Florida’s frantic effort at the end of the game to try and generate steals and get quick buckets at the other end fell just short on Saturday as the Gators fell by a score of 65-62 to the Utah State Aggies. Finding points against an experience Utah State team was a difficult challenge for the inexperienced Gators and when the Aggies had the ball Sam Merrill was nearly unstoppable finishing with 21 points and 5 assists with many of those points coming in crunch time to not allow the Gators back into the game. Utah State is a tremendous basketball team full of experienced players but yet another game where the Gators struggled to put points on the board will have the team, as well as the fan base feeling some discouragement.
Dry Spells
There were stretches where Florida was able to find their groove and play some consistent basketball but it wasn’t enough to overcome what was ultimately the biggest storyline of this game for the Gators and that was two major scoring droughts that ended up sinking them.
The first came from the opening tip where the Gators didn’t get their first field goal until the 11:09 mark of the first half where Blackshear hit a three-point jumper.
That nearly 9-minute field goal drought was disheartening but what really did the Gators in was a dry spell in the clutch minutes of the second half. After Lewis corralled his own miss and put in a layup at the 6:41 mark the Gators didn’t score another field goal until the clock said 0:33. Those six minutes allowed the Aggies to take control of the game and the Gators weren’t able to claw their way back in.
Offensive Struggles
Once again scoring didn’t come easily to the Gators. They finished the game with a 32.3% clip from the field with 13 turnovers, many of which were on routine passes where the team wasn’t in sync.
Credit the Utah State defense for coaxing the Gators into these shots but Florida took a large number of jumpers off the dribble early in the clock, difficult shots that came early in the shot clock before they had a chance to search for better looks. What made many of those attempts more disappointing is that many of them were from two-point range. The Aggies were excellent at chasing the Gators over screens and walling off the paint with their big man to only allow the midrange but still, Florida needs to be able to find better shots. For the Gators to maximize their offense they’ll need to execute better shot selection.
Battling On The Glass
Florida finished with 17 offensive rebounds, something that helped keep them in the game when their shots weren’t falling. Kerry Blackshear Jr. led the way with 7 of these o-boards and it also allowed him to draw fouls on put back attempts. Ultimately he attempted 17 free throws and hit 15 of them which were valuable points for the Gators. His work on the offensive glass to get fouled was admirable but unfortunately he still missed a lot of shots at the rim finishing 3-14 from the field.
Lewis’ Development
A bright spot from the game is the continued development of Scottie Lewis who had 11 points, many of them coming from well-timed cuts allowing him to get layups. That is exactly the player the Gators need him to be, an off-ball threat that leverages his athleticism into easy buckets at the rim.
On the other end of the floor he was his normal self, bringing excellent defensive intensity and coming away with two blocks and two skills. His game seems to be on an upward trajectory and it’s looking like the Gators are going to need him to be a star if they’re going to finish near the top of the SEC.
Takeaways
Utah State is an excellent team and a neutral site loss to them isn’t devastating. The Aggies are especially potent on the offensive end and the Gators held them to a manageable 45.3% from the field, but it was ultimately another poor offensive showing that did them in. Utah State is a solid defensive team with a scheme well suited to counteract what the Gators want to do but you’d like to see Florida capable of making some adjustments and getting better shots. The competitive fury Florida showed in the final minutes to try to fight their way into the game was admirable but ultimately you can’t have the dry spells offensively that they had and expect to win against a good team.