NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Mike White sat slouched in a chair outside of Florida’s locker room, looking dejected with a blank stare on his face.
The Gators had just lost their Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinal game to the tournament’s No. 1 seed Texas A&M, 72-66, ending their tournament run. White had finished talking to his team in the locker room and was waiting to be taken to the press conference podium.
The scene inside the Florida locker room was the same. Hushed voices, long faces and any hopes for an NCAA Tournament bid gone.
Instead, the Gators will settle for a No. 2 seed in the National Invitation Tournament, where they open play against seventh-seeded North Florida on Tuesday in Jacksonville.
"Obviously, very disappointing for us. Had a big opportunity," White said after Friday’s loss to A&M. "We fought. It’s two days in a row we sat in the (defensive) stance and really grinded out some stops at a pretty high level."
In Florida’s first game of the SEC Tournament on Thursday, the No. 8-seeded Gators defeated No. 9 Arkansas 68-61. UF’s defense, especially in the half court, was as good as it has been all season, holding the Razorbacks to a 36.1 percent shooting performance and leading scorer Moses Kingsley to 10 points.
The Gators set the tone in the win over Arkansas that they would not go down in Nashville without a fight. Center John Egbunu embodied that attitude, playing 24 minutes off the bench with eight points and nine rebounds — all with a torn ligament in his right thumb.
"I hate it for you, but you’ll find other ways where you can help your teammates," White said he told Egbunu after finding out about the injury, not thinking the center could play. "He said ‘No, coach, I’m playing. I’m fine. I’ll find a way.'"
Egbunu played another 21 minutes against Texas A&M and scored 11 points, but fouled out late in the second half.
Florida’s defense was its strength in both games, as it has been all season, but the Gators’ offense was boosted by back-to-back scoring outbursts from Kasey Hill. The junior guard scored 18 points in each of the two games and shot 12-for-21 in the tournament. Against Texas A&M, Hill made 6-of-9 free throws, had two assists, two steals, one block and just one personal foul.
Redshirt senior Dorian Finney-Smith’s offensive contributions were also felt. He scored 13 against Arkansas and 11 against Texas A&M in his final SEC Tournament.
Florida has now failed to make to NCAA Tournament for two consecutive years after reaching the Final Four in 2014. White led his team to a 19-14 record in his first season at the helm, and now the Gators are headed to the NIT.
"Wherever we’re sent, we’ll be excited to play," White said. "We’ll continue to represent Florida and play hard and look to improve."
Contact Alex Maminakis at amaminakis@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @alexmaminakis.
Florida's Kasey Hill, left, drives to the basket against Arkansas's Trey Thompson, right, during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the Southeastern Conference tournament in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, March 10, 2016. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)Florida won 68-61.
