win over Georgia. That says a lot about the season Georgia is having more than anything.

The Gators will have a chance for a huge win in Lexington because the Wildcats are No. 5 in the NET.

Texas A&M is at No. 74, which means a road win would count as a Quad 1 win, something Florida needs desperately. Of course, A&M is right on the Quad 1 bubble and could slip off by the end of the season.

 

UP NEXT, KENTUCKY: The Wildcats (20-4, 9-2 SEC) are on a roll, especially offensively.

They lead the league in scoring at 81.4 points a game and also lead the league in rebounding at 41.2.

That’s not good for a Florida team that ranks last in the conference in rebounding.

Kentucky is led by transfer Oscar Tshiebwe, who is averaging 15.9 points and 15.1 points a game. Tshiebwe is the only SEC player averaging in double figures in rebounds and is a leading candidate for conference player of the year.

But the Wildcats can come at you with a lot of weapons including TyTy Washington (12.9 ppg) and three-point specialist Kellan Grady, who leads the league at 44.2 percent from deep.

 

THEN, IT’S TEXAS A&M:  The Aggies (15-9, 4-7) got off to a great start winning their first four conference games. But they have lost seven straight heading into Saturday’s game at Auburn.

This is the first of three straight Tuesday games for the Gators so it’s a quick turnaround, something this team should be used to by now.

A&M is led by Quenton Jackson at 13.0 points per game and Henry Coleman (11.0 ppg, 5.9 rebounds a game).

 

LAST YEAR: Florida split a pair of games against Kentucky, losing 76-58 at home but winning 71-67 in Lexington.

The only game against A&M last year was canceled because of COVID issues.

 

BOTTOM LINE: Florida made it through the four-game stretch where it faced some must-win situations. Now is the chance to make some noise for the NCAA committee. Eventually, these Gators have to beat some good teams to make it to the Big Dance. The chances will be plentiful down the stretch starting with these two games.