The Florida Gators showed up Saturday looking like the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz. They are still searching for a heart. After getting thoroughly embarrassed by a rather mediocre Tennessee team in their last meeting, and then getting run out of Rupp Arena on Tuesday, one would have thought Tennessee was in big trouble coming into Saturday’s game at the O’Dome.

But such was not the case. Florida is a team of wimps. At the first sign of adversity, they quit. They did it at Knoxville, and again at Rupp. They did it again Saturday. Tennessee raced out to a double digit lead half way through the first half. At one time the lead ballooned to 16. For the rest of the game it seemed the Gators had chance after chance to get the lead back down to single digits. And every time they would commit a silly foul or a stupid turnover or take an ill advised three.

They were absolutely punked in the paint and on the glass. All Tennessee had to do was keep shooting until they finally got one to go in. At one point a rebound was resting on Casey Prather’s head with two teammates standing right there next to him, and UT still got the ball and kicked it out to a wide open three.

How can a team that can’t guard the paint also be so terrible at guarding the arc? What exactly are they doing out there anyway? Not playing basketball. What a difference a week makes. This team has got to be the most disappointing team of Billy Don0van’s career at Florida. The team came into the season with so much potential. But what they don’t have is resilience.

In one week, Florida has gone from a Final Four contender to a bubble team. They have road games at Arkansas and suddenly resurgent Georgia. Also at Vanderbilt and a home game against Kentucky. That means if they can manage a win over Alabama’s second string and sneak a win out vs. Auburn they will end up at 9-7. That’s the same record as the 2009 team had that was put in the NIT. And frankly, that team was more deserving of a bid to the NCAAs than this one is.