It wasn’t always pretty but going against a Florida A&M team picked to finish at the bottom of division-I basketball the Gators took the lead early and never relented coming away with a 84-60 win. Florida established the massive lead early and took it into the half but was unable to extend it in the second. Despite the fact that Florida had their starters out in the final ten minutes of the game against Florida A&M’s bench they weren’t able to stretch the lead to their expected 32-point win expected by KenPom (a benchmark the team would likely need to hold or improve their metrics) which caused some frustration from Todd Golden on the bench. Florida and Florida A&M tied the second half 38-38, and it was a bit of a slugfest the Gators didn’t want to find themselves in. These games can be extremely challenging for the favored team to stay focused in and that seemed to be the case for the Gators, but it was still a game where they were never threatened and got the win, even if it didn’t have the style points they expected.
Stepping Up
Just before tip-off it was announced that Sam Alexis and Denzel Aberdeen, two key bench pieces, would be missing the game due to illness. That meant an opportunity for a few bench pieces to get much bigger roles, starting with Thomas Haugh who got a ton of minutes in the frontcourt finishing with 12 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block to fill up the statsheet. While Haugh is a fan favorite, people in attendance were even more excited to see extended minutes from Urban Klavzar who was recently deemed eligible by the NCAA and freshman Isaiah Brown who got his first real shifts as a Gator. Klavzar showed his smooth ball handling ability and excellent vision with 3 gorgeous assists, but he was frustrated as a scorer going 0-4 from three on clean looks. Klavzar is a proven shooter in Europe and his misses all looked like they were going to fall but ultimately spilled out, but you have to think he’ll start hitting those shots in the future. Isaiah Brown, on the other hand, had no such issues. He knocked down two threes in a hurry, showcasing a smooth lefty stroke that caught nothing but net. Also showing a significant amount of energy on the defensive end, Brown’s debut couldn’t have gone much better.
Learning Opportunity
In buy games such as this the Gators are looking for opportunities to get better and FAMU gave them some unique reps playing a style that very few mid-majors do–posting up on nearly every single possession. This isn’t a style you generally see from the smaller school going to face the bigger one, but FAMU was dedicated to getting their bigs touches on the block while guards cut around them. This is a style the Gators will see in the SEC but it’s not one they have had a lot of chances to see so far this season so it was valuable reps and ultimately they looked pretty good. Condon and Haugh had some moments getting overpowered, but generally Florida’s centers held strong and the perimeter players stayed with cutters and it should be some positive film the Gators can use going into some tougher games.
Leading The Way
Even though it seemed like he was playing in second gear for much of the game Walter Clayton was outstanding with 17 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block. Saying he was playing in second gear isn’t to suggest he wasn’t playing with effort, but more to suggest that he wasn’t aggressively hunting his shot and was instead looking to set up his teammates as we have seen in recent games. Using these games for valuable reps as a playmaker is hopefully going to pay dividends as Clayton didn’t have the opportunity to play the traditional point guard role last season and he has been more than willing to be a table setter for his teammates this season. His 17 points came easily and he could have had a lot more if he was looking for his shot, but instead he looked to be a passer first and scorer second, and that mindset led to some easy looks. This has been a tremendous start to the season from Clayton who is playing like one of the best guards in the country.
Final Thoughts
Look, playing a midweek buy game against a team picked to finish 11th in one of the worst leagues in college basketball is never easy, and while you’d love to expect the Gators to come in with maximum focus and effort, human nature is a thing and it seemed like the team had some issues with intensity for this one. Ultimately that’s not a big issue, and the only real casualty of that effort was Florida’s bench who couldn’t get that many minutes. Florida hoped to get their reserves a ton of minutes, but they ultimately played a tight 8-man rotation and had their starters in the game for much of the final ten minutes–something they definitely did not expect to have to do. This is likely a game the Gators simply need to flush out and forget, and they will have more of a challenge Friday when they play a sneaky good Southern Illinois team.