Georgia loses to Florida — and the NCAA tease continues
Georgia coach Mark Fox calls timeout but can't stop another second-half slide. (AP photo)
(UPDATED AT 10 p.m.)
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Looking for the one victory that could lead fans to exclaim “We’re in!” and the NCAA tournament committee to place Georgia’s resume on the stack of 68, the Bulldogs instead prolonged the debate and the agony.
The Bulldogs were good enough at times Thursday night to lead 13th-ranked Florida on the road by 11 points. They also were inconsistent and panicky enough to melt down in the second half, go cold, let up on defense and lose.
Does the NCAA give style points for teases?
The Dogs lost to Florida 71-62 at the O’Connell Center. They are now 1-5 this season against ranked teams – the only win coming over Kentucky in January.
There is no shame in losing in Gainesville. But the lead-and-wilt act can wear on even the most optimistic fans. Also, the head coach.
“We’re not the most mature group when it comes to handling success,” Georgia coach Mark Fox said. “I think our leadership in [that area] has got to improve.”
Georgia is 18-9. This is how close they could be to 20 wins. They have led at halftime in the past six games but are only 3-3 (the losses coming to Xavier, Vanderbilt and Florida). Fox said the common thread is Georgia lost the rebounding battle in the second half. Guard Travis Leslie pointed to a slip in attitude, not a statistic.
“We’ve just got to keep grinding and keep fighting,” he said. “If we’re going to be in that situation, we can’t get comfortable and let teams back in it. If things [stop] going our way, we can’t start getting overly concerned have things start falling apart.”
The Dogs committed 13 turnovers to Florida’s five and were outscored in points off turnovers 23-5. There’s the game.
They played a solid first half, leading by as many as 11 points (31-20) and by seven (33-26) at the intermission. But Florida came out strong in the second half. Forward Chandler Parsons, who missed the last game with a bruised thigh, came off the bench and gave Florida a lift, scoring seven of the team’s first nine points and tied the game at 35-all on a 3-point shot.
The fast pace turned to Florida’s advantage. The Dogs had trouble handling the Gators’ press, turnovers led to fast breaks, and the Gators took a 52-46 lead with eight minutes remaining. After making only two 3-point shots in the first half, Florida made three consecutive in one stretch of the second half to take their biggest lead, 63-53, with five minutes left.
That pretty much was it. Georgia didn’t get closer than four points the rest of the way. The Dogs made only one field goal (1-for-8) in the final four minutes.
They were coming off an impressive victory at Tennessee, but a win in Gainesville would easily have been the best on their resume. Instead, they’ve now lost 14 of the past 16 meetings to Florida. That’s one-sided enough that maybe the basketball series should be moved to Jacksonville.
At 18-9, a tournament berth certainly is within reach. They should win the next two regular-season games against South Carolina (Saturday) and LSU (next week), before finishing with Alabama before the SEC tournament.
A win Thursday night could have removed all doubt. A projected NCAA bracket by ESPN this week had Georgia as a precarious No. 10 seed in the East Regional. Their record creates just enough discomfort to spell the “bubb” in “bubble” team.
They’ve prolonged the debate for at least another week.
By Jeff Schultz
♦
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188 comments Add your comment
UGA4life
February 25th, 2011
8:49 am
UGA needs a Kyle Macy type of guard, if you know what I mean
DawginLex
February 25th, 2011
8:50 am
wow,
I’m not turning on coach Fox at all and neither is any reasonable Dawg fan who realizes where this program has been.
I can’t believe you have the nerve to talk smack considering there are multiple Tech fans who are ready to run over Hewitt with a bus and you have zero confidence in your AD to select a coach. Return to what? UGA owns Tech in basketball now.
Fox is going to be around awhile and the future for Georgia basketball is bright.
Auburn | MrSEC.com
February 25th, 2011
8:51 am
[...] the Gators pull away.4. For Georgia, it was yet another case of blowing a halftime lead.5. “We’re not the most mature group when it comes to handling success,” Mark Fox said…6. Want proof? Look at this rundown of UGA’s blown leads this [...]
Dogs Smell
February 25th, 2011
8:52 am
Man you Dogs fans dream of a basketball future as if it were football. Win the SEC next year? Really? As if UF , UK , UT will not get better?
robodawg
February 25th, 2011
8:55 am
The common thread in many of our games this season is jump out to a lead, then get panicky and make bad decisions. We’ve won close games that should’ve come easy, and we’ve lost close games that we well could’ve won. Full court traps have been too effective against us.
It’s a very likeable group of guys and I want them to succeed. At this point, I expect us to make the tournament and be a dangerous opponent. But with the right seeding and playing a full 40 minutes of ball, we’re Sweet 16 caliber.
dawgtime
February 25th, 2011
8:56 am
Why do so many fans get upset when one of these sportswriters does a column stating the truth about their team? I’m a Dawg fan, and I’m ready to have something to look forward to each winter/spring from the men’s hoops team, but geez, we still manage to underachieve and disappoint even when there are those infrequent high expectations for the program. Neither Jeff nor Mark has stated anything about this team or their performance which wasn’t true. Be mad at the players and/or coach, not the writers! Be mad that a group of players that hasn’t accomplished a thing at UGA seems to get relaxed and complacent with a lead. Why don’t they play hard for an entire game? Be angry at their effort in that UGA uniform.
DawginLex
February 25th, 2011
8:59 am
dogs smell,
I’m not predicting an SEc title next year. I said if Trey and Travis return again, along with the 5 star recruit coming in, UGA could be top 15.
You can go ahead and pencil in Kentucky as SEC champion next year and preseason top 3. Their recruiting class is sick. They have 4 of the top 17 players in the country coming in next year.
Hatfieldgeoff
February 25th, 2011
9:01 am
I hope Fox’s dogs make the NCAA Tourney, but even it they do they will not last long. They don’t have much depth, they cannot handle any pressure and their guards are not good ball handlers. Robinson’s speed and driving ability has been a good addition to the team, but for a guard he is not good and ball handling and the same can be said of Ware. The team chokes when teams press them, but the guards inability to negotiate basic cross overs and behind the back dribbles leads directly to turnovers or results in them getting caught in a trap which then usually results in a bad pass. Their offense is base on getting the ball down low to Thompkins and others but against good defenses they don’t have the ability to make the passes to do it. They don’t shoot free throws well (like so many teams these days) and other than Thompkins the big men don’t have the ability to finish. They have all the signs of a first-round victim. Also, neither Thompkins or Leslie have had great seasons. Thompkins should stay another year to get stronger. He doesn’t look ready for the NBA. Leslie has got to polish his game. His jumper needs a lot of work and he needs to develop some moves to take advantage of his great leaping ability. How many times have we seen him go up in the air not knowing what to do with the ball, resulting in bad shots or bad passes.
David
February 25th, 2011
9:02 am
Georgia is the most underachieving team in the nation. I don’t know why they always slow the game down to a pathetic display of offense. Can’t break the press and defense stinks. They have great players but are a very average team.
Gen Neyland
February 25th, 2011
9:04 am
LKB : It’s not ‘all the haters’ but many knowledgeable basketball fans that are Georgia fans 1st and foremost see where there are problems with this years Bulldog team. I think UGA will get to the NCAA Tourney but I’ve seen 20+ win teams not make it. It’s all about who, when, where and how you whacked the opposition to get those 20+ wins. My program of choice appears to have better success on the road this year and has a decent RPI and SOS. If it came down to TN or UGA getting the last chance to pull the long straw from SEC teams going dancin’, it’ll be interesting.
One and Done
February 25th, 2011
9:08 am
Booyah its NIT Baby !
Doc Hollidawg
February 25th, 2011
9:11 am
Win 2 of the next 3 and they’re in. Florida is a good team. Parsons is what made the difference in that game last night. I wish Robinson would make better decisions with the ball, but I think he has shown improvement. He does pull the ball back sometimes now when at the beginning of the year he would make careless plays. I think our tournament hopes ride on how well Robinson and Ware protect the basketball and be patient. It may be wishful thinking, but I think this is a good tournament team. They can match up on the inside with just about anybody. The trouble will be with a quick team that loves to press, so the matchups in the tourney will be key. I would rather be a 10 or 7 seed over an 8 or 9 too. I think they can make a run if they match up against similar type teams in the tourney. GO DAWGS!!!!
Pago Pago Dawg
February 25th, 2011
9:14 am
Is there any sport the DAWGS can beat UF?!?! Gessh…..this is pitiful people.
Floundering Fox Hounds Batman !
February 25th, 2011
9:14 am
A few SEC coaches did a good job in building up a certain team this year in the preseason and it worked beautifully to their advantage. That ceratain team use to have a football coach in Vince Dooley who would use the same tactics. Back to reality folks !
Barkin'Dog
February 25th, 2011
9:20 am
in blogging..short is good
February 25th, 2011 7:40 am Nobody wants to read a five paragraph epistle
BULL! I enjoyed reading this epistle… from someone who knows something about roundball, and cares about his team… much more than your ignorant, self-centered comment. And, I dare say, many others did as well.
How can so many on here complain about the Dawgs defense? They have had leads in the first halves of the last 6 games, and many others… and held opponents leading scorers to ZERO points in some recent games (1st half). The problem, as I see it, is they get winded from the come-backs made by focused, experienced teams. Perhaps that is due to lack of bench players, of lack of desire to use them. Learning how to handle adversity and success (1st half examples) is a process… and I’ve seen great strides the past 2 seasons. They aren’t better than a lot of teams, but they are better than most… and the selection committee will acknowledge that when the time comes.
Barkin'Dog
February 25th, 2011
9:26 am
dawgtime
February 25th, 2011
8:56 am
Be mad at the players and/or coach, not the writers!
I agree… “Don’t shoot the messenger.” Personally, I love reading Bradley and Schultz… we’re lucky to have them in this market. Unfortunately, they work around selfish, sensitive airheads who always want their way, with nothing by praise for their teams… but couldn’t hold a candle to a cub reporter, when it comes to sports writing, let alone these two award-winning writers (with great senses of humor, which I enjoy most). Now, go have a great day, y’all!
RCB
February 25th, 2011
9:27 am
Could we just say that Florida is the best team in the SEC and we lost on the road? There will be many teams at the NCAA tournament far easier to beat than Florida at home. Lighten up.
Jborodawg
February 25th, 2011
9:29 am
Schultz is only pointing out the obvious. He’s not “dumping” on the Dawgs and he has been consistent.
Abnerish…”Our starters simply get tired. They can’t sustain the energy for 40 mins….”
I have to agree, at least somewhat. I kept wondering with about 6-7 mins to go and FL making that run, why isn’t Thornton or Brantley in there, trying to shoot a few tres to get us back in it? EG, I just don’t see substitutions being made in the 2nd halves like in the 1st halves. EG, if we’re having trouble scoring, try Thornton or Brantley for a couple minutes. I might be wrong; I might have missed the substitutions.
Lindz…”Ok Bama, Carolina and LSU suck…”
Do what?! AL is 11-2 in the SEC and leads the West.
Some of y’all are obviously fair weather fans; ready to fire coach Fox after this loss. Even with the last few losses, coach Fox has the program going in the right direction. I think he’s a very good coach and he’ll get er done. Just remember, the Dawgs had zero wins on the road last year; they had meager support at home last year. This team is just a vast improvement.
Someone commented, “…considering the talent this team supposedly has…”; And David…”They have great players but are a very average team…” Leslie and Thompkins (and Thornton) are probably the only ones who could be considered “top SEC talent”. UGA hasn’t had a ranked recruiting class in …well, maybe never. Fox has recruited a five-star player (Caldwell-Pope)…the only one we’ve had in years. He’s also getting GA talent. Compared to the “winning programs” in the SEC, we don’t have the players just yet. But, he’s working on it. Actually, coach Fox has done a pretty good job with the talent at hand.
This FL loss was almost heart-breaking in that we had such high expectations of the Dawgs going down there and beating the #13 team in the country, on their home court. We might have been expecting too much.
Nothing New
February 25th, 2011
9:32 am
First off Georgia could be a good toureny team if they make the dance. They will play teams that do not know there tendency’s which ia a big adv for Georgia that said here are the continuing problems for this team:
Trey- is very overrated and cannot put this team on his back; thinks to much out on the court and makes bad decisions. His three ball touch is gone and cannot make free throws in crunch time. ouch
Bottom line is this team does not have the winning edge or mentality to ge it done against the better competition. The dawgs have no one like a parsons who can bail them out when things go south. Dawgs had a ten point lead with 2 minutes to go in first half and cannot close out the half strong; let UF get a easy put back to cut lead to seven; not coming out the second half and playing hard. Gave up the lead to quickly; it’s little things like this that keep a team like Georgia just average…
DP
February 25th, 2011
9:33 am
Leadership on the floor needs to come from the star player, or star players if you have more than one. Thompkins spends a lot more time complaining to the officials about every foul called against him and every foul that is not called when he misses a shot than he does talking to his teammates. His body language is terrible, and he’s supposed to be a leader. No wonder Georgia tends to fold up at times. The first time they played Florida when the Florida kid hit the shot at the end of OT to send the game into double OT, Georgia’s players hung their heads and absolutely quit in the second OT.
NIT Sales
February 25th, 2011
9:33 am
Anyone know when the NIT tickets will go on sale? Also, can I buy them with an Iphone app—I travel a lot.
DawginLex
February 25th, 2011
9:35 am
NIT sales,
you must be a Tech fan??
Uh oh, losing record teams don’t make the NIT. Sorry
RDUCK
February 25th, 2011
9:38 am
aaaawwww…
Reality Check
February 25th, 2011
9:43 am
It looks like JS and all the so called Georgia fans are ready to turn on CMF just like football. The reality is this team is very much improved over last year, projecting 9 wins I think last year was 4 wins in the conference. Not sure what everyone was expecting with no real big talent upgrades from last years team that did not have a winning record. This program was in shambles win CMF got here and the improvement has been so evident that all the so called Dawg fans are whining because this team may or may not make the tournament. Even an NIT bid would be an improvement over the last 5 years. This team has flaws and is doing the best it can to manage them.
Grim Reaper
February 25th, 2011
9:43 am
“The Bulldogs instead prolonged the debate and the agony”.
Sounds like football season doesn’t it? I heard Grantham was in the stands hands to throat when the Dawgs were up by 11. Bravedawg just one more mediocre comment and its a “hobnail” boot to the curb, preferably near a hubcap or fire hydrant for you.
The Dawgs just as inept against the Gators in hoops as in football, a combined 5 wins and 32 losses versus the Gators last 37 games. Maybe they can write some columns about your tumbling and cartwheel teams so you can throw some real smack out there! Didn’t Boy George tumble for ya?
McDawg
February 25th, 2011
9:49 am
the team desparetly needs an on court leader-once gain on the verge of delivering a knock out punch that stood around and let FL get back in the game at the end of the 1st half
Robinson should not have the ball in his hands when the game is getting crazy-
i think this is a solid team and have proven they can play with anyone for 30 of 40 munutes but FINISH THE DRILL
ATLSN
February 25th, 2011
9:50 am
If you’re an Atlanta/Georgia Sports fan and want to talk with other fans, check out our NEW message board.
http://www.atlsportsnation.com/forum
We have team forums for the Falcons, Bulldogs, Hawks, Braves, Yellow Jackets, Thrashers, etc. Please register and post! Be apart of a huge site in the early days of existence. See ya there! We’re looking for posters, moderators, bloggers/writers. Join up if interested.
Joey
February 25th, 2011
9:52 am
They are a tournament team but Tompkins is not ready for NBA
schmeckdawg
February 25th, 2011
9:53 am
Can’t we beat these d-bags in anything! God I am sick of losing to the swamp lizards!!!
Grim Reaper
February 25th, 2011
9:53 am
Source: ESPN Stats and Information:
At 11-2 in the SEC, Florida has a three-game lead with three to play in the East. Florida also defeated the Bulldogs for the 14th time in the last 16 meetings. Maybe we should pay more attention to Florida.
Trivia question, who said “stats are for losers”?
“The Gators win over Georgia makes them 9-1 this season against the RPI Top 50, the most wins of anybody in the country. BYU, Ohio State, Pitt, Notre Dame, and Georgetown each have 8 wins.”
Well, there you have it, “losers”…..
Grim Reaper
February 25th, 2011
10:01 am
ATLSN posted February 25th, 2011 9:50 am:
If you’re an Atlanta/Georgia Sports fan and want to talk with other fans, check out our NEW message board.
http://www.atlsportsnation.com/forum
We have team forums for the Falcons, Bulldogs, Hawks, Braves, Yellow Jackets, Thrashers, etc. Please register and post! Be apart of a huge site in the early days of existence. See ya there! We’re looking for posters, moderators, bloggers/writers. Join up if interested.
What’s the nickname of the site? The Morgue? Group Therapy? Where the state of Georgia’s die hard fans are just one more heartbreaking loss from being taking off life support!
Just how many combined championships of all those teams add up to more than what? 3? Hahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaa “The early days of existence” are just one loss, one arrest, one bee sting or dawg bite away from a quick pull of the plug! hahahahahahaha
Finkle is Einhorn
February 25th, 2011
10:02 am
Georgia needed one of those Milton players in its recruiting class. That said, Fox is building a solid program.
Paul H
February 25th, 2011
10:03 am
The 2nd half meltdowns are making me question the conditioning as well.
Oconeedawg
February 25th, 2011
10:04 am
Do they give out in the second half or what! The Gators are n ot that good.
It must be conditioning I think Coach Fox needs to work on conditioning and leadership and pride in game situtation. We beat the Gators in the first half of both game this year but ended up losing. Also the Dawgs have got to stop the other team guards from driving to the basket. Back off and let them shoot from the ouside, under pressure. I totally in agreement I think Tompkins is more interested in his position in the NBA draft than he is to start playing basketball. He will be maybe in the middle rounds of the draft. Go Dawgs!!!!
ED SINGLETON
February 25th, 2011
10:05 am
LESLIE AND TOMPKINS HAD BETTER STAY. NEITHER IS AS GOOD AS LAST YEAR, AND THEY ARE NOT READY FOR THE NBA AT ALL.
Bucket
February 25th, 2011
10:08 am
Some of you guys need to get a clue. I have been a little angered by some of Schultz’ articles about Richt, but this article is spot on!!! IMO, he should have been harsher! UGA is tanking in the second half of games by showing no heart and absolutely NO perimeter defense!
PMC
February 25th, 2011
10:10 am
didn’t see the game, I imagine the pick and roll in the second half was Georgia’s demise yet again as it was in Athens?
anon
February 25th, 2011
10:12 am
Every team that has beaten Georgia this year will be in the tournament. UGA is still a tourney team, they’ll just be a 10-11 seed.
What seed will GT be, I wonder? An 11. In the ACC tourney.
Pocaroba sausage
February 25th, 2011
10:24 am
The fact that we are even discussing UGA being in the NCAA tourny speaks to the fact that the tournament filed is too large. I’m a fan and I like the direction the program is taking but they can not and do not consistently play well enough to be considered among the nations elite. Teams like UGA should not be allowed in and possibly provide a matchup problem with a better team and get a junk NCAA victory. Keep building and when you are better then you can get in. They simply aren’t there yet and about half of the NCAA field should be cut becuase they don’t belong either.
hammerhead
February 25th, 2011
10:25 am
I have no problem with the article as written with the exception of the following, gratuitous shot: “Instead, they’ve now lost 14 of the past 16 meetings to Florida. That’s one-sided enough that maybe the basketball series should be moved to Jacksonville.”
hammerhead
February 25th, 2011
10:28 am
PMC – if anyone loses to Florida, there’s an excellent chance they lost because they failed to defend the pick and roll. It’s what Florida does and they’re damn good at it… We lost to a talented team at their place. They beat us at our place with a near miracle shot to send it to double OT. I’m just happy we’re still talking UGA baseketbal in LATE February. The improvement under Fox has been dramatic. Better days ahead.
schmeckdawg
February 25th, 2011
10:35 am
Can we have Dooley back for one game a year? Just to coach against the gayturds as he owned them. And how about brining back Durham for the two b-ball games we play these clowns. If I recall, he did pretty well against them.
Go DAWGS!!!!!!!!
JayD
February 25th, 2011
10:39 am
Amazing……. Still blaming Felton???? GA will take a step or 2 or 3 back next year. All of the experts agreed that this was the year to get to the tournament and get some things done. Not saying Fox is doing a bad job, but they are certainly under achieving – especially in a pretty weak SEC. Not sure what the problem is, but 2 yrs in to a system – You certainly can’t blame the previous coach. If anything Herrick and NCAA issues are still having an effect, but not Felton – That horse is dead! Stop kicking it – please.
Grim Reaper
February 25th, 2011
10:40 am
Hammerhead said: ” I’m just happy we’re still talking UGA baseketbal in LATE February. The improvement under Fox has been dramatic. Better days ahead.”
Here here! And you’ll be talking about basketball the day after next years loss in Jacksonville, that and when will the “dream” team turn into reality, start a “how many days till Richt is fired” meter, yes, better days are ahead, just not anytime in the near future….
Ray
February 25th, 2011
10:42 am
You know some of you fans are extremely ungrateful for what’s happen to this program when has Georgia even been relevant in the last decade or so in Basketball of all sports.
I’ve already seen improvement from this team for crying out loud we only won 14 games last year and had a record of 14-17 now this year it’s 18-9 you don’t call that improvement.
Like I said if you tried to believe the hype this year that’s your own fault cause I knew this team was too young to really make a huge splash like some of you wanted to believe.
If we even make to the second round of the NCAA Tournament I’ll feel like we overachieved this year.
C. Brown
February 25th, 2011
10:47 am
Go Gator. Coach Urban Meyer..Percy Harvy.
GT Dude
February 25th, 2011
10:52 am
you guy act as if Hewitt was your coach and you have no chance…
James
February 25th, 2011
11:04 am
I really wish GT could fire their coach and get a guy like Mark Fox. He seems like a keeper.
Good luck getting to the tournament, have fun!
OldFan
February 25th, 2011
11:09 am
No doubt the team and the coaching are better, and so the expectations are higher. There’s enough talent on this team to have won several of these lack game disasters. We seem to lapse into a defensive style of “let ‘em shoot and hope they miss” late in these close games, while we go brain dead on offensive fundamentals. Something’s missing either in the game preparation or the basic skills of these players when they play competitive opponents.
JayD
February 25th, 2011
11:10 am
The Dawgs are not getting it done – Don’t deserve to be in the Tournament as of right now. It is what it is. Maybe a couple of wins in the SEC tourney will change that – We will see.