Emotionally exhausted Florida Gators challenged by a quick turnaround

It’s been less than 24 hours since Chris Chiozza drained the buzzer beater to save the season and send Florida Gators basketball to the Elite Eight. It is also less than 24 hours before the Gators take the court at Madison Square Garden once again.

The Gators are coming off the greatest win of the season and fighting complete emotional exhaustion in preparation for what will be the most significant Florida basketball game since 2014.

When the Gators arrived back at their hotel early Saturday morning after 2 a.m., players’ phones were still blowing up, especially Chiozza’s. The hero of the night said he received more than 200 text messages following the game, but he had to find a way to finally turn the phone off and get some rest.

“I heard from everybody that probably I ever met,” said Chiozza. “It was a long night, but I tried not to talk to too many people, just my family and people that I’m pretty close with. I tried to get my rest. It was tough. It was exciting. So, I just tried my best to get off my feet and just lay in bed and try to fall asleep.”

A game like that can physically, mentally and emotionally drain a team, and Mike White is completely aware of that. His message to the players since then has been to keep the phones shut off, return the texts Sunday night and focus on recovery.

The Gators did not watch film or meet when they arrived at the hotel so they could get as much rest as possible. Saturday’s plan was for much of the same, with some film added in, but as little physical activity as possible.

“Already worried, not going to lie to you, about where our emotions are and our level of mental and physical fatigue,” said White. “Our game was a little bit different, of course, and our guys got to sleep a little bit later, and that’s what’s going on in their head today. So, rest today, hydration. Our guys will do massages. Our support staff’s off the charts. We’ll get at their legs a bit and try to get that lactic acid out. We can’t do a ton physically. The goal will be by tomorrow morning to have some normalcy with that mental and physical fatigue.”

Luckily for this fatigued team, it will not be facing any new challenges in South Carolina. The Gators can worry more about what they need to do to win rather than focusing on a scouting report to learn the ins and outs of the Gamecocks.

“I think it’s an advantage for both of us,” White said. “I don’t think we have an advantage over South Carolina in this preparation at all. In fact, if there’s one disadvantage, it’s the fact that I’m not sure Chris has even slept yet. We got back so late, and then, we’re not here to make excuses, we got great opportunity. Our guys will be rested up and we’ll be ready to roll tomorrow.”

Florida is already completely aware of what the Gamecocks will bring in, and that’s a top-5 defense that is going to contest every single shot and keep the Gators out of rhythm on offense. And of course, Sindarius Thornwell.

Thornwell has led the Gamecocks as they have stepped up their offensive game this post-season and are possibly on the best three-game stretch of the year. Thornwell is averaging 25.7 points per game in three NCAA Tournament games, while Chris Silva, PJ Dozier and Duane Notice are also averaging double-digits over the last three.

“He’s a tremendous player,” Chiozza said on Thornwell. “He’s the Player of the Year in our conference, so we know he’s going to get his. But we just try to not let him get everybody else going as well, try to put some size and length on him and make it tough for him to get his shots off and limit his open looks and just try to be physical with him and try to limit the ways he can affect the game, but he’s an all-around player.”

This quick turnaround might just be the most difficult challenge Florida has faced all season, but resiliency through adversity has been the mantra of this team since the beginning, and it needs to be at its strongest on Sunday.

“These are some tough dudes, and South Carolina’s got some tough dudes as well, but these guys battle,” said White. “They battle coming off a win, coming off a loss, they battle against each other every day in practice and they’re together.”

Bailiegh Carlton
A lifelong sports fan, Bailiegh Carlton knew from a young age that she wanted to work in sports in some capacity. Before transferring to the University of Florida to study journalism, she played softball at Gulf Coast State College. She then interned for Gator Country for three years as she worked toward her degree. After graduation, Bailiegh decided to explore other opportunities in the world of sports, but all roads led her right back here. In her time away, she and her husband welcomed a beautiful baby girl into the world. When she isn't working, she can almost always be found snuggled up with sweet baby Ridley, Cody and her four fur babies.