It wasn’t quite the miracle comeback the Gators needed in their first game against Georgia this season but they did need to claw back from a 13-point deficit early and once they equaled the score it was smooth sailing from there as Florida ended up with a relatively smooth 68-54 win. That score isn’t an entirely accurate representation of a game where Florida trailed at halftime by 2 but it speaks to their second half adjustments that handcuffed Georgia’s offense as well as a dedication to getting Noah Locke open looks and those changes both yielded positive results. With the win the Gators have secured a top-4 seed in the SEC Tournament, giving them a double bye and a chance to get some extra rest before trying to better their NCAA Tournament resume. However, before the Gators go to Nashville for the SEC Tournament they have one more game to prepare for, a home contest against Kentucky.
Keyontae Stays Hot
Florida’s best player of the last two weeks came through once again as Keyontae Johnson led the way with 18 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 steals. Just like we’re getting accustomed to seeing he was knifing through defenses with his explosive first step and he was able to generate easy buckets in the first half when nothing else was going right for Florida’s offense. Johnson is playing as good as anyone in the SEC right now and with him the Gators have the chance to beat anyone if he continues to play like he is right now.
Sharing The Ball
Florida got 9 assists from players not named Andrew Nembhard (who had 6 of his own) and that is a positive sign. The Gators are one of the lowest-assist teams in the country which is rooted in the fact they haven’t gotten much playmaking outside of Nembhard and the fact their secondary ball handlers were able to generate some open shots for teammates is an encouraging step forward. Kerry Blackshear Jr., Keyontae Johnson, Scottie Lewis, and Noah Locke each had a pair of assists which speaks to how much the ball was being shared. Florida has had trouble this year when teams have taken the ball out of Nembhard’s hands and made other players initiate offense and if that’s the case moving forward at all they’ll need other players to get assists.
Defensive Adjustments
Georgia started off the ball game hitting their first 7 shots, many of them uncontested. Florida’s defense was scrambled and the Bulldogs were taking advantage with open jumpers and uncontested layups and clearly something was off with the Gators’ approach. Luckily, they were able to make some schematic changes that not only stopped the bleeding but made it that Georgia really struggled to score for the final 25 minutes of the game. One of the major changes Florida made was going to a 3-2 zone, the same style of defense that allowed the Gators to storm back against Georgia in the team’s first meeting. This defense generated missed shots as well as turnovers that the Gators were able to turn into points and the change to that defense by Coach White and the ability for the players to execute it deserves credit.
Final Thoughts
This was Florida’s last opportunity of the season to get a bad loss that would negatively affect their NCAA Tournament resume and though it looked like they could be in trouble in the first half they were able to play with maturity, battle back, and end up with a comfortable win. There are definitely fair criticisms you can have of this basketball team but you’ve got to say this—they aren’t going to get rattled when playing from behind. That fortitude is something that could really help them in postseason play and if they’re able to grind out a big postseason win where they come from behind, games like this are going to be one of the building blocks.