Golden wants to see a better defensive effort against JU

Will Richard dunks in the second half against South Florida (UAA Photo)

Todd Golden wasn’t trying to be disrespectful to a very good South Florida team that 21st-ranked Florida (1-0) beat, 98-83, Monday night in Jacksonville, but the last thing he expected was for the Gators to find themselves upside down by 13 in the first half of the season opener.

“I wouldn’t have expected we were down 13 in the first half, you know, but we were in that moment and I thought it was a good sign that we didn’t blink,” Golden said Wednesday afternoon before the Gators hit the practice floor to tune up for tonight’s home debut with Jacksonville (1-0) at the O-Dome (8 p.m., SEC Network+). “We kept our head up, we weren’t pointing fingers, we weren’t making excuses we just kind of got back to it and obviously, Will (Richard) kind of got it going and that kind of opened it up for us.”

Richard went into a mini-shooter’s coma, sandwiching a driving layup between a pair of 3-pointers and then finishing the half with a fadeaway bank shot that pulled the Gators to within a single point (40-39) at the horn. He scored 15 more in the second half to finish with 25 while Walter Clayton Jr. led all scorers with 29.

“We got that thing back to where we were only down one at halftime so we were able to take a deep breath and go get it in the second half,” Golden said.

The Gators were much better offensively from the outset of the second half, but they couldn’t shake the Bulls until the final seven minutes when their relentless effort to drive the basketball to the rack took its toll. In a second half in which the Gators exploded for 59 points, they hit 15-29 of their 2-point shots and got to the foul line 29 times after just four in the first half.

It was a 13-0 run that expanded Florida’s lead from 63-62 to 76-62 that put the game away, all from drives to the basket and the foul line.

“Systematically, we don't want to have to rely on high percentage makes from three to score well,” Golden said. “Obviously, [we] want that to kind of be icing on the cake, and I think, you know, we saw a tale of two halves that way a little bit in terms of just our attack in the first half. I thought we settled a little too much, and we didn't get enough rim pressure. Obviously, we only got to the line four times I think in the first half and I credit our guys for being more aggressive, getting downhill and getting to the rim in the second half. And obviously we shot well from two, but we also got to the line 29 times in the second half, and just had relentless rim pressure. And that's really the way we want to play.

“So I think that speaks more about, you know, systematically, how what we're doing works when we attack it the right way. And, you know, we don't want to be living in that 25 percent (5-25 for the game) from three range ... I think we'll get better as the year goes on that way, but yeah, I was pleased with the result, considering we didn't shoot it great."

A year ago the Gators were great in shootout games, but this year Golden wants a better defensive effort. The first half when South Florida scored easily in transition and got just about any shot it wanted was like a repeat of last season. The Bulls found the range early and often from the 3-point line throughout the night, knocking down 13-27 of their 3-point shots.

They bombed away in both halves without much defensive resistance from the Gators. While the Gators continued to heat up in the second half, South Florida tested Florida’s defense on the perimeter. That’s something the Gators were set to work on Wednesday. Golden will take 98 points just about any day of the week, but he expects a much better defensive effort from the Gators this season.

"I think a couple of things defensively,” Golden said. “Transition defense, we had a stretch in the first half where we were really bad that way and that's been an area where our team has generally been pretty good, so we've got to be better that way. And then just guarding the 3-point line, limiting attempts. Those would be two things defensively that we've just got to improve upon.”

PROJECTED STARTERS FOR JACKSONVILLE

JACKSONVILLE (1-0): Zimi Nwokeji (6-7, 210, SR); Stephon Payne (6-9, 220, JR); Chris Arias (6-6, 205, FR); Zach Bell (6-2, 180, JR); Robert McCray (6-4, 186, JR)

FLORIDA (1-0): Rueben Chinyelu (6-10, 255, SO); Alex Condon (6-11, 230, SO); Will Richard (6-4, 206, SR); Alijah Martin (6-2, 195, GR); Walter Clayton Jr. (6-2, 195, SR)

SEC Basketball

Wednesday’s scores

No. 11 Auburn (1-0) 94, Vermont (1-1) 43: Georgia Tech transfer Miles Kelly hit 7-9 of his 3-pointers to lead Auburn past Vermont. Kelly’s 21 points led five Auburn players in double figures.

No. 16 Arkansas (1-0) 76, Lipscomb (1-1) 60: John Calipari’s debut as the Arkansas head coach was successful, led by freshman Boogie Fland, who had 17 points, three rebounds, three assists and a steal.

LSU (1-0) 95, Louisiana-Monroe (1-1) 60: Jalen Reed scored 24 points and Cam Carter scored 21 as LSU opened its season with a blowout win.

Thursday’s game

Jacksonville (1-0) at No. 21 FLORIDA (1-0)

Friday’s games

Grambling (1-0) at Ole Miss (1-0)

South Carolina State (1-0) at South Carolina (0-1)

Georgia State (1-0) at Mississippi State (1-0)

Arkansas State (1-0) at No. 2 Alabama (1-0)

Texas A&M-Commerce (0-1) at No. 13 Texas A&M (0-1)

Houston Christian (1-0) at No. 19 Texas (0-1)

Howard (0-1) at Missouri (0-1)

Saturday’s games

No. 12 Tennessee (1-0) at Louisville (1-0)

Bucknell (1-0) at No. 23 Kentucky (1-0)

No. 8 Baylor (0-1) at No. 16 Arkansas (1-0)

No. 11 Auburn (1-0) at No. 4 Houston (1-0)

Sunday’s games

Southeast Missouri State (0-1) at Vanderbilt (1-0)

Texas Southern (1-1) at Georgia (1-0)