This week, the hometown Florida Gators came back to the Stephen O’ Connell Center for their matchup against rival Georgia, winning today’s matchup, 70-63.
Florida has won four-straight vs. Georgia and swept the season series four times in six seasons.
"Every win is big, but we needed this one to get back on track after our last two," said Tre Mann. "We have to play the same way we played and get another win."
The Gators got off to a hot start in the first half, shooting 50% from behind the arc, scoring 37 points, shooting 48% from FG, 80% from the charity stripe, and rebounded the ball 19 times as well.
They shared the ball well on offense, which was led by Noah Locke. He played 12 of the 20 minutes in the first half, accumulating nine points, two rebounds and one steal. Locke also sealed his name in Gators’ history with those nine points, making him the ninth player in school history to knock down 200 three-pointers.
“It means a lot," Locke said about the accolade. "I mean, I feel like it’s definitely something that I should be proud of. It’s definitely a big accomplishment.”
The Gators shared the ball well on offense, finishing the game with nine assists, but slowed down a little bit going into the second half. They shot 45% from the field but still continued to struggle playing defense in the paint seeing Georgia score 40 points down low.
“Paint touches can be deceiving,” said Mike White, “Staying in front of the ball one-on-one without fouling, we struggled with it throughout the year, but in the first half I thought we did pretty well.”
Up Next:
Who: Florida vs Auburn
When: Tuesday, Feb. 23 | 9:00 pm
Where: Auburn Arena | Auburn, Alabama
TV: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, Gator Sports Network
Notes:
- Florida has won four-straight vs. Georgia and has swept the season series four times in six seasons under Mike White. It also marked the Gators’ ninth win vs. Georgia under White, the most vs. any opponent during his tenure.
- Noah Locke hit three three-pointers, bringing him to 201 for his career. He became the ninth Gator to reach 200 career made three-point field goals and the first to join the club since KeVaughn Allen.
- It also marked the fifth time in the past six games that Locke has made three or more three-pointers.
- Colin Castleton scored a team-best 14 points off the bench, marking his eighth consecutive appearance scoring in double figures and 11th in his past 12 games played.
- Ques Glover scored a season-high 11 points, shooting 4-for-5 from the field.
- Florida won despite committing 20 turnovers, the first time the Gators have done so since Nov. 14, 2012, vs. Wisconsin.
