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Youth. Oh, to be young again. It is through our numerous life experiences that we grow, mature and learn. Well, this young Florida Gator basketball team has LOTS of learning to do. In a must-win home game, their final one of the season, the Gators led by as many as 16 points against the #4 ranked Tennessee Volunteers, only to end up losing by three and likely watch their tournament hopes evaporate into the thin, Gainesville air.

The Gators, led initially by the hot-shooting Walter Hodge jumped out to a torrid 9-for-9 start. The O'Connell Center came alive and the Gators looked as if they came to play. They led by thirteen at the half and were shooting over 60% from the floor. Their defensive efforts, however, remained questionable.

Enter JaJuan Smith and Chris Lofton, the odds-on favorite to win SEC player of the year. Smith finished with 23 points and Lofton added 21 as they both hit late jump shots to seal Gator fate and very possibly keep the defending national champions out of the tournament for the first time in ten years. With the victory, Tennessee (27-3) clinched the SEC title outright, as well as a likely number one seed in the NCAA tournament.

Despite the game's many ebbs and flows (both teams had double-digit leads), a key Florida gaffe came late, when on a missed free throw, Dan Werner failed to box out Tyler Smith who grabbed the rebound, then scored to give the Vols the eventual victory. Nick Calathes, who had previously tied the game with a deep three-pointer, missed an off-balance attempt to send the game into overtime. The Gators, now 21-9 and 8-7 in conference, may very well have had their bubble burst. With only one quality victory on the season, no quality road wins and an unimpressive strength of schedule, even a victory in their lone remaining, regular season game against Kentucky might not be enough to impress the voters. The way Florida has been playing lately, a victory at Rupp is also unlikely, considering the Wildcats, who been playing well of late, have lost seven straight to Florida and have been eagerly awaiting their return.

Although the season is not over (the Southeastern Conference tournament is next weekend) Billy Donovan has some questions to answer entering next season. Neither of his starting guards is over six-feet tall. In the SEC, teams simply cannot afford to be that small on the perimeter. As seen last night, guards like Chris Lofton can create space and just shoot right over the top of the defender. Nor is freshman point

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