GATORS STILL HAVE SOME BITE LEFT.

Byline: BRIAN DOHN

COLLEGE BASKETBALL 

Florida went in the tank. The Gators prepped for the Southeastern Conference and NCAA tournaments by losing to teams it should beat, by havng its desire questioned, and by blowing a chance for a No. 1 seed.

The current plight of the Gators?

Please.

Actually, that's how the Gators went into the 2006 postseason, and we all know how that ended. So Florida's current slump, in which it has lost three of four, means nothing when it comes to a the possibility of a deep run in the NCAAs, despite center Al Horford stoking the "Florida flameout talk" after Saturday's loss at LSU.

"I'm worried about our team right now," Horford was quoted as saying in the Miami Herald. "If it's not going well on offense, guys quit on defense. That's something we never did last year, so that's something we have to deal with."

Florida's effort wasn't much better Tuesday when it was trounced at Tennessee, but the fact remains the Gators' combination of depth, big-game experience, athleticism and pure talent is unrivaled in the nation.

Horford (12.9 ppg, 8.8 rpg) and Joakim Noah (12.2 ppg, 8 rpg) are one of the toughest frontcourts to matchup with in the nation, wing Corey Brewer (12.7 ppg) is difficult to defend and Taurean Green (13 ppg) and slumping shooter Lee Humphrey (9.9 ppg) complete a perfectly balanced team that also get 20 points a game off the bench.

"I don't think last year has anything to do with this year," Florida coach Billy Donovan said. "It's all about right now. It's all about what can be learned from our last several games, and where do we need to get better and where do we need to improve."

"It's like talking about Lee Humphrey shooting 70 percent from the 3-point line (in the first nine SEC games) and now he's struggled the last couple of games, (so) people's emotions are going to go up and down based on winning and losing. I try to stay on an even keel and look at, OK, how are we going to continue to get better and help our team reach its fullest potential, and play to the best of our ability?"

A year ago, Florida lost to Arkansas, Tennessee and Alabama in late February, and a postseason collapse was predicted by many before the Gators rolled off 11 straight wins, finishing the season with a 73-57 demolition of the UCLA in the national championship game.

In an 11-day span that ended Tuesday, Florida lost to Vanderbilt, LSU and Tennessee. Each loss came handily, but also on the road, and with each opponent needing big wins to be NCAA-bound.

Meanwhile, Florida (25-5, 12-3 SEC), which won 17 straight before losing three of four, had already clinched the SEC East, and motivation was lacking.

"I think sometimes (the media) all want to look at the team that's favored to win, why they didn't win, or is there a problem, or is there something going on?" Donovan said. "I think we fail to give credit to the opposition."

Bygones not gone: Washington guard Ryan Appleby showed he knows how to hold a grudge, and not only doesn't he forget very easily, but he also does not forgive. That was evident when he ignored a pregame conciliatory handshake from Oregon's Aaron Brooks before Saturday's game at McArthur Court.

It comes from an incident in which Brooks was totally at fault, but in one he also showed regret and remorse.

Brooks was ejected for viciously elbowing Appleby in last year's Pacific-10 tournament. While sitting in the locker room, Brooks wrote a note of apology. He was suspended for a game the following night, then for two more this season, including the Ducks' game at Washington.

When Brooks went to shake hands with Appleby before tip-off last weekend, Appleby stared at the floor and ignored him.

"It was a gut reaction," Appleby said afterward. "I felt like he took a cheap shot at me last year and I felt like they didn't penalize him the right way. I'm not going to acknowledge anybody for hitting somebody in the face like that. There's no reason for me to acknowledge somebody like that."

Of course, none of Appleby's teammates seemed to care. His teammates shook hands with Brooks, who scored 30 points in Oregon's win.

"He didn't want to shake my hand, that's on him," Brooks told reporters after the game. "I can't dwell on that. We had a basketball game to win."

Last of its kind: Arguably the most important game of the regular season will take place Friday, away from the glare of big-time television but also in one of the best gyms in the country.

Pennsylvania (19-8, 10-1 Ivy) hosts Yale (13-12, 9-3) in the Ivy League, and a win by the Quakers will send them and first-year coach Glenn Miller to the NCAA Tournament.

The Ivy League is the only DivisionI basketball conference that does not play a conference tournament to determine its automatic bid for the NCAAs.

Yale beat Penn 77-68 last month in New Haven, Conn., but history is on Penn's side. Since 1989, Penn and Princeton are the only schools to represent the Ivy League in the NCAAs.

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CAPTION(S):

2 photos, 6 boxes

Photo:

(1) Joakim Noah and Florida have lost three out of their past four games, but the Gators had a similar late-season slump in 2006 and still won the NCAA title.

Wade Payne/Associated Press

(2) Coach Bruce Pearl led Tennessee to an upset of Florida on Tuesday.

April L. Brown/Associated Press

Box:

(1) Daily News/CBS 2/KCAL 9 SPORTS CENTRAL POWER RANKINGS

(2) THEY SAID IT

(3) KEY STAT

(4) RUMOR MILL

(5) SCOUTING THE FIELD

(6) THIS WEEK'S BEST BET