It wasn’t always pretty but the Florida Gators held off the struggling Wake Forest Demon Deacons for the first half and then exploded in the second half to come away with a 75-58 victory in their opening round game of the ESPN Events Invitational. Florida, used to playing games in the 80’s and 90’s, came out awfully slow as they tried to find their rhythm, scoring just 32 points in the first half. Thankfully their defense was solid and they held Wake Forest to just 28, and then from the opening play of the second half Florida took over and won that 20-minute segment 43-30. With the win the Gators improved to 7-0, their first time matching that record in twelve years. They’ll now face Wichita State on Friday with a chance to win the ESPN Events Invitational Title.
Offensive Struggles
Ultimately the Gators were able to heat up in the second and get their point total to a respectable level but it wasn’t pretty as they shot 40% from the field with 11 turnovers. Wake Forest threw some different looks at them including a zone and a unique defense where they sagged their center off Rueben Chinyelu or Alex Condon all the way to the paint and dared them to shoot, and the congestion that this strategy created was not something the Gators were prepared for. Saving the day was the offensive rebound with the Gators securing 15 of them which created the extra opportunities they needed to put points on the board.
Leading The Way
Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but Florida’s offensive engine was none other than Walter Clayton Jr who finished with 21 points and 3 assists. Clayton, like most of his teammates, were struggling to get a feel for the game in the first half but when the second half started Clayton took over. The offensive sets called by the staff weren’t able to create anything but Clayton was able to take matters into his own hands, working in isolation and pulling up for back to back threes which gave the Gators a lead Wake Forest was never able to claw back from. The “instant offense” ability of Walter Clayton is simply incredible and there aren’t many players in the country who can turn things around as quickly as Clayton can, and this was a night where the Gators desperately needed that skill and he delivered.
Locking Down
While Florida’s offense has been strong to start the season you knew at some point it was going to start to slow down a bit and the team would have to get back to its DNA–defense. Defense is the personality of the coaching staff and the primary skill of the players who were brought in through the transfer portal, and they showed just what they’re capable of against the Demon Deacons. Wake Forest, who admittedly has struggled offensively all season long, couldn’t generate much against the Gators and shot 37% from the field while turning the ball over 13 times which was a testament particularly to Alijah Martin and Walter Clayton who were particularly locked in on the defensive end as they held talented scorers Hunter Sallis and Cameron Hildreth to manageable performances. Florida might have won some games this year with their offense, but look for their defense to take center stage a bit more moving forward just as we saw against Wake Forest.
Final Thoughts
Wake Forest is a team that has a decent record (now 6-2) but they have played a horrible schedule and have barely slipped by some dreadful teams, and the Gators treated them just like that with a convincing win. Sure, it wasn’t always pretty for the Gators–but it was good to see them lean on their defense and really win the game on that end when they finally had an offensive game that was lackluster. They’ll now have a quick turnaround to play Wichita State in under 24 hours.