Tuesday night was not Florida's night for basketball, made evident by a loss in the Men's National Invitation and the Women's NCAA Tournaments. The Gator Boys were outsized and outdueled by Penn State's Jamelle Cornley down the stretch as the Gators had no answer for his inside presence. Cornley, who came into the game listed as questionable, answered that question with an unstoppable performance which included 23 ponts for the Senior Forward.

 The Gators made runs late, as they have many times this year, but just couldn't close it out. The Gators got within 1 point (44-43) in the second half, but allowed Penn State to have an 8-0 run after Calathes' free throws that pulled the game so close.

A little later, Florida pulled within 3 points (61-59) with just over 2 minutes left in the game, but proved once again they didn't have the gusto to finish the comeback with a victory. They let Penn State go back to their bread and butter from earlier in the night, the inside game, and let them close out with a 9 point victory (71-62).

It was Walter Hodge's final game in a Gator uniform as he finished the night with 7 points. It may have been Calathes' final game as well, but that decision seems like it will be left for another day. He is projected to be a early second round pick, but he came to Florida to win Championships and would be leaving with none. Hopefully, that is enough to entice him to stay another season.

As for the Women's Basketball team, they were outmatched by possibly the greatest Women's Basketball team to ever play the game. I believe this team could beat WNBA teams and that isn't an exaggeration. They are undefeated this season, and have never really had a game even in doubt. They've never even won by less than double digits in all of their 26 wins this season. The Gators came in hoping for an upset, but just became another speed bump on UConn's probable trip to another national title.

Not only did the Gators have all of the above going against them, it was also played in Conneticut in front of a rowdy crowd that wanted to see another Conneticut National Championship.

The Gators kept it close the first few minutes of the game but after a UConn timeout, the Gators were blown out between then and halftime. The Gators went into halftime down by 21 point (47-26) and never were able to make it a game after that. The game ended with a final score of 87-59.

As Gator Basketball season closes out, we now continue Baseball season (in which the Gators lost Tuesday night as well) and look forward to the Orange and Blue game.

NOTE: There will be info coming out next week regarding the Orange & Blue game Tailgate party to kick off the 2009 football season. Make sure to check back to find out the details!