ATHENS, Ga. - This is the final stop on easy street.
In the second of two wins that UF almost had to get to keep its NCAA Tournament hopes alive before heading down their most difficult stretch, the Gators (21-7, 8-5 Southeastern Conference) dominated lowly Georgia (12-14, 3-10 SEC) 77-64 Wednesday night.
The Gators never trailed in the contest and led by as many as 18.
The Bulldogs put up little fight in a game hardly reminiscent of a typical SEC environment.
With just less than four minutes remaining, the small pack of Gators fans populating the back corner of Stegeman Coliseum started an "Orange and Blue" chant.
The Georgia fans responded with a cry of "Let's play football," but on this night, Jacksonville was miles away.
"We looked in the crowd and said, 'Wow, there's more Florida fans (than Georgia fans) here," center Marreese Speights said. "Man, they were loud."
Guard Nick Calathes led the way for the Gators, tallying 22 points and grabbing seven rebounds, while Speights added his second double-double in a row, garnering 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Sipping a Diet Coke after the game, a more subdued UF coach Billy Donovan said the win was merely a stepping stone.
"With young guys like this, I don't get too excited, and I don't get too down," Donovan said. "It would be hard for me to say they have it all figured out. We're far from that."
Regardless of Georgia's poor record, Donovan said any win in the SEC is worth celebrating, especially on the road.
Donovan said he felt four SEC wins on the road would be "tremendous." This was UF's third. One more chance against Kentucky looms ahead.
The Gators shot a torrid 52.8 percent from the field and continued to improve from 3-point range. UF hit 9 of 19 from beyond the arc, including 3 of 5 for Dan Werner, who seems to have found the stroke at just the right time.
"If we hit 3s, we can blow people out," Werner said. "Let's just hope we can keep hitting."
UF's defense was also stellar. The Gators held Georgia to just 14.3 percent from 3-point range and kept guard Sundiata Gaines - who scored 32 in the last matchup - to 13 points on 3-of-11 shooting.
The game was lopsided from start to finish, as Calathes and the Gators came out of the gate firing.
UF opened with four consecutive baskets from beyond the arc, including three from Calathes. The Gators pulled out to an early 12-4 lead, which would swell to as many as 14.
After scoring 6 straight to close the half, UF took a 45-32 advantage into the break.
The second half was much of the same, and fans began to file out at the 7:48 mark with the score reading 65-49 in the Gators' favor.
"Right at that buzzer, you could start to hear the Florida fans cheering," Werner said. "It was nice to hear."
The lead continued to build and Georgia never came within double digits. UF led by as many as 17 on three separate occasions down the stretch.
With the win, the Gators are assured at least a .500 record in conference play. Whether or not this guarantees UF a spot in this year's NCAA Tournament remains to be seen, but as Donovan pointed out, you can only play one game at a time, and the Gators have taken care of business in the previous two.
The Gators host Mississippi State on Saturday before welcoming lame-duck No. 1 Tennessee and finishing the season at Kentucky.
Donovan said his team will prepare as it has before and try to take this game - like the rest - as a teaching tool moving forward.
"I still see a lot of things we can get better at," Donovan said. "But they're trying, and as a coach, that's all I can really ask for. I'm proud of the way they responded today, but it's not like I'm going to jump overboard and get all wrapped up in this."
