Following a disappointing showing against TCU to open the Rady Children’s Invitational in San Diego the Florida Gators showed a tremendous level of energy to bounce back and easily dispatch the Providence Friars 90-78, claiming third place in the event. This wasn’t the finish that Florida hoped for, but ending up in a consolation game against a struggling Providence team meant the Gators could either suffer a devastating loss or pull things together and take care of business and they definitely chose to end the event on the right foot. A few of Providence’s explosive scorers hit a few tough shots to keep the Friars within striking distance at times, but really the Gators were always in a comfortable spot and nursed a healthy lead for much of the game.
Backcourt Bounce Back
Make no mistake, the talk surrounding this Florida team so far this year has largely centered around the play of transfers Xaivian Lee and Boogie Fland, and specifically how these two haven’t been playing up to the level they were expected to. On Friday they did a great job of pushing back on the narrative with both of them having arguably their best games as Gators. Fland finished with 17 points, 3 assists, and 2 rebounds, and his work on the defensive end was admirable. Perhaps most exciting for Florida fans was the play of Xaivian Lee who was finally able to exhale after scoring 20 points while adding in 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Lee actually had a slow start to the game, but everything changed after one key play that supercharged his confidence. After the ball was kicked out to him, he made a move that shattered the ankles of his defender, and after he fell to the ground–Lee was able to hit the wide open jumper, electrifying the crowd and the bench. On the next play he got loose in transition and hit a wing three, and that was enough to put a smile on his face and you could see his energy levels crank up to the highest they have been in this short season. He’ll have to put up these performances consistently for the Gators to reach their ceiling this year, but it was great to see him finally break through with one of these games.
Bench Spark
Urban Klavzar was a bright spot against TCU and he was excellent again against Providence finishing with 18 points off the bench while going 3-8 from three. Florida’s issues this season have largely been about their offensive struggles and Klavzar has been a huge boost with his shot making, IQ, and passing ability. Basketball at this level isn’t about what you can do on one night when everything is clicking, it’s about what you can provide consistently–and two huge scoring games off the bench should let people know that Klavzar is for real.
Defensive Backbone
It’s great to see Florida’s offense show some improvement particularly when it comes to shooting from behind the arc, but Florida’s defense has become a strength and they had a solid performance once again Friday. The numbers might not jump off the page but they were solid with Providence held to 43% shooting with 10 turnovers, but they don’t really tell the whole story. Talented scorers Jaylin Sellers, Corey Floyd Jr., and Jason Edwards all made some difficult shots that were well-defended by the Gators, and a couple of these tough jumpers spilling out would have made Florida’s defense look even better. Really, evaluating defense is all about what kind of shots you give up and when you look at the shot quality the Gators allowed they did a tremendous job, and if they can keep a consistent defensive effort while the shooting improves the Gators can start to stack up wins.
Final Thoughts
Providence is a team that is not playing good basketball and one that has roster construction, injury, and chemistry concerns. This isn’t to take anything away from Florida’s win, in fact, it shows that when facing a team with some issues they were able to be the more energized and focused team, and that is exactly what they needed in order to turn a bad loss against TCU into a losing skid. Things will get a whole lot more difficult for the Gators now as they face arguably the toughest two-game stretch of the season with games against Duke and UConn, and we will know a whole lot more about the team after that week.
Florida Gators guard Urban Klavzar #7 during the second half as the #5 ranked Florida Gators mens basketball team defeats the Texas Longhorns 84-60 at Exactech Arena in Gainesville, Florida. January 18th, 2025. Gator Country Photo by David Bowie.