Prone to crippling droughts for most of the season, the Gators had their nasty habit rear its ugly head once again as a near 11 minute stretch without a field goal put them in a hole too deep to climb out of on their way to a 63-58 defeat at the hands of the Tennessee Volunteers. When the Gators went cold the Vols were able to stretch their lead as large as 19 points, not as large as the two 20+ point leads the Gators have come back from in the past, but enough to sink Florida on this day. The Gators did punch back with all their might after falling behind, bringing the game as close as a single point with under three minutes remaining but a miracle three-pointer at the end of a shot clock by John Fulkerson (the senior big man’s first made three of his career) stretched Tennessee’s lead to a point Florida couldn’t come back. This game was another example of Florida going through a terrible stretch of basketball that allows their opponent to accumulate a big lead and although they have shown they have the ability to claw back, there are games like this one against the Volunteers where a big lead is too much to overcome. This loss won’t ding the Gators’ NCAA Tournament hopes too badly as it was a close loss on the road but it was an opportunity for them to really boost their resume that was wasted. The Gators now prepare for a road game against Georgia, a team that gave them some difficulty in the first matchup.
Anemic Offense
Florida’s near 11-minute stretch without a field goal resulted in them only scoring 17 points in the first half, the least they have put up in a half this season. A large contributing factor to the drought was their 10 first half turnovers, a number that almost matched their season average for a game at 12 and one that kept that from getting quality looks. Keyontae Johnson and Kerry Blackshear Jr. had three apiece trying to force things on the inside against a Volunteers defense that was going all-in to take away the paint and the Gators didn’t have a response to that style of defense. Ultimately the Gators ended the game with a field goal percentage that is misleading, 47% that makes it look like they had a really good game offensively. While they were shooting a good percentage when they were actually able to get an attempt up the turnovers drastically limited their ability to score and that’s why they ended up with only 58 points.
Gaining Confidence
A bright spot of the game was Tre Mann playing another great basketball game adding 9 points and 2 rebounds off the bench, both in the second half. Tennessee was playing an aggressive brand of defense, the style of play that has given Florida problems this year. The aggressive defense took the Gators out of their regular offensive scheme and there wasn’t anyone who was able to improvise and go get a bucket in the first half. In the second, Tre Mann was able to feel the defense and get into open space with his dribble and that made for some key baskets that got the Gators back into the game. His ability to make plays off the dribble is something the Gators desperately need and if he can keep up the efficient scoring he’s going to have a big role moving forward.
Their Own End
It wasn’t just the offensive end where the Gators struggled on Saturday and their defense was also porous at times giving up 52% shooting from the field and 42% from the three-point line. Tennessee looked well prepared for the way Florida was going to defend their ball screens and attacked appropriately and they also used their flex offense to perfection as their cross screens in the paint gave their forwards easy layups at the rim. It seemed like Florida was ready for the physical challenge of taking on a rough and tumble Volunteers squad but schematically they were getting picked apart and they didn’t make the adjustment to stop the offensive onslaught. Teams are starting to get the book on how Florida defends and they may need more drastic changes to confuse their opponents.
Final Thoughts
We’ve seen this game before a few times—where the final score is tight and you can say that the Gators probably win if they eliminated one stretch of bad basketball. Usually that stretch is 4-5 minutes but this one was nearly 11 minutes and there is not much you can do to reverse the outcome of that poor a stretch. You’ve got to commend the Gators’ competitiveness and fight as once again the scratched and clawed their way back into a game they had no business being in but ultimately Tennessee executed better down the stretch then they did and that was the ball game. At this point of the season it may be tough to reverse whatever is making Florida run ice cold for a stretch of this game but if they don’t figure it out it could mean a quick exit from the SEC or NCAA Tournaments.