Nothing went right for the Gators on Monday night as both offense and defense betrayed them on their way to a 70-54 loss to Ole Miss. A 16-point loss to the Rebels is rarely a deficit explainable for a team like Florida and what made it worse is that they were without their best player in Jarkel Joiner and arguably their second best in Robert Allen. Florida was without CJ Felder who was out due to a non-COVID illness, but considering he’s about a 12 minute a game guy it probably didn’t change the complexion of this game too much. For a Florida team that has already suffered a couple of bad losses they can’t afford too many more, and with this game firmly in the “bad loss” category they’ll be on thin ice the rest of the season if they want to play in the NCAA Tournament.
Issues On Offense
Florida ended the night shooting 38% from the field and 14% from three, and while there were a couple of open shots that didn’t fall, it wasn’t just bad luck that contributed to these numbers. The Gators struggled to generate open shots all night long and the poor field goal percentage is a fair portrayal of an offense that was continually stymied trying to run motion offense that they repeatedly went back to despite it’s poor yield. Making things more difficult were savvy decisions by Ole Miss coach Kermit Davis who repeatedly changed defenses from man to man to zone, making it even more difficult for the Gators to find their footing. To give credit, the Rebels are a strong defensive team that has a lot of different looks in their arsenal, but Florida’s lack of answers to what faced them was a significant problem.
Perimeter Problems
Unfortunately, it wasn’t just the offensive side of the ball where the Gators struggled as they also couldn’t contain Ole Miss’ guards on the perimeter, particularly speedy 5’8” freshman Daeshun Ruffin. Ruffin finished with 21 points and 6 assists, having his way with whichever Florida defender was matched up with him. Matthew Murrell, with 20 points and 3 assists, was in the same boat having a near career night with straight line drive after straight line drive. It was clear Florida’s game plan was to play tight on these players on the perimeter, but it meant that the moment they got a step on their defender it was game over as there wasn’t a buffer for the primary defender to recover. The Gators were solid in the first half but collapsed in the second one Ole Miss just started isolating these guards, and it was a 48 point second half for a team that entered the game ranked 193rd in adjusted offensive efficiency.
Bright Spot
Jason Jitoboh got the start once again in the absence of Colin Castleton and looked more comfortable with every minute finishing with 12 points and grabbing 5 rebounds. For a Florida team that is desperate for points he provides an interior presence with his huge frame to carve out space and soft hands to catch passes and finish, and right now he’s a rare positive on that end. He still has work to do defensively, particularly in pick and roll defense, but given the unexpected promotion to starting he has answered the bell quite well.
Final Thoughts
This game was a disaster for the Gators who desperately needed this game to keep their NCAA Tournament resume on the right side of the bubble. Yes, the Gators were without Colin Castleton and CJ Felder, but Ole Miss was without two players who are even more valuable to them in Jarkel Joiner and Robert Allen and you’d hope that the Gators would have more depth than the Rebels. Not only did the Gators lose, but they had no answers offensively for the defensive looks Ole Miss gave them and they got scorched in the second half by an offense that has been below average nationally. Florida now has an even tougher opponent on Wednesday against Tennessee, and on short rest they’ll no doubt be in tough.