Both the Florida Gators and Texas Longhorns traded shots for the first 25-ish minutes of the game and at that point it looked like the victory could go either way. However, as Texas began to run out of steam Florida kept their foot on the gas and steadily went on a run, ultimately winning by a score of 84-71 that in some ways doesn’t seem indicative of how close the game was, but was very accurate in showing just how dominant the Gators were in the final ten minutes of action. Coming in as one of the top offenses in the country there were times when Texas displayed their ability to create buckets out of nowhere, but it was an unsustainable style of play for 40 minutes and when they went cold the Gators trucked along and built the double digit lead. Florida now has won 8 in a row and 7 straight on the road in the SEC and continues on their way to an SEC regular season title improving to 13-2.
Block Party In Austin
Entering Wednesday’s game 6th in KenPom’s adjusted offensive efficiency metric Texas can be a potent offense but they do it in a way you might not expect–they have a handful of dangerous isolation players that they let take turns picking on matchups. In a lot of ways it was successful and it was the reason Texas held a 39-36 lead at halftime, but it also meant that Florida could dig their heels in and be ready to pounce defensively. Whenever a Longhorn player started to drive the Gators were quick to swarm the ball and contest at the rim and it resulted in a remarkable 11 blocks with five different Gators registering at least one. Florida was able to win this game comfortably, but if not for all these blocks, many of which came around the rim on high-value layup attempts, you could see how Texas could be right in the game. Texas was held to 71 points on 43% field goal shooting with 12 turnovers, and that’s a strong performance for a Florida defense going up against one of the powerful offenses of the SEC.
Leading The Way
There were two Gators that deserve recognition here with the first being Alex Condon who played like the preseason All-American he was finishing with 23 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 4 blocks. Not only did he put up a ton of points but he did it on efficient 10-12 shooting which is what made the performance so special, and he even hit a three-pointer as he continues to build back his confidence in that area. His points came in a number of different ways as he displayed all that makes him special as an offensive player, converting in pick and roll, in mid-post isolation, and on the block where he took advantage of smaller defenders. Defensively, his 4 blocks set the tone defensively and erased at least a few possessions worth of points which can’t be understated. Another Gator to play elite basketball was Boogie Fland who had one of his best games in recent weeks with 22 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals. Currently credited with 0 assists (which seems curious as he should have had at least a couple), it was his individual scoring that was impressive and while you might like to see some assists, you’ll be happy to see that his ability to create and finish was on point. Regularly knifing to the rim and finishing with floaters Fland put the kind of pressure on the rim that the Gators haven’t always had from their guards which was a welcomed sight–and he was able to follow up a 3-6 from three performance on the weekend with a 2-3 night Wednesday as he continues to find his shot.
Milestone Night
There were a couple of milestones on Wednesday, starting with Rueben Chinyelu who set the Gators single season offensive rebound record in the early minutes of the game. The record was set early with 115, and of course he had to add a few more finishing with 3 offensive rebounds to add to his lead. Chinyelu is having one of the greatest rebounding seasons that college basketball has seen in some time, and when it comes to Florida’s offensive rebounding record he’s ready to make the record close to untouchable. With three regular season games remaining plus the postseason, he’ll have a comfortable lead in this category and the only person that may come close to catching him is, well, Chinyelu–should he choose to return to Florida next season. Another player who hit a milestone was Thomas Haugh who joined Florida’s 1000 point club. It was a relatively quiet night for Haugh with 5 points, but that’s all he needed to join a group of some of Florida’s best scorers ever. A trip to the NBA is likely in the cards for Haugh next season which will keep him from chasing down some of Florida’s program records, but the 1000 point club is a place he comfortably belongs.
Final Thoughts
This was a consistent 40 minutes of effort from the Gators who never wavered from their gameplan even when Texas hit a couple of shots. Florida didn’t over-help on the repeated isolations and forced players to make high-effort individual plays and while it worked well for a half, it was unlikely to work for two. Perhaps the biggest takeaway from this game will be the play of Condon and Fland who played like All-SEC players and the best versions of themselves, and this is a pretty good time of the year to be playing your best basketball. It’s likely the Gators will need one of their guards to play at a high or even elite level for them to reach the mountaintop again, and if Fland can repeat this performance then Florida might be cooking.