Gator Hoops Fall to South Carolina, 82-76

There is no defense for the free throw. That’s the story of Florida’s 82-76 loss to South Carolina in Columbia Saturday afternoon when the Gamecocks went to the line for 13 free throws during a 4-minute stretch of the second half when the entire complexion of the game shifted.

The Gators (20-9, 10-6 SEC) had a 58-49 lead with 9:40 left in the game when the Gamecocks went on a 14-5 run to tie the game at 63-63 with 5:32 to go. Ten points, including the two from the line that tied the score came at the foul line. During that 4:08 stretch, the Gators committed eight personal fouls, turned the ball over four times and went 2-5 from the field, 0-0 from the foul line.

Once the Gamecocks pulled even with Florida, it was a struggle for the Gators on both ends of the court. The combination of South Carolina’s ability to score at the line, too many Florida fouls and numerous empty was the deciding factor. When the final horn sounded, Florida’s mathematical shot at an SEC championship had been eliminated. The best the Gators can do now is 12 regular season SEC wins. South Carolina (24-5, 12-4 SEC) remains in the hunt for the title. The Gamecocks are a game behind league-leader Tennessee (23-6, 13-3 SEC), an 81-74 winner over Alabama (20-9, 12-4 SEC) Saturday night.

Free throws were the difference for the Gamecocks. They were 10-13 from the foul line during that critical 4-minute stretch and 16-22 in the second half. For the entire game, South Carolina was 23-31 at the line compared to Florida’s 12-15.

The differential at the line was an obvious source of irritation for Florida coach Todd Golden.

“They shot 31 free throws tonight, we shoot 15,” Golden said. “It’s going to be really hard to beat a top 25 team on the road with that disparity. I think both teams were really physical trying to get downhill and in the paint, but they shot 22 free throws in the second half, we shot 10. That’s just a really big delta to try and close.

“I have to do a better job teaching my guys to defend without fouling. Obviously, these other teams that we’re playing are doing a better job of defending without fouling.”

The Gators shot the ball well enough to win. Florida outscored the Gamecocks from the field 66-59, hitting 27-56 overall and 10-23 from the 3-point line. South Carolina was 25-53 from the field, 9-24 from the 3-point line. What happened at the foul line was just too great an obstacle for the Gators to overcome.

Another issue for the Gators was ball security in the second half. Eight of Florida’s 12 turnovers for the game came in the second half. Those empty possessions were a killer because the only way the Gators could have countered South Carolina cashing in at the foul line was to get shots up.

“South Carolina is physical,” Golden said. “They do a good job playing the ball, and if you’re not strong with it you’re going to put yourself in situations where they can take it. We were trying to kind of knife our way through the zone a little bit, and they’re long, they’re active. We just weren’t playing well in those tight spaces, and that led to most of those turnovers in the second half.” 

Florida’s inability to protect the ball and score with any consistency in the final minutes was partly due to South Carolina switching to a 1-3-1 zone. Against the man-to-man, it was a free-flowing game that saw the Gators lead, 37-31 at the half thanks to a 10-3 run at the end fueled by back-to-back 3-pointers by Walter Clayton Jr.

The Gators picked up where they left off in the first eight minutes of the second half, taking a 56-46 lead with 12:29 to go on a pair of free throws by Zyon Pullin. Clayton hit a pair of threes in the first eight minutes as the Gators were on the verge of breaking the game wide open. After Alex Condon hit a pair of free throws with 11:29 remaining that made it a 58-49 game, the Gamecocks shifted to a 1-3-1 zone that gave the Gators fits.

The zone caused ball security and ball movement issues, but the barrage of foul calls also took the Gators out of any rhythm. Golden didn’t think the Gators did a very good job of attacking the zone.

“I thought it was obviously a good move, just to try to change the pace for them a little bit,” Golden said. “We just weren’t aggressive enough attacking it. We were just moving it a little too much side-to-side at the top, got it down early to the corners and had a turnover or two, which I think made us play on our heels a little bit. Really good length at the top with Zach Davis, and he does a good job playing that ball using his legs to kick a couple balls and just disrupting the top. We’ve got to be more aggressive attacking it. With that being said, we weren’t that aggressive and we turned it over a lot, so we really just didn’t attack it very well at all.”

After South Carolina punched out a 70-68 lead with 3:24 to go, the Gators made a few shots, but they also turned the ball over four times. Empty possessions on offense combined with an inability to get stops on the defensive end were Florida’s undoing.

The Gators got a 3-pointer from the corner by Riley Kugel with 1:56 to go that cut South Carolina’s lead to 72-71. One possession later, Clayton nailed another three to tie the score at 74-74 with 1:15 left, but the Gators couldn’t get stops nor any whistles in their favor and the game slipped away.

Clayton hit six 3-pointers and finished the game with 20 points, but he was charged with six turnovers and the Gators were -19 when he was on the court. He didn’t try to deflect responsibility for his ball security issues.  

“I turned the ball over too much,” Clayton said. “Us not getting shots up, that’s on me.”

Without Clayton’s offense, the Gators wouldn’t have had a shot at winning once the momentum of the game shifted to South Carolina. Fewer turnovers and maybe Florida would have pulled out a win.

“It was a little give-and-take today,” Golden said. “He was a little loose with the ball. Walter is one of the best shooters in college basketball. He has the ability to beat a defense even if they play really good coverages and execute what they’re trying to do. I think he did that for a majority of the night and took the air out of the gym with some of the 3s that he hit. Again, that’s what makes him a special player. He’s a great contested jump shooter and does a really good job of stopping on a dime, creating space and lifting up into his jump shot. He hit some big ones for us tonight.”

This is a game the Gators will need to flush from their memory. Alabama comes to the O-Dome Tuesday night and while the Gators are out of the SEC title picture, they still have a shot at a double-bye at the SEC Tournament. A win over Alabama and a road win over Vanderbilt to close out the regular season could get the double-bye, but it will take a little help for that to happen.

Game notes: Pullin scored 18 points to go with four rebounds, seven assists and a single turnover. Tyrese Samuel scored 13 with four rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocked shots. Kugel had 10 points, five rebounds, one assist and one steal. Freshman Thomas Haugh had nine points, six rebounds and two assists.

SEC BASKETBALL

Saturday’s scores: No. 18 South Carolina (24-5, 12-4 SEC) 82, No. 24 FLORIDA (20-9, 10-6 SEC) 76; No. 4 Tennessee (23-6, 13-3 SEC) 81, No. 14 Alabama (20-9, 12-4 SEC) 74; No. 11 Auburn (22-7, 11-5 SEC) 78, Mississippi State (19-10, 8-8 SEC) 63; No. 16 Kentucky (21-8, 11-5 SEC) 111, Arkansas (14-15, 5-11 SEC) 102; Ole Miss (20-9, 7-9 SEC) 84, Missouri (8-21, 0-16 SEC) 78; LSU (16-13, 8-8 SEC) 75, Vanderbilt (8-21, 3-13 SEC) 61; Texas A&M (16-13, 7-9 SEC) 70, Georgia (15-14, 5-11 SEC) 56

Tuesday’s games: No. 14 Alabama (20-9, 12-4 SEC) at No. 24 FLORIDA (20-9, 10-6 SEC); No. 11 Auburn (22-7, 11-5 SEC) at Missouri (8-21, 0-16 SEC); Ole Miss (20-9, 7-9 SEC) at Georgia (15-14, 5-11 SEC)

Wednesday’s games: No. 4 Tennessee (23-6, 13-3 SEC) at No. 18 South Carolina (24-5, 12-4 SEC); Vanderbilt (8-21, 3-13 SEC) at No. 16 Kentucky (21-8, 11-5 SEC); Mississippi State (19-10, 8-8 SEC) at Texas A&M (16-13, 7-9 SEC); LSU (16-13, 8-8 SEC) at Arkansas (14-15, 5-11 SEC)