Florida had the ball with 13 seconds remaining down by 2 but unfortunately there was no Gator magic in Brooklyn as a Tyree Appleby jumper rattled off the rim giving the Maryland Terrapins a 70-68 win. Much of this game was played within a possession or two and it always had the feel it was going to come down to the final shot and it did, a step back from Appleby that he is more than comfortable with, and one that barely didn’t find the net.
It was somewhat of a frustrating game for the Gators who missed open shots all night and had a few questionable foul calls go against them. Colin Castleton ended up on the bench for the final minutes of the game after fouling out, and Myreon Jones continued a cold shooting streak that saw him unable to capitalize on open looks he got.
It was a bit of their offense and a bit of their defense that stung them, and right now for the Gators their margin of error isn’t big enough to overcome struggles on both ends and beat a high major opponent.
Bright Spot
Tyree Appleby, who came off the bench, came alive in the second half with 15 points and 3 assists. The Gators were struggling to generate much offensively without him and they fell into their deepest deficit of the game in the second half before Appleby started firing from deep and hitting them, getting Florida back into the game. Ultimately he was 5-8 from deep, about the only thing that really went right for the Gators. For whatever reason White continues to like Appleby off the bench, despite the fact that the starters without him have struggled to generate offense, but whenever he gets into the game he has been a spark plug.
Warrior
Someone who left everything on the court was Phlandrous Fleming who gave 100% on every possession whether it was going after a rebound, locking down defensively, or trying to go get a bucket. He finished with 15 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 assists and had his fingerprints on every element of the game. You could tell he was up to the physical challenge of a muscular Maryland team and he played fearlessly. When things weren’t going well for the Gators he was able to keep them in the game with his effort, and his teammates will admire his effort a ton.
Offensive Struggles
Florida continues to hurt on the offensive end, this time 37.9% from the field. Unlike past games where their outside shooting has been the problem, this time it was inside the arc where they lacked confidence on layup attempts which led to a lot of easy shots getting missed. Florida shot 41% from three on the back of excellent shooting from Tyree Appleby (5-8) and CJ Felder (3-4), and they only shot 33% from inside the arc, an inverse of the shooting splits you would expect. Florida’s wings are generally undersized and not super athletic, meaning shots on the inside aren’t something they would exactly pride themselves on. There was a lot of driving with the intent of passing, not scoring, and that meant guys getting into the air and throwing the ball away or taking ill-advised layups in the end. The Gators did start to experiment with a few different offensive looks, but they still have a ways to go on that end.
Final Thoughts
Maryland was a team on a three-game losing streak that lost to George Mason and whose best win before the Gators was against Richmond. Their head coach just quit eight games into the season. This is a team Florida should have been able to handle and the fact that they didn’t shows all kinds of problems. Offensively they are still struggling to get good shots, and for a team that prides itself on defense they are far from elite on that end. The Gators now have games against South Florida and Stony Brook to try and right the ship before getting into SEC play.