Eloy Vargas and Kenny Kadji share more in common than they might realize. Both were snubbed for the McDonalds and Jordan All-America games. Both stand a lanky 6-10.

And both have moved down on the recruiting food chain. In the latest Rivals250 rankings, Vargas (American Heritage) slipped from 3rd to 9th in PF rankings. Kadji (Pendleton) went from 3rd to 5th. The worst part: both were demoted from five stars to four. But might this be a blessing in disguise?

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It’s official, ladies and gentlegators. Florida isn’t going to get a shot at three straight titles and is heading for NIT-land. First on the plate is a San Diego team (Not the Rockets or Clippers of old, remember, but San Diego State)

But look on the bright side, folks. The Aztecs are an accomplished sports school, with a distinguished list of stars including Marshall Faulk, pictured here, and Tony Gwynn Sr. Unfortunately, that’s about it.

Hey, at least we get them in the O-Dome! Oh wait, I forgot that Florida hasn’t even done well at home as of late. But the Gators have planted their own seeds, and now they must reap what they sow.

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It’s no secret that I have some sort of weird, passive-aggressive love-hate relationship with the Kentucky Wildcats. I’m not sure what it is. Maybe it’s because I wear an “SEC beat” hat where I give the Wildcats due consideration along with the Gators when I cover our favorite hoops conference. Maybe it’s because Kentucky is the source of past frustrations and recent joys when they play our boys. Maybe it’s because Kentucky’s program represents hoops greatness; with two national title banners hanging from the rafters in Gainesville, Florida’s come so much closer to grasping that brass ring. Maybe it’s Kentucky’s maniacal, unrelenting fanbase whose various psychoses are nearly as fun to watch as their team. Maybe it’s the friends I’ve made at A Sea of Blue, people who somehow accept the rabid Gator in their midst and are always gentle and kind despite the occasional propensity to flap my gums at the wrong time.

I don’t know. But somehow, whatever it is, beating Kentucky is something special, and always will be special. It is something to be cherished no matter how many times in a row they’ve gone down to the mighty Gators.

In pure rivalry mode, I love watching the Wildcats crash and burn. I loved it early in the season when plumes of smoke rose from Lexington after home losses to teams like Gardner-Webb, UAB and San Diego. I enjoyed the “morals clause” issues swirling around the Big Blue Nation’s new coach, a guy with character issues and a checkered past, the kind of guy who wouldn’t have gotten an askance glance from Kentucky had they not been turned down by their first two choices.

But something happened along the way. The Wildcats matured into the kind of team that you can’t help but grudgingly admire as a hoops fan. They aren’t the most talented team in the league — not by a long shot — and they still show their warts every game. But they tough out out close wins by sheer will and effort, and somehow have put together a rather impressive 11-4 regular season record.
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Even Corey Brewer has experienced his share of losing.

He was a McDonald’s High School All-American, but chose Florida when he was shunned by at least one other program. After being drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves, his childhood idol, Kevin Garnett, was traded to the Boston Celtics in the biggest superstar deal in NBA history. With his team standing at 12-48, only the Miami Heat can claim a worse NBA record. The worst part: nobody cares about his two national championships anymore.

So the Gators, who appear to be unfortunate souls after their heartbreaking loss to Tennessee, have actually had it better than at least one of their predecessors. All of which raises important questions.

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The orange-suited one and his evil minions pay a visit to the O’Dome today. As Florida readies for what many assume will be a surefire loss, an entire Nation holds its collective breath.

If UF somehow pulls out the upset after 40 minutes, they make the tournament no matter what they do. Simply put, they notch up a second marquee win on their schedule, but not just any marquee win. It’s a marquee win against a probable NCAA #1 seed; so if they’re able to beat Tennessee, who’s to say that they can’t beat anyone else in the Big Dance?

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Maybe Lady Luck favors the Florida Gators after all. Maybe it’s the comedic ending to a Greek tragedy of a season. Or maybe it’s just plain ol’ karma. But no matter how you slice it, the bottom line is the same. Patrick Patterson’s done for the season with a stress fracture.

Patrick “No Middle Name” Patterson. Patrick “Man-Beast” Patterson. Patrick “Kentucky over Florida and Duke” Patterson. Patrick “We’ll see who’s really boss in the SEC” Patterson.

The short-term consequences aren’t subtle, but devastating nevertheless. Kentucky loses its best low-post prescence. Billy Gillispie’s strategy of playing a few guys for many minutes comes back to haunt him. The rebuilding Wildcats will have trouble finishing the season strong, much less making a deep postseason run, without him.

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It’s time to move on from the Kentucky game, but we need to revisit it one more time before we start prepping for South Carolina.

My father (pictured at right with my 3-year-old) and I enjoy talking about college hoops and football. He’s far more knowledgeable about the game than I am, not only because he’s been watching it a lot longer but also because he actually played it. Back in college (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the nation’s oldest technological university!) he was usually his team’s “big man” at 6′ 1″.

Dad takes great umbrage at my suggestion that Florida will likely lose to Kentucky in Rupp. He writes:

OK, I watched the game again. Ky was very fortunate they weren’t blown out. We blew at least a dozen chip shots. Not to mention the missed free throws and unforced turnovers. Ky made their free throws which kept them in the game.

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The win itself was not a surprise. I predicted an 8-point win for the Good Guys, which turned out to be 11 when the buzzer sounded. The surprise of the night, of course, had to be Mo Speights schooling Patrick Patterson in how basketball is played in the SEC.

For the first time in conference play, “Good Mo” showed up. Not the hesitant, insecure soul we saw in the game against Ole Miss. A man. Our center answered roll call and played to the heights (literally) of his ability.

Speights’ application of his 6′ 10″ frame showed me that Patrick Patterson, while a great freshman center who plays longer than his length, is going to have a tough time in the SEC beating taller guys who match his physicality. Speights blocked several of Patterson’s shots and had an intimidating effect on the Kentucky freshman. Just as important, on the other end of the court, we saw the return of “Instant O”. Speights was 8-12 in 31 minutes on the floor for 20 points, grabbed 8 boards and blocked 4 shots.

It was an outstanding evening for Big Mo, as I’m choosing to nickname him, easily the best, most complete performance of his young career as a Gator. It shouldn’t be lost on anyone that Speights logged those numbers despite suffering from foul trouble in the second half, when he had to sit for long stretches. Since Patterson has widely been considered to be one of the best big men in the conference, Speights’ domination of the Kentucky frosh should provide some serious dividends in terms of confidence for both Marreese and the rest of the team. If Speights plays like that the rest of the way, the Gators stand a damn good chance of winning most of their remaining games and making it past the first round of the NCAA tourney.
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Well, well, well, Kentucky.

You couldn’t beat us with Tubby, so you ran him out of town.

You couldn’t beat our players, so we sent five of them to the NBA and started over from scratch with freshmen and a couple of sophomores who played bit roles on our championship teams.

You couldn’t get Billy Donovan to leave Florida for Kentucky, so you picked up a tough new coach who was sure to be the new sheriff in the SEC.

You couldn’t get Randolph Morris to stick around, so you recruited an All-American center who was a lock to beat our sophomore big man in the paint.

You did everything… tried everything.

And look what it got you.

Kentucky fans, before you even start:

1) The refs weren’t out to screw you.
2) Meeks played big minutes and Jasper contributed at key moments, so don’t even try to play the injury card.
3) Patrick Patterson famously said “In the end, Kentucky will win” when he chose the bluegrass over the Swamp. Turns out he could learn a few things from a guy named Mo Speights.
4) Florida played one of its worst games of the year… and still won.

How’s it feel, Cat fans, to get schooled by a team that was in high school the last time you lost to the Gators?

Here’s a suggestion: that sting you’re feeling right now? Get used to it. These Gators may not be an elite team yet, but they’ve got plenty of bite. And, oh yeah: they’re all freshmen and sophomores. This crew picked up right where their championship predecessors left off.

And they’re just getting started.