The Florida Gators suffered a disappointing loss in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament.
To make matters worse, the entire team was stranded in St. Louis for four nights because their charter plane service was on a military mission.
Here are details on what happened:
“Had a nice spring break up in St. Louis, fighting the cold weather,” White said Monday. “It’s crazy. We spent four nights in a hotel to play one game. If our guys aren’t rested for practice, I don’t know if we’ll ever be rested.”
The 23rd-ranked Gators found themselves stuck in Missouri following an 80-72 setback against Arkansas in the SEC quarterfinals. Then the waiting began.
Florida’s charter flight was called to the Middle East to assist troops, leaving players, coaches, staff, cheerleaders and band members stuck in a hotel for two extra days.
Given how Florida (20-12) performed defensively against the Razorbacks, maybe the biggest surprise is that White didn’t find a way to get his team to a gym for extra work.
The Gators finally got on a plane Sunday afternoon — about 40 hours after the game ended — but only after a few more delays. They had to wait for a rested flight crew, a mechanical repair and finally some deicing.
