For the first time in years, the Gators men’s basketball team can switch to cruise control.
Cruise control is dangerous, though. Yeah, it’s easy. Yeah, it’s comfortable. Yeah, your body is aching. But you are going to let your mind drift a couple times during a road trip, and your ankle better be prepared for a quick change.
No. 13 Florida shouldn’t relax, either. Yeah, they’re sitting atop the SEC. Yeah, they’re a Tournament lock. Yeah, their bodies are banged up — here’s looking at you, Vernon Macklin’s 83-year-old knees and elbows.
But the Gators shouldn’t be satisfied just getting to the Tournament. They should have more goals: a conference championship, a favorable seed, a long enough stint at the Big Dance to at least enjoy it.
If the Gators want to achieve any of these ambitions, they better finish strong.
To be fair, it has been a long season, and trying to relax for a few weeks is understandable. For the first time in any of these players’ careers, Florida is not a bubble team. But their security shouldn’t be used as an excuse.
The bubble watch hung over this team like a dark cloud in years past. They better take advantage of clear skies while they can.
“We focused too much on [the bubble watch] last year,” sophomore guard Kenny Boynton said. “Our focus was just making the Tournament instead of our goal being to make it deep into the Tournament.”
Even if the Gators are focused, they could easily finish the season 0-4. Sure, Florida beat three of these opponents in past matchups. But two of those games (Vanderbilt and Kentucky) were decided by a combined six points.
The other win came in double overtime against Georgia (thanks, Erving!). And Florida’s other opponent? Alabama, which has yet to play UF this season but is now first in the SEC.
In ESPN’s latest bracket projections, released Monday, the Gators were a No. 3 seed. They will at least hold that position — and probably jump to a No. 2 seed — if they can finish in first in the SEC and win the conference tournament.
Senior forward Alex Tyus said Wednesday — and plenty of other times this season, for what it’s worth — that the difference between this team and those of the previous three years is that they’ve experienced everything.
But none of these players have experienced being penciled in to brackets this early. Tyus suggested the team will take advantage of this difference by being able to focus in practice instead of worrying about the latest projections.
That is obviously the best way to respond to success: keep working hard. Actually taking that advice seriously, though, is much more difficult.
Every player should heed Tyus’ suggestion, because none of these four games look easy. And while winning isn’t as urgent as it has been in the past, it’s just as important if Florida wants to end the season on a positive note.
Only one team will be truly happy after its last game of the season, and that team probably won’t be Florida.
Sorry, just look at the odds. But it’s a lot easier to get over coming up short when you have an SEC Championship to fall back on.
To get there, they better keep their foot near the accelerator.
