The Gators made an inspired effort at the end of the game to give themselves a chance but ultimately they dug themselves too deep a whole and the road Florida Atlantic Owls came away with a 76-74 victory. While it was close between the two teams for much of the game Florida Atlantic generally held a slight edge and they ballooned their lead to as much as 71-57 in the second half. Florida made an inspired effort to fight back into the game but they couldn’t conjure any magic and the Gators suffer their first loss of the season to go to 2-1. Florida Atlantic came into the game ranked 85th in KenPom so they are a respectable mid-major opponent, but the way the Gators lost–struggling on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball–is something that will make things feel a lot worse.
Positive Note
Colin Castleton was fantastic and almost was able to will the Gators to a win on a night where they were getting outplayed finishing with 30 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 blocks. High post isolations for Castleton seemed to be the best option for Florida offensively and despite the fact that the defense knew it was coming, it was hard to guard. He quickly drew fouls from 7’1” Vlad Goldin, and with him on the bench it became even easier for Castleton as he feasted on the smaller bigs that came off the bench to try to attack him. It’s also of note that Castleton hit his first career three-point attempt, something he has been looking to add to his game. If Castleton continues this pace he will be on All-American ballots and it’s a shame that an incredible effort from him was ultimately wasted.
Defensive Struggles
Florida Atlantic was getting pretty much everything they wanted offensively and this score could have looked a lot more crooked if not for countless missed wide open layups after successfully picking apart Florida’s defense. These missed layups resulted in the Owls shooting only 36% from two, though watching it you can see that these were breakdowns in Florida’s defense that were awfully concerning. Even though the missed bunnies were an issue, the Owls made up for it by shooting 54% from three, many of which being wide open jumpers where the Gators sat under screens or got lost on off-ball options. Early in the game Florida’s defense was stout and their drop pick and roll coverage completely neutralized Florida Atlantic’s attack, but in the second half the Owls went away from the pick and roll to focus on off-ball actions and that was the key to solving Florida’s defense. Florida’s coaching staff and a number of their players take a lot of pride on the defensive end and they will not be happy with this performance.
The Other End
Unforunately, Florida wasn’t great on the other end of the floor either and if you take away Colin Castleton the Gators shot 35% from the field as a team. When Castleton gave the ball up or was away from the play the Gators lacked offensive ingenuity or the types of individual creators that are needed to create offense one on one at the end of the clock and it made them easy to guard. Florida Atlantic switched nearly every screen on the perimeter which frustrated the Gators as they tried to run their offense and it resulted in some out of control drives from players who don’t thrive in those settings. Florida will have to get back to the drawing board to see where they can improve moving forward.
Final Thoughts
This was an all-around frustrating night for the Gators who will have to feel like there is a lot to work on both offensively and defensively. While some people will sound the alarm after a loss to a team like Florida Atlantic you have to keep in context that they entered teh game 84th in KenPom, about where a lower middle of the pack SEC team generally finishes. People will also point to the fact that FAU just lost to Ole Miss by 13 and suggest that the Gators should have performed similarly, but the Owls’ starting point guard and most important player Michael Forrest was out in that game and made his return against the Gators. This isn’t a brutal loss that is going to hurt the Gators greatly from a resume standpoint in March, but the gaps in both their offense and defense that they showed are more concerning.