Gators beat GW by 10 but Golden wants to see more consistency

Xaivian Lee loads up a 3-point shot in the first half against GW (UAA Communications photo)

SUNRISE – Todd Golden has this unwritten rule that there are no apologies necessary whenever the Gators win a basketball game by 10 or more points, no matter the opponent. So, no apologies were forthcoming after 18^th-ranked Florida (6-4) played well enough to knock off the George Washington Revolutionaries (8-4), 80-70, in the annual Orange Bowl Classic at Amerand Bank Arena. 

“As I told the guys, we’re never going to be disappointed with a 10-point victory but I do think we have a lot that we need to continue to improve upon, a lot in the areas that we say doesn’t require a lot of talent,” Golden said.

Inconsistency has been a problem all season long. The Gators could just as easily be 10-0 right now as 6-4 and it goes beyond the obvious shooting problems – the Gators were 6-27 from the 3-point line against GW and they’re only making 26.8 percent of their threes for the season. Shooting problems have a way of working themselves out. What Golden is talking about when he says things that don’t require a lot of talent are lapses in focus, decision-making and defensive intensity.

All those inconsistencies were on full display Saturday. During those stretches when the Gators were good, they were very, very good. But, when they lost focus, which happened more than once, they allowed a good GW team to remain close. With half a month and three games against what should be outmatched opponents before the schedule turns exclusively to the Southeastern Conference, Golden has a chance to iron out the problem areas.

One issue that seems to have found resolution is the play of Xaivian Lee, whose two games during the week totaled 44 points, 12 rebounds, nine assists and four steals. He followed up his 20-point outburst against UConn with 24 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals against GW. Mired in a shooting slump all season, Lee drilled four threes in eight shots. One of his four misses defied gravity when it somehow popped out and another just hung on the rim, so it was close to a 30-point effort.

Lee was selected the game’s MVP. If there was a runner-up it had to be Tommy Haugh, who had what has become a typical game for him with 19 points and seven rebounds. But the outstanding play of Lee and Haugh was overshadowed by those stretches in which focus was hard to come by.

There was a first half in which the Gators played defense at such an intense level that they should have led at the intermission by 10-15 points instead of 30-27. The problem was that after Haugh and Lee opened the game by nailing their first 3-point attempts, the Gators became enamored with launching threes. Of their first 14 shots, 12 were from long distance.

If there is an open, uncontested shot to be taken, Golden wants the Gators to let it fly, but he also expects them to make a decent percentage. GW was willing to concede the 3-point line while packing the paint to try to prevent Florida from overwhelming them with their size.

“I thought first half we got off to a good start, got a little lead and then we started allowing our misses on the offensive end to affect the overall quality of our play,” Golden said. “So, just talking through that, we actually kind of hit our goals at halftime. We had five kills in the first half, which means you get three stops in a row. We got five of those. Our goal is four for the first half. I think we were plus eight on the glass at halftime, or something along those lines … plus seven maybe? So we were on track that way and we had only five turnovers, so we were doing a lot of good things that way.

“We just weren’t putting the ball in the basket. We were 4-for-19 in the first half from three. We were 4-for-10 from the foul line. So we were up three, probably played to the level of being up close to 10 and we weren’t.”

Then came the second half. The first seven minutes of the second half Golden saw the team he needs if the Gators expect to make a run at a second straight NCAA championship. The Gators dominated a very good team at both ends of the court as that 3-point lead stretched out to 14 before GW even scratched.

The lead swelled to 20 (54-34) on a Boogie Fland alley oop to Micah Handlogten with 12:30 left in the game. GW was teetering on the verge of a flameout, but the Gators lost focus. Again.

“I think we got up 18 or 20 with 12-1/2 minutes to go and then we just weren’t able to mentally hold ourselves accountable enough to finish possessions defensively and get shots on the rim on the offensive side. And, you know, we can’t be content being up 20 at that point. I kind of sound like a hard ass saying that, but we got to win that game by 25 for me to be satisfied with our performance … we gave them life and let them back in the game a little bit, so it wasn’t the effort that we expected in the last 10 minutes.”

The Gators were ahead by 18, 61-43, with 6:49 left in the game when they had another lapse in intensity. It showed up particularly on the defensive end where GW suddenly found the range from the 3-point line and at the foul line. GW outscored the Gators 27-19 and twice cut the deficit down to eight points. With 5.8 seconds remaining and Jean Aranguren at the line there was an opportunity to narrow matters down to six but he bricked two of three free throws.

Florida finished off the Revolutionaries with a pair of free throws from Lee with 4.5 seconds to go, ending a decent, but inconsistent performance. It was far from spectacular, but it was a win against a very good team that has the talent and ability to make the NCAA Tournament in March.

Still, Golden knows the Gators can be better. They have to get better.

‘We’ve got to be willing and able to knock down wide open shots from the perimeter,” Golden said. “That’s just a non-negotiable at this level if you want to be a championship level team and we have not done that well enough consistently, but we still have a really high floor and ceiling because we’re capable of being a very good defensive team. We’re capable of being physically imposing on the glass and we should be a better ball handling team than what we’ve shown at this point.”

The Gators will play Saint Francis Wednesday night at the O-Dome.

SEC BASKETBALL

No. 1 Arizona (9-0) 96, No. 12 Alabama (7-3) 75: Arizona, which trailed Bama at the half, 41-39, outscored the Crimson Tide 57-34 in the second half. Arizona outrebounded Alabama 52-32. Labaron Philon Jr. led Alabama with 24 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.

No. 15 Vanderbilt (10-0) 83, Central Arkansas (4-7) 72: Tyler Nickell bombed in eight 3-pointers and finished with 30 points as Vandy took down Central Arkansas.

No. 17 Arkansas (8-2) 93, No. 16 Texas Tech (7-3) 86: Travon Brazile had a double-double (24 points, 10 rebounds), while Darius Acuff Jr. and Karter Knox each scored 20 as Arkansas withstood a 30-point, 11-rebound night by JT Toppin.

No. 21 Auburn (8-3) 92, Chattanooga (5-6) 78: UCF transfer Keyshawn Hall had 24 points, 11 rebounds and six assists while Tahaad Pettiford knocked down five 3-pointers to lead Auburn past Chattanooga.

Oklahoma (7-3) 85, Oklahoma State (9-1) 76: Oklahoma got 21 points from Xzayvier Brown and 18 from Nijel Pack to hand Oklahoma State its first loss of the season. The Sooners outrebounded OSU, 46-36.

Georgia (9-1) 84, Cincinnati (6-4) 65: Despite a dismal 4-21 night shooting the 3-ball while losing the rebounding battle 41-37, Georgia still blew the doors off Cincinnati. Blue Cain led the way for Georgia with 22 points, five rebounds and five assists.

Ole Miss (6-4) 71, Southern Miss (6-5) 67: Ole Miss shot nearly 50 percent (24-49) and AJ Storr scored 21 as the Rebels outlasted Southern Miss to break a 4-game losing streak.

South Carolina (7-3) 71, The Citadel (3-8) 55: Despite a miserable, 3-23, night shooting the 3-pointer, South Carolina blew out The Citadel. Meechie Johnson led the way with 19 points.

Kentucky (7-4) 72, Indiana (8-3) 60: The Wildcats outscored Indiana 40-21 in the second half to score a come-from-behind win. Kentucky shot a miserable 3-15 from the 3-point line, but the Wildcats held Indiana to 4-24.

LSU (9-1) 89, SMU (9-2) 77: UNLV transfer Dedan Thomas had 16 points, two rebounds, 12 assists, two blocks and two steals as LSU improved to 9-1.

Mississippi State (5-5) 82, Utah (7-4) 74: Ja’Borri McGhee came off the bench to score 30 points on a 5-7 shooting night from the 3-point line to lead Mississippi State to an upset over Utah.

Today’s games

Bethune-Cookman (3-6) at Missouri (9-2)

Jacksonville (5-5) at Texas A&M (7-3)