I miss them so much…

At least this time, the game had no real meaning. But that win had to feel good for the Buckeyes, who lost the last three matchups to UF in both hoops and football, twice with national titles on the line. Gators 3, Buckeyes 1.

I didn’t expect UF to win this game and I said prior to tip that I’d be happy with a competitive, physical performance from our boys.

I’m not sure we really got that from them.

The final: 62-49. It was a nightmarish outing for the Gators, going 4-23 from beyond the arc and shooting only 33.3% from the field. The Gators didn’t get to the free throw line terribly often, but they were often terrible there, managing a horrible 53.8%. That’s not going to cut it, folks.

It was one of those nights when the ball just wouldn’t fall through the damn hole, but that’s not what sunk the Gators. As the game wore on and the Bucks’ lead increased, Florida started hanging their collective heads as futile possession followed yet another futile possession, and Ohio State benefited from far too many easy looks on the other end of the court. As the Bucks’ comfort level rose, so did their shooting percentage. I can’t count how many open shots were conceded by the Gators; suffice it to say, it was far too many.

We all know that the Gators’ gameplan starts with defending the 3-point arc and that didn’t happen tonight. Donovan builds both his offensive attack and defense around that painted line, and since it was so poorly defended by the Gators, it’s safe to say that this young crew never really got things going in Columbus.

Some game notes: the Bucks’ Kosta Koufus decided to have one of his better nights. He’s a seven-footer that can really shoot the ball from anywhere, including beyond the arc, and he was given many opportunities to shine. He managed 17 points in 29 minutes.

Marreese Speights was merely okay, in my opinion. He once again showed flashes of physical play, but these came in fits and spurts between long stretches of passivity. Frankly, I was disappointed.

Nick Calathes is a competitor who never stops trying to win. I really appreciate his effort. He is having difficulty staying under control and getting the team into rhythm on offense.

Chandler Parsons airballed a free throw and was heckled relentlessly thereafter.

At least Billy Donovan was realistic about what’s got to work with. Quote from post-game:

“We’ve got a long way to go to be a good team, a competitive team, at this level,” Florida coach Billy Donovan said. “I did not see our team shooting in the second half with great confidence.”

So what does it mean to the Gators in the grand scheme? The Buckeyes played well on this night, but they are not a top-flight team. Had Florida’s shots dropped near their average the game would have come down to the wire. I’d still like the Bucks if I had to pick a winner in that scenario because, frankly, they’re more physical and simply played more cohesive team ball. But the Gators were handed their butts by a team that’s no better than Top 40 material on the grand stage.

Draw your own conclusions from that if you will, but mine is simple: this is a rebuilding year all the way. Our players are young and not terribly physical, they’re easily intimidated and they’re not disciplined on defense. It will be challenging to achieve an NCAA berth.

I’m glad for the loss from this perspective: these baby-faced Gators earned yet another lesson on physicality and focus to take with them into conference play. This painful defeat will probably pay dividends in the SEC, perhaps in the form of a couple of close, scrappy wins. So I wouldn’t trade it for an open date and a falsely disproportionate W-L ratio; more losses are coming, plenty of them, more than likely, and I for one am very glad that so many other SEC teams look weak this year. We need all the help we can get for a +.500 year.

The sky is not falling and I’m not going to drink myself to sleep tonight over this loss. We lost 6, count ‘em, 6 of our best players last year, five of them to the NBA. There’s no way you get through that kind of loss without a painful rebuilding period. I am more than confident in Billy Donovan’s ability to get this team where it needs to be, and I’m willing to be patient while he rebuilds Florida back into a top SEC contender — which is what I fully expect will happen.

Go Gators.