The Florida Gators needed overtime to defeat Mike White’s Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon, who came all the way back from a 21-point second half deficit to tie the game at the end of regulation. The Gators’ offense came alive in overtime, recording 17 points in the final five minutes to secure a 102-98 victory over the Bulldogs. Florida improves to 14-6 (4-3 SEC) on the season.
The victory marks Florida’s ninth straight win over Georgia while Todd Golden improves to 3-0 over former Gators’ Head Coach Mike White.
First half offense
The Gators jumped out to 13-point lead at halftime behind 47 first half points. Florida connected on 59.4% of their shot attempts in the first 20 minutes while draining five of their nine three pointers (55.6%).
Will Richard put together another electric first half, posting 14 points on 6-7 shooting while adding three rebounds, two assists, two steals, and one block. In Florida’s last two first halves, Richard has combined for 32 points on 12-16 shooting (75%) and 4-6 (66.6%) from the three-point line. Richard finished with 18 points vs Georgia, which included an incredibly difficult layup following an offensive rebound in overtime, extending Florida’s lead to seven with just 55 seconds remaining. The Gators are 10-1 on the season when Richard hits double digit points.
Walter Clayton was another major contributor to Florida’s first half success, logging 11 points including three triples.
Where it went wrong
The start of the second half was a similar story as the Gators jumped out to a 21 point lead a little over five minutes after halftime. However, Florida’s 10 second half turnovers proved costly in this contest, allowing Georgia way too many easy baskets in transition.
Georgia began to climb back into the game behind a strong second half shooting percentage (61.8%) and a monster 35-point performance from RJ Melendez, who doubled his made three-point attempts in conference play, logging six against the Gators.
Florida’s defense struggled in the second half after allowing just 34 points in the first, not having a clear answer for Georgia’s adjustments offensively. Everything seemed to be easy for the Bulldogs in the final 10 minutes.
The Gators turned the ball over 19 times in the game including two in the overtime period, which sparked the massive comeback.
Free throw shooting secures the Gators another win
For the second consecutive game Florida was able to win the game at the free throw line, posting a perfect 7-7 mark at the charity stripe in overtime. Freshmen forward Alex Condon hit a pair of free throws to give the Gators a seven-point lead with just 22 seconds left. Condon is shooting 68% from the line this season but has made eight in a row which played a huge part in Florida’s last two victories.
“Excuse my language, but he has big nuts, man. He ain’t scared out there,” Todd Golden said on Condon’s clutch free throws.
Micah Handlogten and Zyon Pullin
Micah Handlogten posted a career high 23 points and 17 rebounds while recording his third double-double of the season and second in the last three games, as the Gators won their third straight game.
Handlogten seemed to always be in the right place at the right time, connecting on 10-13 shots while snagging seven offensive rebounds. His plus-minus of 13 was the team high vs Georgia. Florida’s offense was simply better when he was on the court.
“He’s clearly coming on and playing some of his best basketball,” Golden said on Handlogten postgame.
Zyon Pullin delivered a strong 20-point performance on 6-9 shooting, adding eight assists and seven rebounds while turning the ball over just once. Pullin was also 7-8 from the FT line. Pullin has established himself as a consistent threat night in and night out for the Gators.
Florida outrebounds Georgia
The Gators dominated on the glass due to their size and physicality, outrebounding Georgia 48-27 in the contest. Florida has only posted a 20+ margin on the glass three times this season (Georgia, FAMU, ECU).
“I thought Will gave us a lift on the glass. And then obviously Tyrese and Micah were relentless. They had 12 combined (offensive rebounds) amongst themselves. We had one team rebound out of 16,” Golden said on the rebounding margin. “This is how our team has built a little bit. So, we at times have some struggles scoring because of the size, but at the same time, the extra possessions it gives us and the hope is on the defensive end that size will help. It didn’t help as much today, but Tyrese and Micah were hard to keep off the glass. I think Micah, especially after today, analytically might be the top offensive rebounder in the country for offensive rebound rate. And he’s obviously been really good that way. So those two specifically and Will giving us that lift I would say are reasons why today we were so good on glass.”
Notables
- Micah Handlogten posted a career-high 23 points and 17 rebounds, his third double-double of the season and second in the last three games, as the Gators won their third straight game.
- Handlogten totaled the most rebounds by a Gator since Alex Tyus had 17 vs. BYU on 3/24/2011 in the NCAA Tournament.
- It marked the first 20/15 performance by a Gator since Kerry Blackshear Jr. posted 24 points and 16 rebounds vs. Alabama on 1/4/2020.
- Zyon Pullin added 20 points and matched a season-high with eight assists, while Walter Clayton hit 4 of 9 3-pointers to add 18.
- Will Richard also tallied 18 points along with seven boards, including the Gators’ first 4-point play of the season.
- The Fairburn, Ga., native has averaged 18.7 points and 7.0 rebounds in three career games vs. Georgia.
- Florida has won nine in a row against Georgia, matching its second-longest win streak in series history.
- Todd Golden holds a 10-1 record head-to-head against the five other coaches hired in the 2022 cycle, including 10-0 in the regular season and 3-0 this season.