Garbage time came early on Wednesday as the Gators took out all their frustration from the loss against Auburn to the unlucky South Carolina Gamecocks by a lopsided score of 95-48. It may have taken Florida a couple minutes to feel things out with a late tip on the road but once they shifted into gear they took off and never looked back, leading 48-20 at the half and winning the second frame 47-28 for good measure. You could look at just about any statistical category and see the Gators ahead by a mile, and at least for these 40 minutes you saw a Gamecocks team that simply didn’t have anywhere near the talent of their opposition. With Florida hungry for a win and facing a team projected to finish at the bottom of the league also fighting injury issues, perhaps we should have seen something like this coming. With the win, the Gators improve to 6-2 in SEC play where they are currently tied with Arkansas for second.
Stifling Defense
Given how Florida dominated nearly every facet of the game there are a host of positives you could take away but the biggest was their defensive performance. Aggressively keeping the Gamecocks on one side of the floor with their “ice” pick and roll coverage, top locking different actions that South Carolina ran from shooters so the targets never had a chance to get free, and using their length to scare off anything at the rim, it was one of Florida’s most spirited defensive performances of the season and the stops they continually got fueled plenty of transition opportunities going the other way. With 8 blocks as a team the Gators were able to swat away any hope South Carolina had at easy points any time they drove, and with the rim almost entirely taken away Florida could then focus in on shooters and not allow anything easy. Defense continues to be the bedrock of Florida basketball alongside their rebuilding (which they also dominated tonight) and this was about as good as they could possibly perform.
Sharing The Sugar
There are plenty of offensive stats you could look at that would point to Florida’s strong offensive performance–perhaps the 62% they shot from the field or the 43% they shot from three (a sight for sore eyes). While these were strong indicators of how the offense was humming, there was no stat that embodied just how good the offensive performance was than the Gators having 28 assists on their 38 made field goals. This ratio of assists to made field goals is remarkable for anyone, and given that the Gators are in the middle of the pack nationally in this stat the output is even more shocking. Assisted baskets mean the ball is moving and teammates are making plays for each other, and assisted shots are always higher percentage than ones that need to be taken in isolation. Xaivian Lee (9 assists), Alex Condon (8 assists), and Boogie Fland (6 assists) were doing the heavy lifting when it came to setting up opponents, but it was the whole roster that was looking to make the intelligent read and set up a teammate, and that is something Florida’s offense needs since they don’t have a one on one star.
Individual Spotlight
Okay, we talked about what the Gators did with their defense and moving the ball, but we should take a look at a few individual performances. Thomas Haugh finished with 18 points but 15 came in the first half before he gave his teammates some chance to shine in the second, and his stretch of athletic finishes at the rim and nailing jump shots was the type of stuff NBA scouts love to see. Alex Condon finished the game on triple double watch with 10 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists, and he continues to make things happen from the inside out. Continuing to provide a spark off the bench is Urban Klavzar who had 11 points going 3-6 from three, which is starting to seem like the line he finishes with in just about every game. All the young guys got to show off too with Isaiah Brown having 7 points including a dunk, while CJ Ingram showed his transition ability with 5 points while Alex Lloyd also had 5, coming into the game and immediately hitting the kind of smooth three-point look he’s known for. Lastly, Rueben Chinyelu was able to finish everything he touched around the rim going 7-7, the kind of overwhelming interior performance that showed just how much of an advantage the Gators had.
Final Thoughts
South Carolina might not have a very good roster but they’re well-coached and play hard, but this was an absolute beatdown. You could say the Gators won this game with their defense, you could say they won it with their offense, you could say they won it with their rebounding, you could say they won it in transition, you could say they won it in the halfcourt. Whatever you can possibly point to in a basketball game–the Gators won it, and that’s exactly the bounce back you wanted to see after such a tough loss to Auburn. With one of the easiest SEC schedules the Gators will have chances like this to turn things around if or when they have poor showings, and fans will be happy with how they took advantage of the opportunity. The Gators will now prepare to play one of their most difficult remaining games against Alabama who just had reinforcements come in, at least temporarily, with the return of Charles Bediako, a story that if you haven’t heard has dominated the college basketball news cycle.