Billy Donovan had to have liked what he saw in Florida’s first two Southeastern Conference games.
But there’s no way he’s going to settle and call this a victory.
The Gators aren’t ready just yet.
They showed they can win a close game against a South Carolina team that has a defense ranked in the top half of the conference in points allowed (fourth, 58.1 per game), shooting percentage (second, .338) and three-point shooting percentage (second, .279).
They showed they can blow out a Mississippi State team that is barely able to compete against conference opponents.
But can they do it again?
And can they do it when they face the cream of the crop in the SEC — or any quality team for that matter?
If this Gators team is lacking anything, it’s consistency.
Especially on offense.
Florida is ranked seventh or worse in the SEC in every offensive statistical category except for one — assist-to-turnover ratio (fourth, 1.1).
On the season, UF is making just 66.3 percent of its free throws, better than only Tennessee, Texas A&M and Auburn in the conference.
UF has four players making less than 60 percent of their attempts from the charity stripe.
The duo of Dorian Finney-Smith and Michael Frazier II have accounted for nearly 40 percent of Florida’s scoring offense this season, racking up 389 of UF’s 1014 points.
The third-highest scorer on the team?
Point guard Kasey Hill, whose .380 mark from the field is the second-worst on the team.
Marginal stats aren’t going to keep up with Kentucky.
They’re not going to keep up with the NCAA Tournament teams, if Florida were to even make it.
Hell, they might not even keep up with Auburn tonight.
Florida needs an identity.
It needs a plan.
And it needs consistency, part of which should come by shoring up a definite starting lineup — a challenge Donovan has failed to solve as the Gators begin the second half of their regular-season schedule.
Already this season — which is only 15 games deep — Florida has used 10 different groups to start the game.
Donovan hasn’t used the same lineup in back-to-back games since playing Yale and Texas Southern on Dec. 8 and 12, respectively.
The road is only going to get tougher from here.
Following tonight’s game against the Tigers, three of UF’s next five opponents are either ranked in the AP top-25 or receiving votes.
Florida showed strides in its last two games.
All that’s left for the Gators to do is have that same showing as the schedule picks up again.
But if this season has shown anything — cue up the games against Miami, Kansas, even Florida State and UConn — that’s not going to happen.
Donovan needs an answer.
And he doesn’t have much time left.
Follow Jordan McPherson on Twitter @J_McPherson1126
Billy Donovan looks down the court during Florida's 65-63 loss to Florida State on Dec. 30 in Tallahassee.
