GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Billy Donovan sat at a podium on Saturday night after the Gators’ 61-60 win over Tennessee and sounded like a proud father who let go of the bike for the first time without training wheels.
Donovan knows the Gators still have a tough road ahead to claim their first SEC title in four years or to make any noise in the Big Dance, but you sensed the SEC’s longest-tenured coach felt his team crossed a hurdle against a Tennessee team that had the Gators on the ropes most of the game.
“They had an opportunity to put us away,’’ said guard Erving Walker. “This definitely wasn’t our best basketball game. We just kept fighting.’’
Florida’s fighting spirit and a fortunate bounce delivered the Gators (20-5, 9-2 SEC) their 13th consecutive 20-win season – the fifth-longest streak in the country – and a regular-season sweep of the Vols for the first time since 2002.
The victory didn’t come without some sweat for Donovan on the bench. The Gators fell behind by as many as eight points in the first half and struggled to get any consistent flow going offensively much of the game. There was also Tennessee guard Scotty Hopson to deal with.
Hopson finished with a game-high 22 points and appeared ready to take control of the game at times. But thanks to a defensive switch late in the second half – freshman guard Scottie Wilbekin shadowed Hopson’s every move down the stretch – Hopson didn’t hit a field goal in the final 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, the smallest player on the court hit the biggest shot once again. If you’ve heard that before, well, it’s because Walker has done it before. With the Vols leading 60-59 and Cameron Tatum at the free-throw line with 25 seconds left, Tatum missed and Alex Tyus grabbed the rebound.
The Gators called a timeout and Donovan called for the 5-foot-8 Walker to have the ball at the top of the perimeter with the rest of the Gators trying to set ball screens to draw Tennessee’s defenders away from the basket.
With the clock ticking down, Walker moved around a screen and drove deep into the lane with Tennessee center Brian Williams closing in at the basket. Walker tossed up a lay-up with his left hand to put the Gators ahead with 14 seconds left.
The Gators had the lead but Tennessee had a chance to answer. However, another fortunate bounce went the Gators’ way for the second straight Saturday night at a packed O’Connell Center. A week after Kentucky’s Brandon Knight missed at the buzzer, Tennessee’s Melvin Goins clanked one off the rim.
Game over. Celebration time.
The usually calm Walker ran to midcourt and did jump-bump with Wilbekin, knowing Saturday’s win was an important one for confidence and momentum.
“A lot did go right for us,’’ Walker said. “I don’t know how I got [the shot] up there. I had a real good view as I was going down [toward the basket]. I just wanted to get it up high.
“I’m never afraid in that situation. I’m not afraid to fail.’’
More and more, it looks like this Gators team is not afraid of anything.
They have won on the road, in overtime, against teams ranked high in the RPI standings, and now have won four consecutive games against SEC East foes. Barring a late-season plague, the Gators won’t be sitting around on Selection Sunday wondering if they are going to make the NCAA Tournament, but where they are going.
They won Saturday’s game with their best player of late, senior forward Chandler Parsons, hobbling around the court like Willis Reed. Still, Parsons played a team-high 37 minutes and demanded attention from the Vols’ defense.
He had more turnovers than points – four to three – and his string of six consecutive games with 10 or more rebounds fell by the wayside the second he suffered a deep thigh bruise during a collision with Tyus going for a rebound early in the game.
But Parsons’ running around the court on one leg was symbolic of this team’s attitude.
“I love coaching these guys,’’ Donovan said. “They have a fighting spirit. Even when things aren’t going well, they don’t quit on me. They don’t quit on each other.’’
With Parsons hobbled and unable to hang on Hopson for a stretch in the second half, Wilbekin stepped in and bailed out the Gators out in another example of the improved team chemistry that Donovan talked about afterward.
“He’s a great player,’’ said the 17-year-old Wilbekin, the youngest student-athlete on UF’s campus. “I take it upon myself as a challenge to guard the best guy on the other team.’’
The recipe for Saturday’s win had a little bit of everything.
There was Wilbekin’s defense. Parsons’ toughness. Tyus’ energy – he scored 10 points and had a team-high 11 rebounds. Vernon Macklin provided his normal 12 points and Kenny Boynton helped the Gators stay close by scoring 10 of his 12 points in the first half.
It wasn’t always pretty for the crowd of 12,630 – just three shy of the school record set a week before against Kentucky – but it was beautiful in the end thanks some more late magic from Walker and another W.
“I felt like this was a tough, grind-it-out-type game,’’ Tyus said. “To be able to win when you don’t play offensively you’re best, that helps us out a lot. We were just fighting.’’
Fighting was a common theme following Saturday’s game.
Donovan isn’t one to heap enormous praise on the Gators. He prefers little scoops at a time and only when well-deserved.
It sure sounded like he scooped a little out on Saturday for the way his team won. What has him really excited though is the wins that could be ahead if they play with the same spirit.
“I love it as a coach,’’ Donovan said. “The last couple of years have just been like holding on and maybe we can get into the tournament. This team is dealing with stuff that they’ve never had to deal with before. This is totally uncharted territory for these guys.
“They are starting to understand what it’s all about.’’
