Should you be bullish or sheepish about Florida basketball? There are reasons for both

Instead of heading to the locker room midway through Saturday’s game, Florida’s basketball team should have stuck around and watched the halftime show.

It starred Kevin Shiflett, a.k.a. “The Amazing Chin Balancer.” Talk about truth in advertising.

Shiflett lifted a barbecue grill, a bicycle, a table and an extension ladder and other items onto his impressively sturdy chin. Each perched there for about five seconds with barely a wobble.

It was a master class in uninterrupted concentration. That’s a lesson the Gators could use these days.

Their basketball feats have been pretty impressive, but their focus has waned enough to make things worrisome for anyone hoping this is the year Florida makes it back to the NCAA tournament.

The Gators built a 17-point lead against Mississippi State last Wednesday, only to have it drop to a two-possession game with four minutes remaining. On Saturday, a 21-point lead completely crashed down on the Gators.

They still won 102-88 in overtime. The cliché’ is that’s all that really matters, though how you win is also telling.

“We’ve obviously improved over the last couple of weeks,” Todd Golden said. “You don’t get up by 19 and 21 in these two games at home against some good teams if you’re not improving from where we were.”

He wasn’t just spinning like a political press secretary. Florida is 14-6 and has won three games in a row, the last two at home.

Every home game in the SEC can be labeled a must-win, since winning on the road can be harder than balancing Charles Barkley on your chin.

Make that two Charles Barkleys if you’re playing at Kentucky’s Rupp Arena, which the Gators will do Tuesday night. And the fun’s just beginning.

“We go to Rupp, we go to College Station (Texas A&M), I think we have Auburn coming in after a bye after that,” Golden said. “So it ain’t getting any easier.”

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Given the impending gauntlet, Florida could have used a confidence-booster against the Bulldogs. In some ways, it got one.

Will Richard continues to blossom as a defensive dynamo and scoring threat. Throw in Zyon Pullin and Walter Clayton Jr., and the Gators have a versatile and dangerous three-guard attack.

Another player trending up is 7-foot-1 Micah Handlogten. He had 23 points and 17 rebounds against Georgia, the highest rebounding total for a Gator in 13 years.

“(Handlogten) looks like he belongs now,” Golden said. “You don’t give Georgia 23 and 17 unless you’re a dude.”

For what it’s worth — and it’s always worth something to UF fans — it was Florida’s ninth straight win over the Bulldogs. Insert Billy Napier joke here.

The small irony is that the first six of those wins were under Mike White, who looked good in the light red (pink?) Georgia pullover Saturday. The Bulldogs’ 14-6 record is due in part to a soft schedule, but there’s no doubt that White’s building a respectable program in Athens.

Georgians really would have been pumped if the Bulldogs had won Saturday. They came a lot closer than they should have.

“We sometimes have a tendency to relax once we get a lead,” Richard said.

The Gators went cold and sloppy. Georgia rallied from 14 points down in the final five minutes. It made the Mississippi State fade look like a blowout.

But if you want to put a happy spin on such proceedings, UF showed another area of improvement — free throws.

The Gators made 17 of 20 against Mississippi State and repeated that against Georgia. That helped make Saturday evening much more pleasant at the Golden residence.

“I’m gonna go home and watch some games and not hate myself all night,” Florida’s coach said. “I can go enjoy it and just think about ways I can improve and do a better job for our club.”

One suggestion: Show players a tape of Saturday’s halftime show.

They must learn to maintain focus and intensity for an entire performance. Otherwise, they might really take it on the chin.