It should be no surprise that members of the Florida Gators basketball team were depressed and dismayed following their 75-69 loss to the Mississippi State Bulldogs Friday night in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Southeastern Conference Tournament. Below are some comments from the players who are concerned about a berth in the 2010 NCAA Tournament, courtesy of the Palm Beach Post and Orlando Sentinel.

» Junior forward Chandler Parsons on the loss: “It’s terrible. It’s awful. My first two years, we had a feeling we weren’t going to make (the NCAA Tournament). I think this year we have a much better chance, but it’s completely out of our hands. I’m going to keep my fingers crossed until then. I’m concerned, real concerned, because it’s not in my hands. I can’t control anything, coach (Billy) Donovan can’t, our school can’t. So I think everyone is just concerned and anxious and just hoping.”

» Parsons continued: “It’s a terrible feeling not knowing because it’s not in our hands at all. All we can do is go back to Gainesville and hope and keep our fingers crossed. I think we feel as a team we deserve to be there. We’ve had some good wins.”

» Freshman guard Kenny Boynton on what went wrong: “They wanted it more tonight, it was obvious. Reality kicked in, we tried to come back, but it was too late.”

» Senior F Dan Werner on falling behind: “You can never get by down by that much and expect to come back on a good team.”

» Werner on his miscue (flubbing pass down four with 1:25 left and a clear lane to the hoop to cut the deficit to two): “I saw that there was no one at the basket so I was going to try to run in and get an easy lay-up. When I started running I guess I kind of misjudged the ball. Stuff like that happens.”

» Head coach Billy Donovan on the team’s chances: “I think we’ve played a very, very competitive schedule. We’ve had some really, really good quality wins. If that’s good enough, then so be it. We’ll wait and see what happens on Sunday.”

Florida’s win Thursday against the Auburn Tigers appeared impressive enough to earn them a berth in March Madness, but the Gators must still keep an eye on their competition also on the bubble. While conference tournaments had been kind to UF up to this point, Friday night saw a number of bubble teams find success against top-ranked competition. Below is OGGOA’s latest bubble watch update:

» Mississippi State (22-10) defeated Florida 75-69
» Dayton (20-12) lost to Xavier 78-73
» Rhode Island (23-8) defeated Saint Louis 63-47
» Georgia Tech (21-11) defeated No. 19 Maryland 69-64 (considered a lock)
» Illinois (19-13) defeated No. 18 Wisconsin 58-54
» Ole Miss (21-10) lost to No. 13 Tennessee 76-65
» San Diego State (24-8) defeated No. 8 New Mexico 72-69 (considered a lock)
» Minnesota (19-12) defeated No. 11 Michigan State 72-67
» Washington (22-9) defeated Stanford 79-64

Additionally, ESPN bracketology expert Joe Lunardi has kept Florida at No. 1 on his list of the final five at-large teams to qualify for the tournament after their loss Friday. Lunardi projects that it would take additional wins by Minnesota or Mississippi State or unexpected teams winning their conference tournaments to knock any of his final five (Florida, Virginia Tech, Illinois, Washington, Rhode Island) off the bubble.

Selection Sunday will air March 14 beginning at 6 p.m. on CBS. The NCAA Selection Committee will choose five at-large teams to join the 39 locks and 21 automatic qualifiers already in the tournament. OGGOA will provide full coverage of the event.

Tags: Auburn Tigers, Chandler Parsons, March Madness, Mississippi State Bulldogs, NCAA, NCAA Tournament, SEC, SEC Tournament, Selection Sunday

Down a game-high 19 points with 13:29 left to play, the Florida Gators (21-12) rallied with a strong 14-0 run but still fell short, losing to the Mississippi State Bulldogs (22-10) 75-69 Friday night in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Southeastern Conference Tournament from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, TN.

Led by a 23-point effort from freshman guard Kenny Boynton, the Gators’ backcourt scored 48 of the team’s 69 total points. Sophomore point guard Erving Walker contributed 19 points on 6-12 shooting while going 4-for-8 from beyond the arc. Boynton finished 4-of-7 from downtown and 8-for-16 overall with a team-high three assists.

Florida began the game slow, missing their first five shots and allowing Mississippi State to get out to a 10-0 lead. A layup by Walker almost four minutes in ended the drought. The Gators attempted an early comeback, using a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 13-9, but the Bulldogs answered back and pulled ahead to a 15-point lead halfway through the period. UF finished the half with its backcourt accounting for 25 of its 28 points.

Up a game-high 19 points, 58-39, with 13:20 to left on the clock, MSU looked to have the game locked up. That was until Florida exploded on a 14-0 run to close within five as Mississippi State was held scoreless for six minutes. It would not be enough for the Gators, who would eventually get down to a four-point deficit on a Walker free throw with 1:25 to play. Florida had a chance to get within two with plenty of time left, but a mishandled pass by senior forward Dan Werner – who had a wide-open lane to the hoop in front of him – turned the ball (and perhaps the game) over to the Bulldogs.

Mississippi State shot over 66 percent from both the field and downtown for the majority of the game, but finished 57.1 percent and 50 percent from the respective locations compared to 43.6 percent and 39.1 percent for the Gators. Florida out-rebounded MSU 32-20, mostly due to the majority of the Bulldogs’ baskets going into the hoop.

Mississippi State guard Barry Stewart led the way with a team-high 17 points as F Jarvis Varnado dominated the paint with 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting, four rebounds and four big blocks. In all, five Bulldogs finished in double figures, with G Ravern Johnson adding 12 and G Dee Bost and F Kodi Augustus contributing 10 apiece.

Florida junior F Alex Tyus scored five points one day after a season-high 24-point performance Thursday against Auburn, redshirt junior center Vernon Macklin added three with his first bucket coming with 11:23 left in the game and junior F Chandler Parsons added 10 points with a team-high seven rebounds.

“They wanted it more tonight, it was obvious,” Boynton said after the game.

Friday’s loss was UF’s first to an SEC West opponent this season.

All that is left for the Gators is to wait for the NCAA Selection Committee to make its decision on whether or not they are worthy enough to earn a berth to the 2010 NCAA Tournament. Selection Sunday begins on March 14 at 6 p.m. on CBS. OGGOA will provide full coverage of the event.

Photo Credit: Mark Humphrey/Associated Press

Tags: Alex Tyus, Barry Stewart, Chandler Parsons, Dan Werner, Dee Bost, Erving Walker, Jarvis Varnado, Kenny Boynton, Kodi Augustus, Mississippi State Bulldogs, NCAA, NCAA Tournament, Ravern JOhnson, SEC, SEC Tournament, Selection Sunday, Vernon Macklin

1 » The Gainesville Sun’s Pat Dooley explained the Florida Gators‘ status as a 2010 NCAA Tournament team as succinctly as possible: “They’re in. I think.” The Gators appear to have clinched an at-large berth in March Madness for the first time in three seasons with their victory Thursday in the first round of the 2010 Southeastern Conference Tournament against the Auburn Tigers. Then again, anything can happen with the Selection Committee. Florida has a chance to remove any doubts tonight against a team they already beat this season, the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

2 » Though the SEC is delaying the announcement of its entire football schedule due to some conflicts, it was announced Friday that the Gators’ away contest against the defending National Champion Alabama Crimson Tide on Oct. 2, 2010, will be CBS’ lone prime time game of the season. Each year, CBS picks one conference game to air at 8 p.m., and for 2010 it has decided to choose a rematch of the last two SEC Championship games – a rubber match if you will – between the Gators and Crimson Tide. Then again, the game could very well be less of a rubber match and more of a precursor to the 2010 SEC Championship in Atlanta, GA. Mark your calendars.

3 » While the win Thursday did wonders for Florida, it has likely done just the opposite for Auburn. Tigers head coach Jeff Lebo, who was on the hot seat before the tournament, is likely to get the boot if you believe many of Auburn’s fans and boosters. Gators head coach Billy Donovan has gone out of his way to praise Lebo at every opportunity he has gotten, but the respect of his peers will probably not be enough to save the embattled coach. UPDATE: Just moments after OGGOA posted this, The Birmingham News reported that Lebo will be fired.

4 » Bubble Watch: Illinois (18-13) vs. No. 18 Wisconsin (2:25 p.m.), Rhode Island (22-8) vs. Saint Louis (2:30 p.m.), Mississippi (21-9) vs. No. 13 Tennessee (3:15 p.m.), Dayton (20-11) vs. Xavier [in] (6:30 p.m.), Georgia Tech (20-11) vs. No. 19 Maryland (7 p.m.), Minnesota (19-12) vs. No. 11 Michigan State (8:55 p.m.), San Diego State (23-8) vs. No. 8 New Mexico (9:00 p.m.), Washington (22-9) vs. Stanford (11:30 p.m.)

Photo Credit: Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Tags: Alabama Crimson Tide, Auburn Tigers, Billy Donovan, Jeff Lebo, March Madness, Mississippi State Bulldogs, NCAA, NCAA Tournament, SEC, SEC Championship, selection committee

In the second round of the 2009 Southeastern Conference Tournament, the Auburn Tigers thrashed the Florida Gators’ NCAA Tournament dreams, defeating them 61-58 in Tampa, FL. The Gators may have gotten some retribution against the Tigers with a 78-70 win on Feb. 18 in Gainesville, FL, but their chance for true redemption will come Thursday in Nashville, TN.

Florida (20-10, 9-6 SEC), the No. 4 seed in the East, will take on Auburn (15-16, 6-10 SEC), the No. 5 seed in the West, in game three of the first round of the 2010 SEC Tournament on March 11 at 7:30 p.m. The game will air live on the SEC Network – check your local listings.

The winner of the contest will move on to face the Mississippi State Bulldogs in round two on Fri., March 12 at 7:30 p.m. The Gators will need at least one SEC Tournament victory to have a chance at avoiding the NIT for the first time in three seasons. (Unless, of course, they defeat the No. 3 Kentucky Wildcats on Sunday).

Tags: Auburn Tigers, Mississippi State Bulldogs, NCAA Tournament, NIT, SEC Tournament

1 » On Sunday, New Orleans Saints defensive end Bobby McCray became the 13th former Florida Gators football player to win a Super Bowl as his team defeated the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 in Miami, FL. The Saints’ starting defensive end, McCray totaled two tackles and a quarterback hurry during Super Bowl XLIV. He is the first former Gators defensive player to win a ring since DE Kevin Carter did it with the St. Louis Rams in 2000 (Super Bowl XXXIV).

2 » While most of the country was focused on the Super Bowl, the Florida women’s basketball team (13-10, 6-4 SEC) was in Gainesville, FL, hosting the Mississippi State Bulldogs (15-9, 6-5 SEC) at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. The Gators kept it close all game, eventually pulling out a hard-earned 80-78 double-overtime victory. Senior guard Lonnika Thompson scored all of her 11 points in overtime while classmates G Steffi Sorensen and forward Sharielle Smith each recorded double-doubles. Redshirt sophomore G Jordon Jones was responsible for the game-winning free throws with only 2.7 seconds left to lift Florida for the win.

3 » Following in the footsteps of their male counterparts, the No. 7 Gators women’s tennis team (5-0) completed a sweep at home over the weekend. The Florida women took on and defeated the Troy Trojans 7-0 at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex. No. 13-ranked freshman Allie Will and No. 81-ranked senior Marrit Boonstra each won their singles matches and combined as the No. 26 doubles duo to take the event’s first doubles match 8-1.

4 » The Florida club cycling team took home the annual Swamp Classic in Gainesville, FL, on Sunday. Called “one of the most dominant teams in the nation,” by The Gainesville Sun, the Gators group seemingly dominated the event from start-to-finish. For more, read Ray FItzGerald’s report here.

Tags: Allie Will, Bobby McCray, cycling, Indianapolis Colts, Jordon Jones, Linder Stadium, Lonnika Thompson, Marrit Boonstra, Mississippi State Bulldogs, New Orleans Saints, NFL, O'Connell Center, Ring Tennis Complex, Sharielle Smith, Steffi Sorensen, Super Bowl XLIV, Swamp Classic, tennis, Troy Trojans, women's basketball

It may not have looked pretty early, but the Florida Gators (17-6, 6-3 SEC) fought hard in the second half to pull off a 69-62 win over the Mississippi State Bulldogs (16-7, 4-4 SEC). Having not defeated the Bulldogs since 2007, the Gators were fueled by redshirt junior transfer center Vernon Macklin, who scored a career-high 20 points and absolutely dominated the second half.

Macklin put up Florida’s first 10 points out of the locker room with two powerful dunks and three layups. Later in the half, he would add another layup and two-handed reverse dunk that got the Stephen C. O’Connell Center crowd on its feet. He began the second half 6-for-6 and finished the game 10-for-14 with six rebounds.

Complimenting Macklin throughout the game was junior forward Chandler Parsons, whose double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds made up for the constant struggles of sophomore point guard Erving Walker and sophomore guard Kenny Boynton. The duo combined to shoot 4-of-25 from the field and 1-of-13 from downtown, only registering 12 points.

Read the rest of OGGOA’s Gators vs. Bulldogs game story after the jump!
Continue Reading » Macklin powers Florida over Mississippi State

Tags: Barry Stewart, Billy Donovan, Chandler Parsons, Erving Walker, Jarvis Varnado, Kenny Boynton, Mississippi State Bulldogs, Ravern JOhnson, Vernon Macklin

1 » Florida Gators (16-6, 5-3) vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs (16-6, 4-3) Pre-Game:
Location: Stephen C. O’Connell Center – Gainesville, FL [Capacity: 12,000]
Time: 1:30 p.m. (EST) | TV: SEC Network | Online: ESPN360 | Odds: Florida -3, O/U (off)

- Florida leads the all-time series against Mississippi State 56-47; however, the Bulldogs have prevailed in the last two meetings. The Gators are 9-6 against this opponent under head coach Billy Donovan and have not defeated them since Jan. 24, 2007.
- Florida is 10-2 overall and 3-1 in SEC play at home this year; they have won 36 of their last 44 conference games at the O’Dome.
- The Gators are 5-3 in games decided by five points or less compared to 4-6 in such games last season. Florida is 4-1 in the last five contests that were that close. They are also 5-0 in conference play when out-rebounding an opponent
- Florida has hit at least one three-pointer in 600 consecutive games.
-The dynamic backcourt of sophomore point guard Erving Walker and freshman guard Kenny Boynton is averaging 33.4 points and 8.1 assists per game in SEC play this season. The duo has hit 45 of the Gators’ 56 treys in conference action.
- Junior forward Alex Tyus is dominating the front court, averaging 15.5 points and 7.4 rebounds over the last 13 contests. He has hit double figures in 13 straight games, scored 15+ in eight of those 13 and is averaging 20.0 ppg in his last three outings.
- The triumvirate of Walker, Boynton and Tyus are combining for 48.8 of Florida’s 72.2 points per game in SEC play (67.6 percent).

2 » Jeremy Fowler of the Orlando Sentinel took the initiative to seek out the teams that the Gators need to lose in order to help solidify a spot in the 2010 NCAA Tournament.

Tags: Alex Tyus, Billy Donovan, Erving Walker, Kenny Boynton, Mississippi State Bulldogs, NCAA Tournament, O'Connell Center, SEC