By SCOTT CARTER
GatorZone.com Senior Writer
GatorZone.com Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Eleven games into the season, his team remains somewhat of a mystery.
So much so that after Monday’s 71-68 overtime loss to Jacksonville, Florida men’s basketball coach Billy Donovan opined that the Gators would likely have played better against Kobe Bryant rather than Dolphins senior Ayron Hardy.
“We would have been better off tonight playing the Los Angeles Lakers,’’ Donovan said.
Of course, Donovan didn’t mean the Gators are ready for a showdown with Showtime. Instead, they have been a team that appears to notice the name on the front of the opponent’s jersey, a trait known to drive coaches bonkers.
That was never more apparent in Donovan’s case than early in Monday’s loss, Jacksonville’s first win over Florida in 16 years and only fifth in 33 all-time meetings.
Two minutes into the game, Donovan called a timeout and let the Gators have it after they came out looking lackadaisical. They didn’t look like the same team from 48 hours ago.
Two days earlier the Gators walked off the court at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise with their biggest win of the season, overcoming a 12-point deficit to knock off No. 6-ranked Kansas State 57-44 by dominating the second half.
The Gators hadn’t held a ranked opponent to so few points since 1968. Donovan hoped that maybe the win – and more importantly, the way the Gators won – would be contagious against the low-profile Dolphins in a rare Monday matinee at the O’Connell Center.
Afterward, the evidence said otherwise.
The Gators looked ready to break the game open midway through the second half when they went on a 13-4 run to grab the biggest lead (56-49) either team built. But instead running away with the game, Florida started to hand it back.
“We find a lot of ways to sabotage ourselves,’’ Donovan said. “We got up by seven and there was nothing that they did to get back into the game.”
Little by little, the Gators helped Jacksonville’s cause.
Alex Tyus missed a 3-pointer on a fast-break opportunity; freshman guard Scottie Wilbekin overplayed on defense, giving up a 3-pointer to Keith McDougald; Chandler Parsons got stripped by Hardy, who drove the length of the court for a game-tying lay-up.
In the final three minutes, neither team could break free. Gators guard Erving Walker tossed up a 3-pointer at the end of regulation that missed, sending the game to overtime.
“They just outworked us from the beginning of the game,’’ Walker said. “We took too long to start playing.’’
Walker finished with a game-high 21 points, but after McDougald’s two free throws gave the Dolphins a 71-68 lead with 17.8 seconds left in overtime, Walker didn’t have a magical shot in him to force a second overtime.
His 3-point attempt rimmed out and the Dolphins celebrated wildly, winning their first game against a Top 25 team under Coach Cliff Warren.
“I’m just very proud of my team,’’ Warren said. “I feel very blessed that we won this game.’’
Meanwhile, the mood was much different on the other side of the court.
The Gators, who earlier in the day moved up to No. 19 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll and re-entered the AP Top 25 at No. 20 following their upset of Kansas State, left the O-Dome looking dazed and likely facing a grueling practice Tuesday.
The feeling was painfully familiar to the one they had when they lost to UCF for the first time in school history earlier this month in Orlando.
“I wish we could play it over,’’ Gators guard Kenny Boynton said.
Senior center Vernon Macklin had a wish of his own.
“I just wish we could have come out here the same team we can out versus Kansas State,’’ said Macklin, who had his first double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds. “We wouldn’t be acting the way we’re acting right now.’’
At halftime, Macklin said the Donovan’s message was clear.
“Coach D wants to know which team we’re going to be?’’
After the game, Donovan didn’t like the answer the scoreboard provided. The Gators next play on Wednesday against Radford. At last check, Radford isn’t the Lakers.
Donovan hopes that after what happened Monday, his team won’t notice.
“Clearly, for the people who watched us play against Kansas State, two totally different teams,’’ Donovan said. “I thought we took a lot of steps backwards. I thought we had a chance to really make a great step as a team.
“In order to be a great, great team, you have to be able to handle prosperity. This has been a good group. They have handled adversity. They’ll bounce back. I’d be very disappointed if we didn’t play really, really hard on Wednesday.’’
