It is as close to a sure thing as possible that Florida’s NCAA Tournament will begin in Orlando on March 20 although we won’t know who they are playing until March 16 and what time the Gators will play until later that night. But it will be a tough and expensive ticket. Florida receives 350 tickets from the NCAA (no matter where the tourney is played) and can ask for another 200, which it will. But out of that 550… Read More »
As we wait for Florida’s game at South Carolina tonight, I thought it would be interesting to look at the SEC teams and how they have fared against the RPI top 100. It’s something the selection committee will definitely look at when deciding which teams make it. As we know, there are only a few teams still on the bubble from the conference. So here you go: 1. Florida 14-2 2. Kentucky 13-7 3. Arkansas 8-8 4. Tennessee 7-9 Missouri… Read More »
The Sunday Blog comes at you after a glorious week that saw Kentucky lose twice in three days. 1. This is going to be fun for the selection committee. It’s not just the bubble, which changes on an hourly basis, but the seeds at the top. One thing they will consider is how the top teams fared away from home and who they beat. With that in mind, close your eyes and pretend you’re on the committee and I am… Read More »
The Sunday Blog is on the road in St. Augustine where I was able to enjoy a Florida basketball game with my Dad and brother Tim. Gosh, neither one of them is a big fan of Marshall Henderson. 1. OK, so this is what I told my Dad Saturday — “I don’t want Florida to be No. 1.” My thinking is that this is a team that doesn’t need any more distractions. So I rooted for Syracuse to win Saturday… Read More »
The Sunday Blog has a story to tell about Saturday night but it’s a little embarrassing. I was watching Florida-Kentucky with my wife and late in the first half I had to go to my office and mute the TV to watch by myself. “I’ve seen every Florida game and almost every Kentucky game this season. I don’t need someone else to tell me what’s going on in the game,” I said. Nice ego, huh? I get a little annoyed… Read More »
Woke up this morning, felt like blogging about basketball. So here’s a bonus Four From The Floor: 1. Florida’s win Tuesday night at Tennessee was another resume builder but, more importantly, a big step towards winning its seventh SEC title and sixth under Billy Donovan. It was also a win over a Top 50 RPI team so I looked up the top 10 teams in RPI and their records against top 50 teams (RPI in parenthesis). (3) Syracuse 6-0. (7)… Read More »
The Sunday Blog likes those noon games even if they seem strange. Leaves more time for watching hoops with friends, which I did at Ballyhoo’s late into Saturday evening. 1. It is a big week for the Florida basketball team because the Gators are going to two places where they have not has a lot of success — Knoxville and Lexington. Sure, Florida handled Tennessee in Gainesville but I expect a battle up there. Tennessee is a weak team mentally… Read More »
The Sunday Blog comes at you on Super Sunday which is America’s excuse to eat badly, drink too much and leave parties early because work comes early. Really, shouldn’t Monday be a holiday? For me, it’s a break from college basketball, but just a short one. 1. In Sunday’s newspaper I pointed out something I talked about on my Dooley Noted podcast, that Florida’s schedule is always back-loaded because the Gators are the second-best brand in the SEC and TV… Read More »
Florida’s 18-2 record through its first 20 games ties the best mark all-time for a Florida team. Here are Florida’s best starts through 20 games (four losses or fewer) and how the seasons turned out. 2006-07 Started 18-2. SEC finish: First in the East. NCAA Tournament: National champions. 2005-06. Started: 18-2. SEC finish: Second in the East. NCAA Tournament: National champions. 2012-13. Started 18-2. SEC finish: First. NCAA Tournament: Lost in Elite Eight to Michigan. 2002-03. Started: 18-2. SEC finish:… Read More »
I was thinking about how I might need a better name for the Sunday Blog after the transition was made from football to basketball season and since it automatically goes to Twitter and I want as many clicks as possible I thought about calling it “Tim Tebow new Florida coach” or “Chris Walker finally cleared” just so people would click on it. But that wouldn’t be right. 1. So I was thinking about this during the Florida-Tennessee game and decided… Read More »
