It wasn’t unexpected, and losing the way we did wasn’t a surprise.

(Especially when the Gators appeared in their black jerseys. Burn them!)

The boys played hard and never quit, and played (mostly) to the full extent of their ability, taking the game down to the last 5 minutes or so. LSU was simply too athletic, and Thornton was just too deadly from 3-point land. The better team won.

I’m not upset about this loss. Had Florida come out flat, or been wholly uncompetitive, I’d be raging mad. But they didn’t, and weren’t. The hoops Gators played their most complete half of the year to take a 4-point road lead into the locker room midway through the game, and then wore down in the final minutes of the second half. Nick Calathes was running around 2-3 screens per play to get a shot off and was still playing well nearly to the end. With little bench depth to work with, Donovan had little choice but to go with the gameplan he had, which almost worked. And the players gave everything they had to make it work.

But it didn’t.

So when you’re disappointed and also don’t have the burning desire to point the finger at someone, blame somebody for another disappointing result, the feeling of resignation reigns. So much so that I didn’t even bother commenting on the game until just now, a full 36 hours after the final buzzer.

A journey to the NIT for two consecutive years running is still such a depressing thought that I can barely explore the concept. But let’s try to go there.

The dream of playing in the Big Dance is still very much alive, but it will take some fancy footwork to achieve. Florida is now 8-5 in conference play and 21-7 overall. The twenty-plus checkmarks in the ‘W’ column won’t fool the selection committee as Florida’s pre-season schedule was heavy on pastries. Also, Florida lost to FSU and Syracuse, the only decent-to-good squads on that slate. In conference play, with the perception that the SEC is weak in ‘09, Florida’s signature win does not exist. The highest quality wins are a pair of Vandy thrashings and a win over a so-so NC State team.

Florida’s remaining schedule:

- Tennessee
- @ Mississippi State
- Kentucky

The question is, how many does Florida need to win? Some would say all, given how poorly our conference is viewed this season. Others would say just one, that 9 wins in the SEC is good enough for the invitation.

I believe Florida must win two of the three to move the invite-meter to ‘likely’. Tennessee and Kentucky are both winnable games given that they’re at the O-Dome and, frankly, neither team is very good right now. A road win against MSU would be wonderful, but seems unlikely.

With two out of three and one SEC tourney win, I think the Gators are in as a 10 or 11 seed. Fail to do that and things get very dicey. Even winning two of the final regular season games and then getting knocked out in the first round of the SEC-T could be enough to send us back to the NIT.

What our team is: talented and well-coached. What our team is not: physical, balanced, or deep. Between Tennessee and Kentucky, I like our chances to beat the ‘Cats better because frankly, Billy Gillispie seems to be completely off the ranch when it comes to his coaching, while Bruce Pearl is as solid as they come.

One other note. While we can point to and grouse about the seven losses the Gators have suffered this season, let’s remember that we’ve lost four of those games by three points or less and have only one double-digit loss (79-63 to Tennessee). At Florida we are accustomed to success in all sports and there is no such thing as a moral victory, but a reality check will tell you that the Gators are a handful of buckets or free throws away from being 25-3 with one of the nation’s less physical, mature and deep squads. Trust in Donovan.