Wednesday night in Starkville, Miss., a small city that just 24,000 people call home, the UF men's basketball team's season died quietly in its sleep.
It was 110 days old.
The team suffered from a lack of size and a heavy reliance on the 3-pointer its entire life and finally lost the battle with those ailments during an 80-71 loss to Mississippi State. Though the Gators hoped to live long enough to advance to the NCAA Tournament, hope was not enough to keep them alive. When sophomore guard Nick Calathes was pulled from the game with about three minutes remaining Wednesday night, coach Billy Donovan was pulling the plug on the season.
The constant pressure of trying to live up to the Gators' national championship teams of 2005 and 2006 was also cited as a cause of death.
The Gators showed promise early in the season, beginning the year with a 16-2 record that included wins in its first three Southeastern Conference games.
The team's notable accomplishments include an early season victory against current No. 16 Washington and a comeback victory against North Carolina State in which Calathes scored 24 second-half points. The Gators were also undefeated at home until losing to Tennessee on Saturday. Calathes was a man among boys, leading the team in points per game, assists, 3-point percentage and defensive rebounds, and fans should pay their respects to a player who may well never grace the O'Connell Center again after this season.
Despite all those positives, bracket makers will be unable to look past the last-second losses to South Carolina and Kentucky, the blowout at the hands of Tennessee, a maximum of nine wins in a weak conference and the embarrassing defeat against Georgia. UF's 2-7 record in away games, cemented by Wednesday's loss to Mississippi State, put the final nail in the team's coffin.
Mississippi State's 10 3-pointers and the inside play of Jarvis Varnado were too much for UF - already on its deathbed - to handle. Every time the ball went down low to Varnado, the scoreboard operator had his finger on the button that would put 2 points on the board for the Bulldogs. More often than not, he pushed that button moments later.
The Gators are survived by the SEC Tournament, their last-ditch effort to make it to the Big Dance, but all odds point to an early exit. UF is also survived by its son, the 2009-10 basketball season, which promises to improve on its father's lack of frontcourt depth but might be lacking its most important member in Calathes. This team's father, the 2007-08 basketball season, suffered a similar demise, and this team certainly viewed its dad as a role model.
Funeral services will be held on March 17 during the opening round of the National Invitation Tournament. All are welcome to attend, but the team's relatives do not expect a large audience. Any signs of life should be disregarded.
Rest in peace, 2008-09 UF basketball season.
