The Florida basketball team is, for lack of a better term, terrible.
I was hesitant to say this, but after watching LSU destroy UF 79-61 on Tuesday night, there’s no other word to describe this year’s basketball team.
The Gators were expected to take a step back this season.
That was a given.
Any team that loses four of its five starters that led it to four straight Elite Eights and a Final Four isn’t going to be the same.
But you probably didn’t see them stepping back this much.
In just 18 games this season, the Gators already have eight losses.
During Billy Donovan’s first 18 years at the helm of the Florida basketball program, only Billy D’s first team in the 1996-97 season suffered more losses in its first 18 games, going 9-9 in that span.
That team finished the year 13-17 and didn’t reach the postseason.
Not the NCAA.
Not the NIT.
And this year’s team is heading in that direction.
The Gators are still looking for their first signature win, a victory they can point to and say, "This is why we deserve to compete in the postseason."
They’ve had their opportunities, and those opportunities were wasted.
A last-second loss to Miami.
An 18-point lead in the second half against Kansas evaporated.
And, most recently, back-to-back Southeastern Conference losses to Georgia and LSU, in which both the Bulldogs and Tigers each made more than half of their field-goal attempts.
These merely highlight Florida’s struggles this season.
The Gators are 0-5 against teams in the current RPI top 50 and have defeated just one of the eight teams they have faced in the top 100 — Yale, which clocks in at No. 65.
That’s not a postseason team.
That’s not even a sign of a quality team.
And that’s definitely not a team that fits the Billy Donovan mold Gator fans have been accustomed to seeing throughout the past decade.
Donovan admitted postgame on Tuesday he isn’t surprised at his team’s early woes.
"Some of it’s habitual," Donovan said. "We’re talking about trying to change habits in a lot of ways for these guys. … We’re not talented enough to do those things."
Donovan has tried every tactic in the book to break his team of their bad habits, including benching them whenever an error occurs.
But all that has resulted in is 10 players averaging at least 14.1 minutes per game and a sense of chemistry to be lacking.
On top of that, Florida’s next three games — Saturday against Ole Miss, Tuesday against Alabama and Jan. 31 against Arkansas — will be anything but a cakewalk.
All three teams are ranked at least No. 55 in the RPI poll and have the potential to reach the NCAA Tournament.
This is not a Billy Donovan team.
And the Gators have a long way to go.
Follow Jordan McPherson on Twitter @J_McPherson1126
Billy Donovan looks down the court during Florida's 72-47 win against Mississippi State on Jan. 10 in the O'Connell Center. Florida dropped its first SEC home game when on Tuesday, losing 79-61 to LSU.
