Texas A&M delivered the loss that killed Florida’s NCAA Tournament hopes last season.
After a six-point loss in the SEC Tournament, UF coach Mike White was asked to talk about the turnovers that blew the game open for the Aggies.
White shook his head.
Five seconds of silence.
“Yeah — not very fun to talk about,” he said.
The Gators were sloppy and A&M made them pay, White said.
But UF will get its chance at redemption on Saturday at noon when No. 17 Florida (19-5, 9-2 SEC) hosts the Aggies (13-10, 5-6 SEC) in the O’Connell Center.
While Saturday’s matchup won’t have the pressure or pomp of UF’s last home game — a 22-point, landmark win over then-No. 8 Kentucky — the Aggies present a threat to knock Florida off its five-game winning streak for three reasons.
1) While Texas A&M doesn’t have the offense that took it to the Sweet Sixteen in 2016, it can still pose problems for UF on defense. The Aggies give up just 68.6 points per game, the fourth-best mark in the SEC. Texas A&M nearly knocked off No. 9 Arizona early in the season, holding the Wildcats to just 3-of-15 shooting from beyond the arc.
2) The Gators haven’t beaten A&M since Billy Donovan was coaching in 2015. Florida’s lost three of its last four games against the Aggies.
3) Florida’s worst moments have come right after its best. Florida suffered a demoralizing two-game losing streak in mid-January coming off a seven-game winning streak. White said the Gators lost focus as a result of the streak and being ranked for the first time in more than a year.
But UF is hoping to overcome that list on Saturday.
“Last year, they beat us twice,” point guard Kasey Hill said on Thursday. “Every team that beat us last year, we’re definitely trying to beat this year.”
Contact Matt Brannon at mbrannon@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @MattB_727.
UF coach Mike White looks on in Florida's 68-66 loss to Vanderbilt on Jan. 21, 2017, at the O'Connell Center.
