Gators

Check out the 5 biggest questions facing Florida’s football team ahead of spring practices.

Florida coach Mike White will be the first to tell anyone expecting results similar to the Gators’ deep NCAA Tournament run last season would be highly presumptuous.

UF fell one game shy of making it to the Final Four last year and even though some of the core pieces instrumental to that NCAA run are set open tournament play again, the two teams feature wildly varying consistency.

Last year’s Florida team understood its strengths, which was defensive intensity that led to up tempo offensive energy. Even though high-octane guard Chris Chiozza is running the show for the Gators again, it’s been difficult for UF to match that consistency this year.

The key difference, White said, was having a few players last year that had been through the rigors of various post-season situations, most notably point guard Kasey Hill.

“They had a chip on their shoulder. Last year’s group had experienced some tough times,” White said Monday. “Led by a guy like Kasey Hill, he was part of something special as a freshman as a role guy and then he had a losing season and then he had an NIT season and he was hungry. He had an edge to him. He had been doubted for a while and most people didn’t think he should even be at this level.

“We had the addition of Canyon Berry, who just wanted to be able to help a team at this level. I could go on and on, but we had a good group of guys that sold out to winning above all and not shots, points, minutes. And they hadn’t experienced success at this level and that was most important to them. It was pretty simple.”

This year’s squad was ranked among the top teams in college basketball early in season, jumping out to a 5-0 start with a big win over Gonzaga and a close loss to Duke in the title game of the Phil Knight Invitational in Portland, Ore.

But then came losses to FSU and Loyola Chicago, a victory over a talented Cincinnati team and a loss to a tough Clemson team. The storyline of the 2017-18 season was set. Inconsistency would be the tone and the Gators have been nothing but unpredictable in posting a 20-12 record.

The way the Gators started the season was the exact same way they ended it. Florida had three impressive victories to end the regular season over Auburn, Alabama and Kentucky, only to follow up with a tepid showing against Arkansas and an early exit from the SEC Tournament.

“This year’s group is a little different in that these guys have … experienced success and these guys have had a bunch of positive headlines, literally since last summer, and haven’t always handled it the right way,” White said. “We haven’t always maintained focus correctly.”

The Gators have had some time to regroup after Friday’s loss to Arkansas. Weather forced the team to spend two extra days in St. Louis, but they won’t have a lot of time to prepare for their next opponent since they don’t know who it will be.

Florida faces the winner of one of the NCAA Tournament’s play-in games between St. Bonaventure and UCLA, which is Tuesday night. UF’s first-round game in Dallas is slated for 10 p.m. Thursday.