The term “must-win game” has been used around the Florida basketball team quite a bit lately.
UF’s 78-76 loss at Georgia on Saturday was supposedly a must-win, and several Gators said the same before their 64-60 home loss to Vanderbilt on Tuesday.
If UF (20-10, 9-6 Southeastern Conference) supposedly had to win those two, how much importance does it place on its final regular-season game, a noon matchup against No. 3 Kentucky (28-2, 13-2 SEC) on Sunday in Rupp Arena?
“A must, must win,” junior forward Chandler Parsons said. “We think we can beat anybody.”
No game occurs in a vacuum, but upsetting the Wildcats in Lexington, Ky., might be enough for the Gators to punch their tickets to the NCAA Tournament, barring a disastrous showing in the SEC Tournament next week in Nashville, Tenn.
ESPN.com’s Joe Lunardi currently projects UF will make the Tournament as a No. 11 seed — perhaps a surprising prediction, considering the team has lost four of its last seven and isn’t being given much of a chance this weekend.
A late-season win over Kentucky would boost the Gators’ résumé, likely taking them off the bubble and removing some of the sting from their back-to-back losses in supposed “must-win” situations.
Kentucky has no shortage of talent, as it features three potential first-round NBA draft picks this year in guard John Wall (17 points, 6.2 assists, 4.1 rebounds per game) and forwards DeMarcus Cousins (15.9 points, 10.1 rebounds) and Patrick Patterson (15 points, 7.6 rebounds).
As much trouble as the Wildcats’ big three gave the Gators last time, it was guard Eric Bledsoe who exploded for 25 points on 10-of-13 shooting.
UF hung with then-undefeated UK in the teams’ first matchup of the season, tying the game at 72 with 5:14 remaining before the Wildcats finished on a 17-5 run and pulled out an 89-77 victory.
“Every game, especially getting down to the wire, feels like a must-win,” junior power forward Alex Tyus said. “They have great players. We just need to try to contain their whole team and make the game uncomfortable for them.”
The Wildcats, who clinched at least a share of the regular-season SEC title Wednesday night, don’t have quite as much to play for as the Gators do, but they are still motivated to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
UF, meanwhile, is still fighting for its 10th win in conference play.
The team hasn’t had 10 league victories since winning consecutive national titles, as the Gators won eight SEC games in 2007-08 and nine in 2008-09.
Prior to the 2007-08 season, UF had won 10 or more league games in eight of its previous nine seasons.
“I wanted that 10th win bad,” Parsons said. “I think the whole team did, our whole university did. With everything on the line, we obviously wanted to win and lock up a spot, but our backs are against the wall, so we’re going to have to see how tough we are.”
