Sometimes a caged animal is even more dangerous.
In a commanding and inspiring 85-73 win Wednesday night, LSU (9-14, 2-7 Southeastern Conference) proved the past doesn't always have to be a reflection of the future.
After struggling in the early parts of the season and recently losing head coach John Brady, the Tigers played with fire and passion that the Gators (19-6, 6-4) simply couldn't match.
"With the way LSU played tonight," UF coach Billy Donovan said, "we could have played our best game of the year and still lost. That's how well I think they played."
In two games as interim head coach, Butch Pierre has taken No. 4 Tennessee to the wire in Knoxville and defeated the Gators on the road.
Donovan said he felt the Tigers were a "hardened" group that has responded to the adversity by playing to its fullest potential.
He pointed to LSU guard Garrett Temple, who suffered an injury when his front tooth penetrated his lip with 11:11 remaining in the second half. Temple received some treatment and returned to the game, apparently unfazed.
"There is blood coming down his mouth, and I can just see the fire and the heart," Donovan said. "He had enough of losing, he had enough of everything. I don't see any of our guys hardened like that."
Last Saturday, when Donovan criticized UF's defense in the 10-point win over Georgia, many seemed befuddled by his concern in a game where the Gators won handily.
After Wednesday's loss to LSU, it seems Donovan's premonitions were accurate.
"I think people wondered why I was upset. Well, it all came to fruition today," he said. "We put an enormous amount of pressure on our offense because of our inability to want to play defense."
UF allowed LSU to shoot 60 percent from the field, including 9 of 20 from 3-point range.
The Tigers had five players in double figures, led by forward Anthony Randolph's 22 points.
Donovan said after the game he felt his coaching staff would do a better job playing defense than his team, and he spoke of his squad's immaturity.
"We have baby skin right now," Donovan said. "As we become more calloused and more hardened, that's when we'll figure out what it is we have to do to win games."
During the course of the game, the Gators were on the wrong end of a number of questionable calls. At the end of the first half, Donovan remained on the court as the teams headed into their respective locker rooms so he could argue with the officials.
After the game, Donovan said he was unable to comment on the situation.
Center Marreese Speights, who fouled out, vented his frustration.
"Every time we touched them, they called a foul," Speights said. "They touched us and they didn't call anything. I couldn't touch anybody. A couple of times, I didn't even touch him and they called a foul. I guess it happens sometimes."
Officiating aside, UF struggled to find a rhythm on its own.
The Gators committed 19 turnovers in the contest and shot just 33 percent from beyond the arc, which is somewhat skewed as they hoisted a number of attempts in the waning moments.
Guard Nick Calathes led the way with 16 points but committed as many turnovers (five) as assists. Calathes admitted to becoming discouraged at times and pointed to defense as the key factor.
"Watching them score gets us down, to be honest with you," Calathes said. "If you can't get stops, it's tough to win a game. If we can't stop anybody, we're not going to beat anybody."
The loss was the Gators' third in their last four games, and all three came by double digits.
UF will now prepare for a tough road test when it heads to Nashville on Saturday to take on No. 24 Vanderbilt.
