Gators Hang On to Beat Bulldogs in SEC Opener

It was ugly but the Gators got a beautiful win over UGa.

Photo credit UAA

The good news about ugly wins is they look every bit as good in the won/loss column as the ones that are so beautiful the fan base raves about them. So, the good news for the Florida Gators is their dog’s butt ugly 85-80 win over Georgia in the second round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament has a certain beauty to it. After all, it was Florida’s 11th straight win over the Bulldogs dating back to 2019, the third this season.

Never mind that the Gators may have played their worst half of basketball all season when Georgia outrebounded them 23-20. Never mind that the Gators missed 18 free throws, 14 of them by Tyrese Samuel. Never mind that the Gators committed 26 fouls and that Zyon Pullin fouled out.

None of that matters. The Gators (22-10) won and that Thursday night win looks every bit as beautiful in the books as those wins over Auburn, Kentucky and Alabama during the regular season. What is important at this point of the year is securing a win no matter how you have to do it, then advancing to whoever and whatever is next. In this case, it’s a quarter-final game in the SEC Tournament against third-seeded Alabama (21-10).

The Gators split two games with the Crimson Tide this year, losing in Tuscaloosa in overtime while winning one of those aesthetically beautiful ball games in the rematch at the O-Dome. In the loss to Bama in Tuscaloosa, the Gators proved they belonged on the same floor with the Crimson Tide. In Gainesville, they proved capable of creating nuclear winter against Nate Oats and his band of long range bombers. The way the Gators destroyed Alabama in Gainesville (by 18 points) reminds us that the Gators should be 2-0 against the Crimson Tide. Tonight (9:30 p.m., SEC Network) the Gators will have a chance to prove once and for all they’re the better team.

For a good portion of the first half, playing Alabama a third time this year seemed a rather far fetched notion. Florida started strong and built a 9-point lead when Will Richard streaked down the court with a pass from Zyon Pullin for a layup to make it 21-12, but things began to unravel because Georgia went zone. Florida’s offense went stale and all four big guys seemed glued to the floor whenever the ball caromed off the rim. Not exactly a recipe for a nice outcome when the clock flatlines at game’s end.

It really shouldn’t have been close, but bad stuff tends to happen in multiples when you (a) don’t rebound, (b) defend like a matador, (c) shoot free throws as if you studied at the Shaquille O’Neal School of Fine Foul Shooting and (d) miss way too many wide open shots. When that’s happening in a one-and-done tournament, it’s probably good to have someone call the airport at halftime and make sure the jet is warmed up on the tarmac for a late night trip home.

The second half was far more representative of the way the Gators played all season and it started with a commitment to regain their rebounding mojo. Once the clock started ticking downward in the second half, the Gators were in beast mode on the glass and it proved the difference in the ball game. Florida didn’t shoot the ball that much better from the field (13-31 in the first half; 15-33 in the second), but the Gators extended possessions with 12 second half offensive rebounds. Every extended possession came in handy since Georgia actually shot better (16-34) in the second half than it did in the first (13-32).

Florida’s final 52-36 rebounding advantage was just further confirmation that Todd Golden’s plan to add four big guys ranging in size from 6-9 to 7-1, two from the portal and two in the freshman class, was a stroke of genius.

“The biggest difference was we got on the glass,” Golden said. “That was the biggest key. We had 16 total, so 12 offensive rebounds in the second half; was the difference of the game, really.”

Even with the dominance on the backboards, however, the Gators struggled to shake the Bulldogs, who led by as many as nine in the first half, by seven in the second. The closeness of the game had plenty to do with Florida’s inconsistency at the foul line. The Gators were fortunate to walk away with a win on a night when they were 23-41 on free throws. Make the free throws and it’s a blowout. Miss them with any measure of frequency and the outcome is dicey.

Rather than a lead at the half, the Gators trailed by three. It was remarkable that the score was that close considering Georgia hit 5-12 of its 3-point shots and Samuel was heaving up SCUDs at the rim from the foul line. Samuel was personally 1-8 and Florida as a whole was 4-13.

On most nights, you lose those games, but this wasn’t most nights. Golden stated after the game that he thought the Gators hadn’t played all that badly, so he went into the locker room with a positive message.

“Let’s take a deep breath, let’s calm down,” he told the Gators.

It must have worked because there was far more energy when the Gators took the floor after the half. It showed especially in the paint where Florida began to assert its size advantage.

Walter Clayton Jr., who scored 15 of his game-high 22 points in the final 20 minutes, said Golden made it abundantly clear the game would be won or lost on the backboards.  

“Coach made it very clear we was losing on the rebounding front,” Clayton said. “Obviously we was fouling a lot. Defend without fouling was the big thing, getting back on the boards.”

The Gators didn’t do such a great job defending without fouling (12 first half fouls, 14 in the second) but they were lights out on the backboards, especially Samuel, who more than made up for his lackluster first half by rebounding and drawing fouls. In the first half, Samuel had three points and five rebounds. In the second half, he took over in the paint.

Samuel scored 14 second half points and grabbed 10 rebounds, finishing the game with a 17/15 double-double. He continued to struggle at the foul line, but he gave the Gators a chance by at least hitting more than 50 percent (8-15). Teammates picked up the second half slack by going 11-13.

Florida kept threatening to bust the game wide open, but Georgia kept hanging around, capitalizing whenever the Gators made a mistake to keep the game in heart attack mode. It seemed a major coronary event was on the verge of happening when All-SEC point guard Zyon Pullin was called for a rather dubious offensive foul with 2:10 left to play and the Gators ahead by one silly point, 74-73. It was the first foul out of the season for Pullin, who has been a rock at crunch time all season long.

If a panic attack was imminent, however, no one sent the memo to Clayton, who got a steal, drove the rim, made the layup while taking a body blow by Georgia’s Silas Demary. At the line, Clayton finished off the 3-point play to make it 78-74 with 1:34 left. That free throw proved critical because it made it a 2-possession game.

Down the final stretch Georgia was able to close within three points on three separate occasions, but Florida kept the ever so slight two possession distance because Riley Kugel was absolutely nails at the foul line. His 6-6 at the line in the final 15 seconds was the lipstick that made this pig of a game downright beautiful from the Florida point of view.

“They were huge obviously,” Golden said of Kugel’s foul shots. “Goes without saying he did a good job against pressure making himself available, being strong with the ball, getting fouled. Sometimes you take it for granted when guys make free throws late, but those are huge. Every single one of them kept the game from being a one-possession game late, and the type of step-up effort that you need down the stretch to close out a game like tonight.”

A close call finish should have been expected since the Gators went overtime with Georgia in Gainesville and beat the Bulldogs by six in Athens. Georgia was good enough on all three occasions to hang with the Gators and make it pulsatingly interesting at the end, just not good enough to get the win. In coming out ahead in yet another close call win, the Gators showed they aren’t afraid of crunch time.

Now comes the hard part for the Gators, playing Alabama without as much as a day’s rest in between games. Win it and the Gators probably move off the No. 7 line in both Joe Lunardi and Jerry Palm’s brackets. Had the Gators lost it would have meant consecutive Quad 2 losses (Vanderbilt was the other) which could have dropped UF down to an eight or nine seed for the NCAA Tournament.

Make no mistake about it, this was about as ugly a win as the Gators have had all year but they won, advanced and kept their heads above water in the brackets. So, however ugly it was to the naked eye, it still looks beautiful as a W in the won/loss column.

Game notes: Five Gators scored in double figures. In addition to Clayton’s 22 (4 rebounds, 1 blocked shot, 3 steals) and Samuel’s 17, Will Richard had 17 to go with seven rebounds, Pullin had 11 points, five rebounds and eight assists and Alex Condon had 10 points and three rebounds. Kugel had eight points, seven rebounds, one assist, one steal and one blocked shot.

Florida’s 11-game winning streak over Georgia matches the longest streak the Gators have had over the Bulldogs in school history.

In his early morning bracketology, Joe Lunardi had the Gators still on the seven line but facing No. 10 Drake in Salt Lake City in a West Regional game … With wins by Mississippi State (over LSU) and Texas A&M (over Ole Miss), Lunardi projects eight SEC teams in his NCAA field of 68: No. 2 Tennessee (South); No. 3 Kentucky (Midwest); No. 4 Auburn (East); No. 4 Alabama (South); No. 5 South Carolina (Midwest); No. 7 FLORIDA (West); No. 10 Mississippi State (East); and No. 11 Texas A&M (First four/South).

Thursday’s games

Game three: Mississippi State (20-12) 70, LSU (17-15) 60Game four: No. 15 South Carolina (26-6) 80, Arkansas (16-17) 66Game five: Texas A&M (19-13) 80, Ole Miss (20-12) 71Game six: FLORIDA (22-10) 85, Georgia (17-16) 80

Friday’s games

Game seven: Mississippi State (20-12) vs. No. 5 Tennessee (24-7)

Game eight: No. 15 South Carolina (26-6) vs. No. 12 Auburn (24-7)

Game nine: Texas A&M (19-13) vs. No. 9 Kentucky (23-8)

Game ten: FLORIDA (22-10) vs. No. 19 Alabama (21-10)

COUNTDOWN TO FIRING DAY, BASKETBALL EDITION

Extinct species list

Chris Holtman, Ohio State: Dusty May of Florida Atlantic and Lamont Paris are the two names making the rounds, but Bruce Pearl’s name has been injected into the conversation. He wouldn’t leave Auburn, would he?      

Tony Stubblefield, DePaul: Shocker. It’s Chris Holtman as the replacement. Does this mean Bobby Hurley is staying at Arizona State?   

Lorenzo Romar, Pepperdine: This should be a good job but will they spend the money to make it so?  

Leonard Perry, Pacific: The Tigers haven’t made the NCAA Tournament since 2013. No matter who the new coach is, even sniffing the big dance will be a miracle.  

Mike Davis, Detroit Mercy: Bad facilities, bad pay and worst of all the replacement has to live in Detroit.

Kenny Payne, Louisville: Dusty May is the flavor of the week, but two new names to consider are Jerome Tang from K-State and Indiana State’s Josh Schertz.  

Mike Hopkins, Washington: A couple of names you might hear are Utah State’s Danny Sprinkle and Boise State’s Leon Rice.

Bryan Mullins, Southern Illinois: It wasn’t all that long ago that this was a good job. 

Dana Ford, Missouri State: The alums want Ben McCollum, who has won four DII national championships at Northwest Missouri State.

Don Morrison, Long Beach State: There was a time when the 49ers actually had a good program. It’s going to be a long hard road to get back because there’s no money to speak of.   

Travis Ford, Saint Louis: Starts big ends bad wherever he goes, but he will resurface somewhere.

Jerry Stackhouse, Vanderbilt: Keep an eye on former Xavier/Louisville coach Chris Mack.

Mike Boynton, Oklahoma State: This is actually a good job. A lot of good coaches will apply, but put your money on Doug Gottlieb, the former Okie State point guard and protégé of Eddie Sutton.  

On life support Juwan Howard, Michigan: The players want him to stay, but it’s time for him to go. The guy the alums want is Alabama’s Nate Oats, who was a Detroit prep coaching legend not all that long ago. His buyout is $20 million but money is not an object here.

Jerod Haase, Stanford: Hanging by a thread. Stanford will be joining the ACC next year which is a lot less forgiving than the Pac-12 has been. Goner barring divine intervention.  

Wayne Tinkle, Oregon State: He has survived. Somehow.   

Endangered species list

Andy Enfield, Southern California: He needs to go while the going is good. Always best to stay one step ahead of the jailer, especially when you just got your doors blown off by Arizona in the last Pac-12 tournament ever.  

Kyle Neptune, Villanova: Nova lost to Marquette so the heat is back on.