One of the biggest frustrations regarding Florida basketball over the last several seasons has been their inability to take advantage of a big win and build on it. The Gators will have a chance to make it right on Saturday when they take on the Georgia Bulldogs, a team trending towards a finish at the bottom of the SEC.
Coach Tom Crean has done some serious surgery on the Georgia roster since being hired there. He first brought in a monster 7-player recruiting class, but nearly every one of those players has moved on, mostly due to transfer. To fill the holes vacated by those players he went to the grad transfer market to pick up three key players, and now the Bulldogs are a bit of a hodgepodge of unique players from around the country.
While at Indiana, Crean was known for challenging his teams with some of the most difficult non-conference schedules in the country. Knowing he was going to have a rebuild on his hands this year he played a series of cupcakes in the fall and that didn’t prepare them much for SEC play as they dropped their first four games. However, they have turned it around a bit and won their last two, starting with a tight win over Ole Miss followed by a last second victory over the enigmatic Kentucky Wildcats. Considering the Wildcats hammered Florida and Georgia was able to beat them, it’s likely they’ll go into the game with the Gators with some confidence.
One reason they were able to bounce back from a series of losses and turn things around was the activation of Atlanta guard JD Johnson who was finally cleared.
You see, one of Georgia’s biggest struggles this season has been shooting the basketball. They don’t have many floor spacers, and their lack of confidence when it comes to three-point shooting has resulted in them simply abandoning the shot and trying to pound the ball inside.
However, Johnson changed that.
Through three games he went 8-14 from behind the arc, giving the Bulldogs some much-needed shooting they were absolutely desperate for. Having him on the wing has completely changed the way Georgia’s half court offense has looked and it has resulted in two wins they almost certainly wouldn’t have gotten without him.
While Johnson has upgraded their attack in the halfcourt, the Bulldogs still aren’t great in that facet of the game and instead want to play fast and score in transition off a single pass or two. They’re one of the fastest teams in the country who will look to use their speed to outrun opponents.
One of the reasons they are able to run so effectively is the play of Sahvir Wheeler, one of the most underrated players in the country. Standing only 5’10” he doesn’t instantly stick out but when you see him pass the ball you won’t forget him. Wheeler is averaging 7.5 assists per game and has one of the best assist rates in the country, establishing him as one of the best distributors you’re going to see. He’s a blur in transition, someone who seems to defy logic with the illusion that he’s faster with the ball in his hands than without. Every time Georgia gets a defensive rebound the idea is to get Wheeler the basketball so he can push, and stopping him will likely be Florida’s number one goal in the scouting report.
Georgia has great team speed and one of the reasons why is because they play quite small, often with 6’8” Toumani Camara at center and 6’6” Andrew Garcia at power forward. Both players are gritty and physically strong, but those listed heights are likely generous and they both try to make up with a lack of length with tenacity.
This is something they do really well, as Georgia is one of the best rebounding teams in the SEC. You wouldn’t believe it looking at their roster that features the undersized frontcourt described as well as the three guards under 6’3” that they often play at once, but they really get after it on the glass and take great pride in securing the ball after misses. Their rebounding ability helps them in a couple of ways. First, their ability to defensive rebound allows them to kickstart their fast break, something that’s incredibly important to Georgia if they’re going to have any offensive success. On the offensive side, their ability to get extra possessions is huge because they aren’t efficient enough to get points without second chance opportunities.
Florida just had what was unquestionably their best rebounding performance of the season against a Tennessee team that has been fantastic on the glass and the Gators will be looking to replicate that type of rebounding performance against the Bulldogs.
If Colin Castleton is available, he’ll help out what was a strong rebounding core even without him. Castleton has been one of Florida’s best rebounders this season so for the Gators to have such a good rebounding performance without him is shocking and if he’s back the Gators might have some serious confidence on the glass. He missed the game against Tennessee with an ankle injury, though it wasn’t announced until shortly before the game which might suggest he was close to being able to go.That might be a reason for optimism, but until Saturday comes we can’t know for sure.
Scottie Lewis was also absent from the Tennessee game as he was from the two games prior due to health and safety protocols. It hasn’t been established yet if he’ll be able to play but he implied on Instagram that he should be cleared to play, so hopefully that is the case. Lewis hasn’t taken the jump that some people expected from him this season but he has been a steady contributor and you can always use those kinds of players.
A tangible key to the game for Florida will be matching up with Georgia in transition and not allowing them any easy buckets on the break. The Bulldogs struggle mightily to score in the halfcourt so if the Gators can make them take a bulk of their shots against a set defense there is a good shot they will have big issues scoring.
An intangible key to the game is Florida maintaining their focus and building off the game against Tennessee. Sure, the Gators were able to step up and play their hearts out against the number six team in the country, but can they bring the same fire against a team way outside of the NCAA Tournament picture? Florida has already taken some bad losses this season and dropping one to a lowly Georgia team would hurt them emotionally as well as from an NCAA Tournament resume standpoint. A win would carry on momentum from the huge performance against Tennessee and start to bring them up the SEC standings. Not to look past the Bulldogs, but Florida’s next game after that is against Vanderbilt who the Gators handled easily to start their SEC slate. This is a chance for the Gators to build confidence against two teams in the basement of the league before going to West Virginia to take on an outstanding Big 12 team. Florida can really start to turn their season around, and their next opportunity comes Saturday against Georgia.