UF coach Todd Golden (left) is keeping it positive with his players after exiting a stretch of four close losses, three of them against teams currently ranked among the top five in the country.
SUNRISE, Fla. – The shortcomings so far have been obvious. They begin with extremely poor — among the worst nationally — 3-point shooting. The Florida Gators have also been careless with the ball and inconsistent defensively in the paint, particularly with excessive fouling.
This combination of issues — along with others (see below) — has left UF with the roughest start for a defending college basketball national champion in more than a decade. UF coach Todd Golden remains confident that progress is coming, but until then, the straightforward and fitting cliché made famous by Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells applies:
You are what your record says you are.
And right now, the Gators (5-4) are in need of wins, beginning Saturday when they take on George Washington (8-3) in what has become a biannual matchup in the Orange Bowl Classic at Amerant Arena. UF has now completed the most grueling stretch of its pre-Southeastern Conference schedule, traveling to Las Vegas, San Diego, North Carolina, and New York City to endure four defeats that, with a key play or timely break, could just as easily have been victories.
[Read senior writer Chris Harry's "Pregame Stuff" setup here]
The mistakes made against Arizona (now ranked No. 1 nationally), a defense-first program like Texas Christian (renowned for forcing turnovers and converting them into points), powerhouse No. 4 Duke (in the team’s first trip to Cameron Indoor Stadium in 27 years), and most recently No. 5 Connecticut (the winningest program of this century, playing on its regional home floor) have left the Gators in their current situation.
That said, there are no Koa Peats, Cameron Boozers, or Alex Karabans looming between now and New Year’s Eve. Instead, after facing GW on what should be a relatively friendly semi-neutral South Florida court, the Gators will finally return home — for the first time since Nov. 21 — to take on Saint Francis, Colgate, and Dartmouth before shifting focus to their SEC opener at Missouri on Jan. 3.
"Collectively, we're all disappointed that our record's not a little better right now, but I think you'd have to be really soft-minded to not realize that we've competed against really good teams and been in a position to win or play down to the last second against the teams that, over the first two months of the year, people would argue are probably top-five, top-six teams in America," Golden said. "So, you could focus on the negative of not getting to the finish line and what our record is or focus on the fact that we've played some really good ball in a lot of areas. Again, we're not in a position where we've played our best and we're just not quite good enough, and having to kind of balance that disappointment."
CHARTING THE GATORS: Second quarter woes
In each of the three defeats to programs currently ranked in the Associated Press Top 5 (Arizona now sits at No. 1), UF has opened with energy but faltered during the closing 10 minutes — the so-called "second quarter" — of the first half. It’s a recurring issue that belongs on the fix-it list before the Gators begin Southeastern Conference play in January.
| Opponent | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| vs No. 13 Arizona (Las Vegas) | plus-10 | minus-16 | minus-1 | minus-1 | L 93-87 |
| at No. 4 Duke | even | minus-12 | plus-7 | plus-4 | L 67-66 |
| vs No. 5 Connecticut (at New York) | plus-7 | minus-14 | plus-8 | minus-4 | L 77-73 |
| Total point differential per "quarter' | plus-14 | minus-42 | plus-14 | minus-1 | Record: 0-3 |
And now, they have to move forward.
Next play, as the saying goes.
Those four missed chances can’t be changed, but they can be studied and corrected. The most urgent priority is improving shot-making, as the Gators are hitting just 27.3% from three-point range this season. That figure ranks 343rd nationally and last among the 79 power-conference programs.
Since the NCAA introduced the three-point line in 1986-87, no Florida team has ever finished below 30% from beyond the arc.
"We were one of six on our open threes [against UConn]. We have to be better than that. We have to at least make two and you would expect to make 50% of those," Golden said. "Again, that's a little bit of the difference in the game. So, I focus on getting good [shots]. Hopefully, we start making more of them. But that's a little out of our control. Again, we want to make sure we take better care of the ball, which I thought we definitely did that. And defend without fouling better, which I thought we did a much better job with that."
Email senior writer Chris Harry at chrish@gators.ufl.edu. Find his story archives here.
