Saturday was the most unusual kind of Senior Day for a team at the top of college basketball’s rankings. Unusual in the fact that there actually were seniors — loads of them, really — on hand to receive their due.
It was a very good day for the quaint notion of continuity. The Florida Gators, their roster codger-laden, finished a historic sweep of the SEC regular season with an 84-65 victory over Kentucky. Florida became the first team to go 18-0 in SEC play. It will ride into the conference tournament at the Georgia Dome on the crest of a 23-game winning streak.
“The greatest regular season I’ve ever been a part of,” Florida coach Billy Donovan said. And he has been a part of two that transitioned into national titles.
“This is the way to go out; you couldn’t script this one any better — go 18-0, cut the nets down, kiss the floor, all walk off together. What else could you want?” Gators senior center Patric Young said. Indeed, Florida won a basketball game, and an armistice day broke out. They communed with the crowd for a half hour afterward, climbing high to snip nylon and kneeling low to plant their lips on the Gators logo at midcourt. Even though there are multiple other entries on their to-do list.
“Our end goal is to be national champions — well, first SEC (tournament) champions,” Young said. “We got to get that one out of the way.”
Providing the perfect contrast to Florida’s model was a Kentucky program that epitomizes the catch-the-first-available-flight-to-the-NBA mentality of the sport. The team that started four seniors took to school the one that started five freshmen sensations. With every pick-and-roll, each drive-and-kick and swing to the open man, the Gators imparted another lesson. This is how you do it, child: Florida had 20 assists to 10 turnovers (the Wildcats ratio was 10:14).
The Gators, 29-2 overall, built as much as a 22-point lead in the first half to the delight of the loud, fan-swollen O’Connell Center. It scarcely mattered that Florida point guard Scottie Wilbekin was chained to the sideline with two early fouls. Kentucky, 22-9, 12-6 in the SEC, briefly cut the deficit to single digits in the second half, but could not keep up with Florida’s efficiency. The Gators shot nearly 60 percent from the floor — making 9-of-15 three-pointers — Saturday.
“People ask: Can our team get better? I think we have gotten better,” Donovan said.
In expanding on that improvement, the coach outlined reasons why Florida will be favored this week in Atlanta and beyond into the great unknown of the NCAA tournament.
“Our assist numbers are getting up there, which I like to see. The ball is moving. We’re utilizing each other well. We have been able to press effectively. We can try to wear people down. We can play different styles,” Donovan said.
Who could begrudge the Gators the evident, overflowing fulfillment they took in Saturday’s result? For here they had just rolled over the team picked before the season began to do all the celebrating (Kentucky was No. 1 in the AP preseason poll). But as of the first eight days of March, Florida was everything Kentucky was supposed to be, only more so.
“Before (the Wildcats) were even in college, before they worked hard in a college practice, they had the preseason player of the year and they had the team that was supposed to win it all. All that stuff doesn’t matter. We were just focused on the process leading up to this,” Young said.
Young led the Gators with 18 points Saturday. Kentucky freshman Julius Randle, picked to be the league’s player of the year in a preseason media poll, scored 16.
Sometimes it’s just very satisfying to be a souffle in an instant-pudding world.
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