Playing without their star center Colin Castleton the Gators didn’t have much of a shot against the hungry Arkansas Razorbacks, falling 84-65. Missing the heart and soul of the team the Gators had to search for answers on the offensive and defensive side of the basketball and at this point of the season that’s a monumental task. Playing against an Arkansas team that has underachieved to this point of the season but is loaded with talent made for a difficult matchup and Florida simply didn’t have the horses to keep up. For the first 20 minutes the Gators were able to keep the game respectable but at the start of the second half Arkansas came out with guns blazing and stretched the lead to 20 and held on to that margin for much of the game.
Stepping Up
Without Colin Castleton the next man up was Jason Jitoboh who got the start. It didn’t go well for the big man as he finished with only 4 points and 2 rebounds in 24 minutes, struggling to keep up with the pace on both ends of the floor. Arkansas was eager to attack him in ball screens, and despite being in the 6’11”, 300 pound range Jitoboh wasn’t able to be impactful on the glass. On the more positive side, freshman Aleks Szymczyk had a decent showing in what was essentially his first real, non-garbage time minutes of the season finishing with 8 points, 6 rebounds, 4 steals, and a block. There were definitely learning moments where he looked pretty uncomfortable out there–though that’s to be expected from a freshman who really hasn’t seen serious minutes yet this season–but there were excellent flashes of why Todd Golden landed him in the first place. He went 2-5 from the three-point line, bringing an element of stretch to the frontcourt that the Gators didn’t previously have. It was a nice flash from the young big man who showed what he could be for the Gators in the future.
Defensive Breakdown
After putting together a solid run of defense in SEC play the Gators had a tough showing on Saturday giving up 84 points on 1.17 points per possession. Of course, not having Colin Castleton played a huge role in this. Arkansas was hunting both Jason Jitoboh and Aleks Szymcyzk in pick and roll and switch situations, and it was a clear weak point in Florida’s defense. However, even though the defense from the center position isn’t what the Gators are used to, it was a tough game for the guards and wings who were giving up straight line drive after straight line drive and also had some poor flashes of transition defense. It was apparent that Arkansas was bigger and faster at a number of perimeter positions and the Gators weren’t disciplined enough in their defensive assignments to recover when there was an initial breakdown. If this team is going to win games down the stretch they’ll need the defense to lead the way and it unfortunately wasn’t good enough against the Razorbacks.
Bright Spot
There is a lot going wrong for the Gators at this point of the season but one incredibly positive sign is the play of Riley Kugel who continues to get better with every minute on the floor. Finishing with 17 points on 5-12 shooting he was just about the only Gator to get anything going against a stout Arkansas defense and he also showed why he looks to be a future NBA player. When Florida has played teams with elite size and athleticism this season some players have had issues but it seems like against the best of the best Kugel always shows up and we saw that once again with him going against projected NBA lottery picks Nick Smith and Anthony Black. He continues to play with a competitive fire and his intensity and ability to create points is huge for the Gators right now.
Final Thoughts
Florida was always going to be in tough in this matchup, and unfortunately the outcome wasn’t all that surprising without Castleton in the lineup. No team in college basketball is built to lose their best player on both sides of the floor and still play high level basketball and considering the Gators’ struggles before the injury, you know things were going to be rough when Castleton went down. With some minutes under the belt of Jason Jitoboh and Aleks Szymczyk, hopefully the Gators will be able to play a tight one with Kentucky on Wednesday.