ATLANTA – When Scottie Wilbekin slumped down in his chair in the dimly lit press-conference room located in the bowels of the Jacksonville Memorial Arena on Nov. 25, he did not look like a winner.
ATLANTA — After the confetti fell and the nets were cut, Florida learned its spot in the NCAA Tournament.
ATLANTA — After scoring a team-high 13 points in the first half of Florida’s semifinal matchup with Tennessee, Scottie Wilbekin was almost nonexistent in the second half in terms of point production.
ATLANTA — With the first half in the books and Florida trailing 35-28 against Tennessee, coach Billy Donovan harped on one message during his halftime speech.
ATLANTA — Before No. 1 seed Florida cruised past eighth-seeded Missouri 72-49 on Friday in the Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinals, it had struggled for almost 30 minutes to pull away.
The last time Florida faced off against Missouri, Chris Walker was getting cheers for just walking to the scorer’s table, Dorian Finney-Smith had just begun the worst shooting month of his career and the Gators were only halfway through their historic Southeastern Conference run.
For Dorian Finney-Smith, Atlanta brings back plenty of unpleasant memories.
The Gators finished their best regular season in school history on Saturday, and on Tuesday, they received the hardware to prove it.
On Feb. 21, 2007, the Gators cut down the nets in the O’Connell Center to celebrate their Southeastern Conference title despite having three more regular season games on the schedule.
After No. 1 Florida sealed an 84-65 win against No. 25 Kentucky in the O’Connell Center on Saturday, senior forward Will Yeguete hoisted a sign that read “18-0 and more to go.”
Michael Frazier II had a career day as he carried the Gators on offense Tuesday night.
No. 1 Florida earned a school-record 27th win on the season Saturday night with a 79-61 victory over LSU in the O’Connell Center.
Scottie Wilbekin couldn’t ice the game, Michael Frazier II couldn’t break out from behind the arc and Casey Prather couldn’t score during the game’s last 32 minutes.
Although the Gators are no longer the same team of years past, one that lived and died by the three-point shot, they were forced to turn back the clocks Saturday and rely on perimeter shooting to pull out a four-point Southeastern Conference win on the road.
Billy Donovan did not waste any time letting the media know who played the better game Wednesday night.
With 21 seconds remaining and the game tied at 66, Florida faced the possibility of seeing its 17-game winning streak snap and losing its first home contest in nearly two years.
Even though Florida’s most anticipated game of the year is in its rear-view mirror, it cannot afford to skip any steps in preparation for Auburn (12-11, 4-8 Southeastern Conference) tonight at 7 in the O’Connell Center.
During the past two weeks, Scottie Wilbekin has been everything the No. 2 Gators have needed him to be — and then some.
Throughout the Southeastern Conference schedule, Billy Donovan has coached two different teams: the first-half and second-half Gators.
Behind big nights from Casey Prather and Scottie Wilbekin, Florida left Lexington, Ky., with its first win in Rupp Arena since 2007.
Solutions by The State News
