Florida almost found a way to lose after holding a double-digit lead for most of the second half but Xavier missed some key shots at the end of the game that allowed the Gators to come away with a 70-65 win and a Charleston Classic Championship. A switch from more passive half court defense to a press in the second half by Xavier gave the Gators fits as they turned the ball over multiple times and fumbled into some shot clock violations and their sloppy play allowed the Musketeers to get back into the game. Florida showed enough fight in the end to come away with a neutral site victory over a Xavier team ranked 18th in the AP Poll and it should hopefully give the Gators some momentum as they continue through their non-conference schedule.
Near Disaster
Finishing with 16 turnovers it wasn’t entirely a crisp game by the Gators and a handful of those turnovers happened late in the second half against Xavier’s press which chipped away at the lead. Ultimately the Musketeers were down by three points with under thirty seconds left and they ran a play that got a wide open three for Paul Scruggs, a guard who finished with 24 points who was exactly who Xavier wanted to get a shot. Mercifully for the Gators the shot rattled around the rim and fell out and Kerry Blackshear Jr. rebounded it and was instantly fouled. For most of the contest it was a 10-point or more lead for the Gators and the end score doesn’t entirely tell the story of how the Gators played.
Group Effort
When the Gators didn’t turn the ball over and they got a shot off their offense was looking dangerous as they shot 56.5% from the floor and 43.8% from three. It wasn’t any one player that dominated with four players finishing in double figure including Andrew Nembhard (15), Keyontae Johnson (15), Kerry Blackshear Jr. (14), and Noah Locke (13). Just behind was Ques Glover who had another great game with 9 points hitting some key jumpers in the second half. After a strong offensive showing against Miami the Gators looked potent again against Xavier and stringing together two productive offensive nights should be an indication that this team can score at a high level. It’s also worth noting that Xavier entered this game as the 14th ranked defensive team in the country according to KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency ranking so this wasn’t a cupcake defense the Gators put up points against.
Final Tournament Thoughts
Despite a rocky start to the Charleston Classic against Saint Joseph’s this was an encouraging trip for the Gators with their two best performances of the season against two high major teams. Andrew Nembhard is back to playing incredibly confident basketball and it also looks like Noah Locke is back to shooting the ball like he did last season. Confidence is growing in Mike White’s offensive system and players are starting to look comfortable making reads and being playmakers within the scheme. They’ve shown they can battle defensively and lock down their opponents and it looks like the team is on an upward trajectory getting better with each contest. It was a rocky start to the season but it looks like the process is showing good results and the win over Xavier could even mean the Gators get back into the AP Poll. Florida’s next game will be against Marshall where they can hopefully continue to develop before they have a difficult road challenge at Butler.