Pat Dooley’s High Five (February 3rd)

While Florida fans (and rightfully so) are celebrating the win Wednesday night over No. 2 Tennessee, there is still a long way to go to make the NCAA Tournament, which is the goal of every team.

The Gators enter the game at Kentucky Saturday with a NET Rankings of 41 and that puts them within striking distance.

But here are the five things that they have to do to make it into the Big Dance.

1. Split these next two. It won’t be easy. Kentucky has won five straight SEC games and Rupp is a tough place to play. Then, it is a big one at Alabama. If you can somehow get one of those, it would be a second huge win for the Gators.

2. Sweep the two after that. Florida faces Vanderbilt and Ole Miss at home after the brutal four-game gauntlet. Those two teams are 4-14 in SEC play right now.

3. Win in Fayetteville. The Razorbacks are good and will need to keep adding to their resume. But a win in this environment would be big and is definitely possible.

4. Win two of the next three. Those are at Vandy and at Georgia and then a home game with LSU. One slip-up is acceptable. Two are a problem.

5. Win one in the tournament. Florida had a shot last year but lost to Texas A&M in the first round of the SEC Tournament. That is how you end up in the NIT.

There are no guarantees, but that would put Florida at 20 wins with some quality Quad 1s to show for the first season of Todd Golden. No big deal, right?