Sunday afternoon saw the close of Florida’s season as they ran out of gas in the National Invitational Tournament, falling to the home Xavier Musketeers by a score of 72-56. Florida came out looking a bit disorganized on both sides of the floor and while they were able to stay in the game for much of it with sheer effort, ultimately it wasn’t sustainable and Xavier was able to run away in the second half. Playing a role in the outcome was a packed house in the Cintas Center, Xavier’s home gym, which fueled the Musketeers and made each run they made feel even more devastating. With the loss, Florida’s season officially ends with a record of 20-14.
Shooting Microcosm Of A Season
Xavier is full of long, tall wings and their defensive philosophy has always been to sit back and plug driving lanes at the expense of allowing their opponent to get some open jumpers. Against a Florida team that has struggled to shoot all year, this strategy worked out extremely well. Florida finished the game 4-20 from three, mostly on attempts they were reluctant to take but that were all they were going to get against Xavier’s condensed defense. The Musketeers were also able to completely swarm Colin Castleton and sell out on trying to stop him, knowing they weren’t at risk of an open three coming off one of his kickouts. Castleton finished the game with only 10 points, and his 8 field goal attempts were his lowest total since the Gators played Stony Brook in December (outside of the South Carolina game where he injured his shoulder). Not having an offensive weapon outside of Castleton and hurting when it comes to outside shooting were two issues all season long and they were on full display on Sunday.
Scratching And Clawing
When it comes to execution Florida has had their issues on both sides of the ball all season long but one thing you have never been able to question is their effort and their ability to fight their way back into games even when nothing seems to be working for them. Against Xavier their defense was getting scrambled and their offense was getting neutralized, but they still scratched and clawed and came away with 14 steals which was one of the only things that kept this game respectable. Myreon Jones led the way with 4 steals while Kowacie Reeves and Phlandrous Fleming both had 3 apiece, many of which were plays that had the Gators falling to the ground and sliding across the floor to come up with loose balls. In a game where motivation may have been tough to come by, these players still gave it their all.
Staying Hot
One bright spot of Sunday’s game was the play of Kowacie Reeves who led the way with 14 points and also added 2 quality assists. Following a 14 point game against Iona and a season high 21 points against Texas A&M in the SEC Tournament Reeves was playing his best basketball of the season when the Gators needed it, especially when Reeves was one of the only players capable of creating and making tough shots when the rest of the offense was struggling. Trying to keep Kowacie Reeves on the team will be a top priority for incoming head coach Todd Golden and Sunday’s performance was another reason why.
Final Thoughts
This was a tough loss, a game where the Gators were able to battle and make it competitive for the first half but ultimately saw them completely run out of steam. They didn’t have an offensive answer after the Musketeers sold out to take away Castleton, and the number of layups the Gators gave up that left them looking at each other confused was concerning and perhaps something you’d expect to see in the 3rd or 4th game of the season, but not the 34th. This game looked a lot like the entire season for Florida, where there were moments of individual greatness for different players, but there was never cohesion or consistency with the execution. The Gators will now enter what is sure to be an intriguing offseason.