Another Gator loss that is eerily similar to the previous 4
- Franz Beard
- Jan 4
- 6 min read
In the latest episode of their very own adaptation of the movie “Groundhog Day,” the Florida Gators had another one of those games in which they turned a very winnable game with the Missouri Tigers into the fifth loss of the season. Like Florida’s four losses prior to Saturday night’s 76-74 flameout in Columbia, the Gators went through some unexplainable stretches in which shooting – or lack of – was almost the least of their worries.
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The Gators lost by a combined 15 points to Arizona, TCU, Duke and UConn. The simplest of explanations for those four losses are all those missed 3-pointers (26-99, 26.26 percent). The Gators did themselves no favors against Missouri, which went zone a good portion of the game, almost daring Florida to win the game with outside shooting. The Gators began the game as if they were going to burn down the arena with their hot shooting, but after going 3-3 on 3-balls to start the game, the Gators went 4-24 the rest of the way.
“The zone bothered us a little bit and I think that probably took away a little bit of our ferociousness, our aggression,” Florida coach Todd Golden said.
So, shooting was indeed a problem, but so were the defensive lapses which let Missouri hit 5-11 of its threes in the first half including a bomb by Trent Burns that tied the score at 39-39 as time ran out. The three, aided by a moving pick by Jacob Crews that was conveniently overlooked by the zebra crew led by Don Daily, was the first and only 3-pointer of Burns’ career.
The Gators tightened up their 3-point defense in the second half – Missouri was just 3-11 – but starting with the first minute-and-a-half after the intermission there were far too many stretches when the Gators seemed to play defense flat footed and couldn’t get a hand in the face of a shooter but more importantly, couldn’t grab a rebound or run down a 50-50 ball.
In the first 7:20 of the second half, Missouri outscored the Gators 17-7 to take a 10-point lead at 56-46. While defense was a problem during this stretch, so was Florida’s inability to get the ball inside to big guys. Florida settled for threes, going 1-7 in the first seven minutes.
After falling behind by 10, it took nearly six minutes for the Gators to fight their way back into it, cutting the Missouri lead to 57-54 on a dunk by Tommy Haugh off a pass from Alex Condon. Missouri’s lead ballooned back up to eight but a fast break dunk by Condon, a driving layup by Boogie Fland and a 5-footer by Haugh off a Rueben Chinyelu pass narrowed it back down to two, 64-62, with 4:27 left.
The Gators took their first lead since the first half when Haugh loaded up a three from the right wing with 3:37 remaining to make it 65-64, but Missouri’s Trent Pierce got a second chance shot in the paint and one possession later, launched and nailed a wide open three. Florida kept coming back, cutting the Missouri lead to 71-69 on a pair of free throws by Fland with 48.9 seconds left and 3-point play on a driving layup and free throw by Haugh with five seconds left that brought the score to the final 76-74.
When the Tigers’ Mark Mitchell bricked two foul shots with 4.3 seconds remaining, the Gators still had life, but Fland’s last second heave from just inside halfcourt hit the rim.
The comeback was almost the prescription the Gators have waited to be filled all season long, but like their four previous close calls, it wasn’t to be. This was a loss that left a sour taste not so much because of the shooting since that has been problematic all season, but all those missed opportunities to secure a rebound or take possession of a 50-50 ball. Also all the fouls that sent Missouri to the line for 30 free throws. Fortunately for the Gators, Mizzou misfired 12 times, which aided the comeback attempt. Of course, the Tigers made 18. Florida, on the other hand, shot 20 foul shots and made 15.
Technically speaking, the three extra makes at the foul line gave Missouri the final margin but it was more than that. The Gators came into the game the nation’s No. 1 rebounding team, but the final totals were 37 rebounds apiece. Some of that had to do with the zone, but some of it was Florida’s lapses of aggression on the backboards.
“We were playing on our heels a little bit against the zone, and we weren't able to get six feet in the paint, which is something that we strive to do on every possession,” Golden said. “That was kind of the main thing for me. I thought that prevented us from getting more. We got 13 offensive rebounds. My bigger frustration was on the defensive glass. We gave up 11 [offensive rebounds], and I think seven in the second half and some big ones that really cost us.”
Missouri’s success with the zone is likely to be repeated over the 17 SEC games remaining on the schedule the next two months as opponents figure to go heavy zone. Teams will dare the Gators to make shots and if the shots aren’t falling, it will be up to the Gators to win the battle on the backboards and dominate the paint.
Until they make shots and dominate in the paint, Florida’s version of “Groundhog Day” is likely to continue. There is no question the Gators have the talent to be the best team in the Southeastern Conference, but they have to make shots, avoid the defensive lapses and above all else, win the rebounding battle.
Game notes: The Gators already have more losses (5) in 14 games than they had in 40 when they won the NCAA championship a year ago with a 36-4 record … Haugh finished with a game-high 24 points. He was 2-9 from the field in the first half, but went 7-11 in the final 20 minutes. He finished the game with seven rebounds and an assist … Despite foul trouble that included three of the offensive variety, Condon had 14 points, five rebounds and six assists … Xaivian Lee scored 11. Chinyelu had eight points, eight rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot … Micah Handlogten scored four points, grabbed six rebounds and blocked two shots.
Next up for the Gators is Georgia (13-1, 1-0 SEC) Tuesday night at the O-Dome.
SEC BASKETBALL
Saturday’s scores
No. 11 Vanderbilt (14-0, 1-0 SEC) 83, South Carolina (10-4, 0-1 SEC) 71: Tyler Tanner scored 19 points including 10-10 from the foul line to lead five Vandy players in double figures as the Commodores remained the only unbeaten team in the SEC. Tanner also had 14 assists. Elijah Strong led South Carolina with 17.
No. 14 Alabama (11-3, 1-0 SEC) 89, Kentucky (9-5, 0-1 SEC) 73: The difference in this game was at the 3-point line where Alabama hit 15-38 while holding Kentucky to 4-19. Aden Holloway, who hit 6-8 of his threes, led the Crimson Tide with 26 points. Otega Oweh led Kentucky with 22.
No. 18 Arkansas (11-3, 1-0 SEC) 86, No. 19 Tennessee (10-4, 0-1 SEC) 75: The freshman duo of Darius Acuff Jr. and Meleek Thomas combined for 47 points to lead the Razorbacks. Acuff had 29 points, three rebounds, four assists, one steal and one blocked shot. Thomas, who hit 3-4 of his 3-pointers, had 18 points, three rebounds, three steals and two blocked shots. Tennessee, which was led by Amari Evans’ 16 points, was only 12-23 from the foul line.
No. 23 Georgia (13-1) 104, Auburn (9-5) 100, OT: Jeremiah Wilkinson hit two critical threes in overtime as Georgia held on to get the win. Wilkinson, who scored 31, hit 4-10 of his threes, while Smurf Millender went 5-7 from the 3-point line as part of a 22-point effort. Auburn was led by Tahaad Pettiford, who scored 25.
Texas A&M (11-3, 1-0 SEC) 75, LSU (12-2, 0-1 SEC) 72: Rashaun Agee scored 15 points and grabbed 22 rebounds for the Aggies, who had four double figures scorers. LSU played without leading scorer Dedan Thomas Jr., who suffered an injury in practice. The Tigers were led by Mike Nwoko, who scored 21, and Max MacKinnon, who had 20.
Oklahoma (11-3, 1-0 SEC) 86, Ole Miss (8-6, 0-1 SEC) 70: Xzavier Brown hit 3-3 from the 3-point line while scoring 23 points and Mohamed Wague had 10 points, 15 rebounds and three blocked shots to lead Oklahoma. Patton Pinkins led Ole Miss with 25 points.
Mississippi State (9-5) 101, Texas (9-5) 98, OT: Josh Hubbard’s two free throws in overtime sealed Mississippi State’s win over Texas. Of Hubbard’s 38 points, 12 came from the foul line on 15 shots. For Texas, Dailyn Swain scored 34 points and grabbed 14 rebounds.
Tuesday’s games
No. 23 Georgia (13-1) at No. 22 FLORIDA (9-5)
Texas (9-5) at No. 19 Tennessee (10-4)
South Carolina (9-5) at LSU (12-2)
Texas A&M (11-3) at Auburn (9-5)
Wednesday’s games
No. 14 Alabama (11-3) at No. 11 Vanderbilt (14-0)
No. 18 Arkansas (11-3) at Ole Miss (8-6)
Missouri (11-3) at Kentucky (9-5)
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Oklahoma (11-3) at Mississippi State (9-5)
Our bench stinks compared to last year when we had instant energy and toughness from Tommy and Denzell. Todd said preseason "our first two of the bench will be Micah and Urbs". I hoped he would change his mind come SEC time. Micah has zero offensive game, you cant pass the ball to him with his back to the basket. When Earl Monroe's knees hurt so bad, he would practice shooting sitting in a chair even on the floor. Has Micah practiced shooting FTs this way? He is no good defensively either unless you count putting both hands up like a statue and arrive late every dang time. He is a liability in league play its like Coach Golden thinks…
Other teams will now use the zone defense. Gators can't win of they can't make 3's. Pretty simple.
They shot 38% better from three-point range than we did. Boogie Fland went 2-10 and 0-6. Last year, we had an NBA-caliber back court. That freed the bigs to be great. This year, we don’t. We’re the gang that can’t shoot straight.
Florida’s issues coincided with Alex Condon’s going to the bench with a 3rd foul. Condo’s face wore a look of surprise on each offensive foul called. At the time he was off to a fast start with a made trey to open the game and nine points. He brings offense to the glass and rim much more effectively than Reuben or Micah. The officiating gave the Tigers a boost. That’s certainly not the whole reason for our loss, though it was unmistakably a contributing factor. But we also really miss our three stellar guards from a year ago and maybe Aberdeen, too.
Very frustrating!