Desperate to stop a three-game losing skid the Gators played determined basketball on Tuesday night going on the road at Georgia and controlling the game for a 77-67 victory. Offensively things were humming for the Gators in a way that it hasn’t for what seems like quite some time and that allowed them to build a comfortable lead, one they were able to maintain for nearly the entire game. This win improves Florida’s record to 15-15 on the season, an important victory to keep the possibility of a winning season intact.
Career Night
Leading the way for the Gators was Will Richard who finished with a career high 24 points while banging down 5 of his 8 three-point attempts. It was his blistering shooting that allowed the Gators to balloon the lead in the first half and whenever it seemed the Bulldogs gained any momentum he was there to suck the energy out of the building with a huge jumper. Richard has put together consistent shooting all year long but on Tuesday he showed he could shift things into a whole other gear taking over the game for stretches. Of course, he also provided solid defense on the other end, not allowing his offensive production to take away from the side of the ball where he often does his best work.
Staying Hot
Riley Kugel has strung together a few weeks of outstanding basketball and he was able to keep the streak going against Georgia finishing with 19 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists. Many of these buckets were in isolation where he used his one on one ability to get the rim and it created a number of athletic finishes at the rim that will have NBA scouts salivating. This is now several weeks straight of elite basketball for Kugel who is making a name for himself around the country.
Room For Improvement
Once again, defensive rebounding has been an issue for the Gators. This is a problem that plagued the Gators even with Colin Castleton and now that he’s gone it has gone to a new level. Luckily it didn’t end up in a loss for the Gators, but they allowed Georgia to come away with 15 offensive rebounds which gave them high-quality second chance opportunities after the Gators played excellent first shot defense. Starting center Jason Jitoboh had only 1 defensive rebound in 20 minutes tonight, after only having 1 against Vanderbilt, 2 against Kentucky, and 1 against Arkansas. He is one player that needs to be more impactful on the defensive glass, but he’s not the only one as several players are guilty of not boxing out or leaking out looking for transition opportunities. It will be something the Gators continue to try and improve moving forward.
Final Thoughts
Considering how difficult wins have come for this team it was excellent to see the Gators come out, take an early lead, and hold onto it for the entire game. Additionally, seeing the team knock down 37% of their threes was a positive sight and hopefully one they can build on in whatever games they have left this season. Their final game of the season is Saturday at home against LSU who is last in the SEC so the Gators will have a chance to get some momentum going into the SEC Tournament.