After taking care of Tide, Gators get one last shot to spoil Kentucky
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Kentucky media on hand for Thursday's early second-round game at the Southeastern Conference Tournament were like sea gulls on the boardwalk waiting for a kid to drop a french fry.
After eighth-seeded Florida's 69-61 defeat of ninth-seeded Alabama was complete, the flock converged on the winning locker room to get a sense of the impending doom and did everything but pass out blindfolds and cigarettes.
Yada, yada, yada.
Junior guard Michael Frazier II had the best answer.
"We're just excited to playing again," he said. "Right now, that's all we have."
That is a fact. Even with their latest win, the Gators (16-16) are guaranteed nothing beyond Friday, with the only foregone conclusion being one more game against the top-ranked, unbeaten and in-pursuit-of-perfection Wildcats.
They have it in great part due to Dorian Finney-Smith. The junior forward was sensational Thursday in scoring 21 points and grabbing 11 rebounds to card his third in double-double of the season. Finney-Smith went 6-for-10 from the floor, nailed four 3-point shot and pulled six boards on the offensive end, helping the Gators (16-16) blast the Crimson Tide (18-14) on the glass at both ends (35-24 overall, 12-3 on the offensive side).
"I thought Dorian played a great game all the way around," UF coach Billy Donovan said. "When he's playing like that, he's a real matchup problem because of what you can do with him."
Namely, move him inside and out, with UF's ball-handlers looking to find him in advantageous spots. That's what both Kasey Hill and Chris Chiozza did; and not just for Finney-Smith. Their combined floor games were highly efficient -- 9 points on 3-for-4 shooting, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 turnovers -- and produced open shots for teammates. The Gators didn't shoot the ball particularly well from the field (42.9 percent) or long distance (just 9-for-29), but the looks were good.
As it turned out, UF's 69 points were the team's most since a 72-71 loss at Ole Miss on Jan. 24, a run of 13 games.
"As long as guys are taking good shots and guys are getting the ball where they can make something happen, that's big time," said UF assistant Rashon Burno, a former point guard in his playing days at DePaul and the staffer charged with the Bama advance scout. "From a floor generalship standpoint, that's all you can ask for."
Finney-Smith did what he was asked and more. After Alabama scored the first two baskets of the second half to tie the game at 33, Chiozza hit a 3-pointer, then junior guard Eli Carter (11 points) scored on old-fashion 3-point play that kicked in a 20-9 spreed for the Gators. After Carter's points, Finney-Smith and freshman forward Devin Robinson accounted for 12 points of their team's next 14 points in opening up a 53-42 lead with eight minutes to go. The closest the Tide got from there was seven with just under four minutes -- then Finney-Smith hit a 3.
In his last five games, including four since returning from a three-game suspension for violating team rules, Finney-Smith is averaging 15.2 points and 8.4 rebounds.
"The guys on the team, they did a good job of supporting me through tough times," Finney-Smith said. "I just want to come out and play with that energy for them; play [hard] for these guys."
The opposing coach noticed.
"I thought Finney-Smith was outstanding," Alabama's Anthony Grant said. "He really helped his team with his ability to rebound and score the basketball."
Besides Finney-Smith and Carter, Robinson also scored in double-figures in posting 10 points. Junior forward Alex Murphy had seven points and three rebounds for a bench that outscored Bama's 20-0. And while the normally sharp-shooting Frazier (1-for-10 overall, 1-for-8 from distance, 5 points) clearly has not regained his rhythm since returning last weekend from an ankle sprain that sidelined him for seven games, defenses still have to honor his presence on the floor. That helps unlock and spread the floor for the UF offense.
"The way I look at it, hopefully I got a bunch of my misses out of the way today," Frazier said. "Let's see what happens tomorrow."
Yeah, about that game Friday. As the tournament's top seed, Kentucky (31-0) had a bye into the quarters. Florida will be the first team to face the Wildcats three times this season, having lost 68-61 in Gainesville last month and 67-50 last Saturday at Lexington.
After Thursday's victory, Donovan (right) was asked how he planned to spend the upcoming 20-some hours of preparation time.
"Well, I hear they have some really good blues and country music around here," he said.
Actually, Donovan and his staff will have a plan. Whether it's good enough and the Gators can be good enough to stare down Team Unbeatable is something they'll just have to find out for themselves.
Right now, that's all they have.
