No one is confusing Nick Calathes with Joe Namath, but this as close to a guarantee as you're going to get from the Gators this season.
"I think that we will definitely make the tournament," Calathes said. "I think we can do it. That's just my opinion. I just know our team. I know we need these two games, and we still got the SEC Tournament. I've got confidence in our team."
The Gators (21-8, 8-6 Southeastern Conference) have lost four of their last six games and have lost two straight.
With time slipping away on the season, UF can't afford another loss when it plays Mississippi State (17-12, 7-7 SEC) tonight at 8 p.m. in Starkville, Miss.
The Bulldogs lead the conference in 3-point shooting (246 made this season), and the Gators are second to last in defending the three.
Mississippi State also poses problems in the paint for UF with 6-foot-9 shot blocker Jarvis Varnado.
ESPN's Joe Lunardi, who predicts the NCAA Tournament bracket, had UF as one of his first four teams out of the tournament Sunday night.
"I would definitely say there's a sense of panic, a sense of urgency," forward Chandler Parsons said. "Everybody will be on edge understanding what's at risk here."
UF follows up the game at Mississippi State with its season finale against Kentucky at home Saturday in what will most likely play out like a tournament elimination game.
The Gators are currently tied for third with the Wildcats in the SEC East.
"We're worried, but in a good way," Parsons said. "I'm nervous, but yeah, everyone's nervous before a game, especially how big this game is."
In a similar situation last year, UF failed to finish out the season strong, losing eight of its last 11 games.
It was a stretch that saw the Gators lose their last four games of the season - including a first-round loss in the SEC Tournament - and miss out on the Big Dance for the first time in a decade.
"Of course we're fired up to get out there and win and play ourselves into the tournament," guard Erving Walker said. "And then, honestly, there probably is a little sense of panic. Not in a bad way, but just knowing that it's coming to an end and we've got to get it done."
After last season's end-of-the-year collapse, UF rebounded to play its way to the semifinals of the National Invitation Tournament.
This time around, the Gators hope to stay as far away from Madison Square Garden as possible.
UF is No. 49 (51) in the latest RPI rankings, has a strength of schedule that ranks 94th in the country and has just one quality win outside SEC play (against Pacific-10 Conference leader Washington).
"I would say the team, myself and as a team, nobody wants to go to the NIT. So there probably is, knowing that there's two (regular-season) games left, panic," Walker said. "Not in a bad way like scared. But just some type of urgency, wanting to win and get back out there. I think that can be good."
