It wasn’t always pretty between the Florida Gators and the Arkansas Razorbacks but that’s just how things are going to go in the SEC this season but the Gators will be ecstatic with their ability to claw out a road win as they came out victorious by a score of 71-63. Perhaps the biggest illustration of just how much of a slog this game was comes with a quick look at the foul count with the two teams combining for 44 infractions, with a combined 4 players fouling out (3 on Florida). At halftime the score was 28-25 Florida (the lowest first half in scoring for both of these teams this season) which also showed just how much of a grind this game was, but ultimately the Gators persevered and out-executed the Razorbacks in the clutch and came way with a win by multiple possessions that might see them take another jump in the metrics. In the second half with the Gators holding on to a double digit lead the Razorbacks surged back a number of times with a spirited crowd behind them but Florida was always ready to weather the storm. With the win the Gators improve 15-1 on the season (2-1 SEC) and will have a chance to string together some more wins as they head back to Gainesville for a home stand.
Gritty Leaders
There are two players on the Gators who seem to be at their best in physical, grimy games and this was just that. Predictably, Alex Condon and Alijah Martin were able to play through contact and do what was required to win whether diving on loose balls, fighting for a rebound, or finishing at the rim while heavily contested. Martin led the Gators in scoring with 14 points, while Condon did a bit of everything with 12 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 blocks. These are the types of games you get a player like Alijah Martin for as he doesn’t want to play pretty basketball–he’s comfortable taking a shot on one end and giving it right back on the other, and his toughness was huge keeping the Gators close for the first three quarters of the game with Condon taking over in the final minutes to get some key buckets in the paint and from deep.
Defensive Momentum
Florida had a tremendous defensive performance in their last game against Tennessee and they were able to keep the momentum rolling as they frustrated Arkansas and never allowed them to get in any rhythm. Mind you, Arkansas is not a very good offensive team, particularly in the halfcourt–but Florida made them look even more uncomfortable in that setting than they normally are. To start the game Arkansas was 1-11 on layup attempts as they couldn’t get anything to go around the rim with Florida’s length in the vicinity and it’s a big reason why they finished shooting just 30% from the field. The three-point shot wasn’t any help either as they shot 19% with the Gators often running them off the line to prevent these shots–a key element of Florida’s defensive structure. After the Kentucky game where the Gators got sliced and diced defensively they’ve been looking to turn things around on that end and they have had excellent efforts against Tennessee and now Arkansas.
Room For Improvement
Improving the focus on the defensive end might have meant losing a bit of practice time on offensive concepts as the Gators were somewhat out of sorts in this game. They were ultimately able to get some points with excellent individual performances and heavy offensive rebounding (16 O-boards total), but they struggled to get good shots and struggled with ball security, shooting 39% from the field and turning it over 10 times. They also weren’t able to get great looks for Walter Clayton who did finish with 12 points, though he did it going 4-15 from the field. Florida’s transition attack was excellent and that has been a strength in recent games but they’ll need to look to improve their halfcourt execution in order to generate points when the game slows, but they were still about to get a win while struggling to score and now they can hopefully spend some of their practice time tightening up the attack.
Final Thoughts
Road wins are going to be tough to come by in the SEC and in front of a large, loud Arkansas crowd Florida was able to outlast a team that largely dictated the tempo and style of play. It’s no secret that the Gators want to get up and down and play fast and the Razorbacks want the game to be a rock fight, and while the team that dictates the terms of play often wins that wasn’t the case on Saturday and Florida deserves a ton of credit for finding a way to win.