The Florida Gators welcomed the No.5 ranked UConn Huskies into the Stephen O’Connell Center on Wednesday night in search of a signature non-conference win.
UConn remains undefeated (10-0) on the young season, defeating Florida (6-4) 75 to 54 in dominating fashion.
The game got off to a slow start offensively for Todd Golden’s squad as they made just eight baskets in the first 20 minutes of play. UConn’s defense swarmed the Gators early on, forcing seven turnovers in the 1st half.
Florida was doing a good job of getting to the free throw line but only made 5-11 attempts from the charity stripe. If you can’t score when the clock isn’t moving, you aren’t going to beat really good basketball teams.
The Gators shot just 28.6% from the field in the 1st half, while connecting on 2 of their 4 three-point attempts.
Alex Fudge was the only Gator consistently creating open looks early on. He scored seven points on 3-5 shooting in the 1st half.
Huskies’ big men Donovan Clingan and Adama Sanogo were too much for Colin Castleton to handle tonight. Castleton had five points on 1-9 shooting in the 1st half. Clingan and Sanogo were a combined 9-13 from the field, scoring 18 points with seven rebounds in the first 20 minutes.
It was evident that Golden needed to get Fudge more involved in the 2nd half.
UConn led 36 to 23 at halftime.
Florida came out of the tunnel showing more explosion on offense, but they struggled to get stops when they needed to.
A Kowacie Reeves three pointer cut the Huskies lead to 10 points with roughly 13 minutes to go, but that was as close as the Gators would get tonight.
Fudge finished the game with 13 points and five rebounds on 5-8 shooting. I would have liked him to be more involved in the offense tonight as his athleticism was creating open shots.
Riley Kugel showed his ability to attack the basket and get to the free throw line tonight. He attempted nine of the Gators’ 27 free throws, making five of them. Florida was much better from the free throw line in the 2nd half, connecting on 13 of 17 attempts.
The Gators shot 30.2% from the field and sunk just 4 of their 15 three pointers (26.7%). You aren’t going to win many games with those numbers. When Colin Castleton struggles, the Florida Gators struggle.
I thought Florida played pretty well defensively in the 1st half as they held the Huskies to 42.4% from the field, but UConn finished the game shooting 51.7% and connected on 7-19 from deep (36.8%).
UConn is the only team in the country that ranks in the top ten in offensive and defensive efficiency. They are also the only 10-0 team in the country.
Florida’s next matchup is against Ohio next Wednesday at 7:00 PM.