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The Back Nine comes at you after a pretty special weekend in Hogtown and that was just the weather.
10. It was also the basketball and especially Will Richard. I’ve said all year Richard is the glue of this team, the guy who can affect winning without scoring. We saw that last Saturday when Richard was held scoreless in Florida’s win at LSU, but some of that had to do with a bad toe that required cortisone shots. Still, I’m not sure I have seen a guy score 0, 30 and 25 in three games in eight days.
11. And they certainly needed Good Will to be Hunting for points against Texas A&M. (Get it? Good Will Hunting? Never mind). Florida’s other three guards who play a lot went 9-for-33 in the game, I think we all can live with that if your guards are playing elite defense. A&M had seven shots blocked, but more importantly had all of three assists. Three. Starting guards Zhuric Phelps and Wade Taylor IV had a total of one, which is one more than I did sitting on my recliner. Those two players came in averaging around seven assists a game.
12. We are at the point of the season where we know pretty much where Florida will be seeded in the Big Dance. With two conference games and at minimum of one SEC Tournament game to play, Florida is either going to be a one or two. The Gators could lose all three (at Alabama, Ole Miss and a low seed in Nashville) and still be a two seed in the NCAAs. Another thing, people keep talking about wanting to see Duke-Auburn in a rematch. Well, wouldn’t you like to see Florida and Auburn in a rematch?
13. Congrats to Auburn and Texas for winning SEC titles this weekend. The Texas women handled Florida to share the title with South Carolina (then lost the Greg Sankey official coin toss for the top seed in the tournament) and Auburn clinched on the men’s side with two games still left to play. So, this season, Florida’s women have now lost games against teams ranked in the Top 25 by (get your calculators out) 20, 10, 16, 17, 13, 18, 38, 24, 24 and 26. The women next play Auburn late Wednesday night in the SEC Tournament and would advance to face Alabama with a win.
14. There were a lot of good things that happened for baseball over the weekend. Sunday was not one of them. Hey, we knew the Gators weren’t going undefeated. “It’s really the first time all year that we fell apart on the mound,” UF coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. It was too nice a day to stay inside so I ventured out with my walking boot (don’t ask) and really enjoyed one of those great Gainesville days. Sully definitely has the arms, but does he have the pitching? There is a difference.
15. I’m not sure what to think of the softball team, which is 23-1 and has 16 run-rule wins. Possibly, this team is ridiculous (I hope) or the reality of playing in this league will kick in Friday at College Station. Either way, it’s going to be interesting.
16. Is the Combine over yet? Does Mel Kiper have another mock draft out yet? Can we just get to the NFL Draft? The NFL is The King, but it does not mean I have to pay attention.
17. I will be paying attention to golf with Arnie’s tournament cranking up this week. Three TVs may not be enough for the Dooley Dome with tournament basketball, SEC baseball and softball and the PGA Tour going on at the same time. I’ll make it work.
18. It was such a beautiful weekend that I thought about giving golf a try despite being in an ortho-sandal (it’s what I’m calling it), but I decided to get some sun and listen to this playlist:
- “Shut Up Kiss Me” by Angel Olsen.
- “Up Against The Wall” by Jessie Wagner.
- And for an old one, I had forgotten about this 1998 song so thanks to Little Steven’s Underground Garage. “She Said To Me” by The Cowsills.
WRUF.com sports columnist Pat Dooley can be heard on “The Tailgate” along with Jeff Cardozo from 4-6 p.m. Monday-Friday on 98.1-FM/AM-850 WRUF.
