Instant Analysis: Florida suffers first SEC loss at South Carolina
In an ugly, defensive battle between ranked teams, No. 19 Florida (14-4, 5-1 SEC) faltered late as it suffered its first SEC loss of the season Wednesday night, a 57-53 defeat at the hands of No. 24 South Carolina (15-3, 5-0 SEC) in Columbia, S.C.
Notably, Florida went 0-of-17 from three-point range – its first game without a three-point bucket since January of 1992. That breaks a nation-best 850-game streak.
Instant Analysis now takes a closer look at Florida’s loss.
IT WAS OVER WHEN: After trailing by six with 4:33 left, Florida managed to cut its deficit to 52-51 with just under two minutes left after an and-one play by John Egbunu and a number of timely buckets by Canyon Barry.
However, the Gators failed to execute late.
After Barry was called for a charge, South Carolina guard Sindarius Thornwell was fouled on the other end by Egbunu and knocked down both of his free throws. Chris Chiozza responded with a floater on the other end to cut the deficit back to one with 40.3 seconds left, but on the other end Gamecocks guard P.J. Dozier drove to the lane and notched a layup for a 56-53 advantage.
Then, the Gators committed a costly turnover with 22.6 seconds left, when Chiozza mistimed a bounce pass to the baseline for Barry, who popped back out, and saw the ball fall out of bounds. Thornwell scored a free throw on the other end – and Barry missed two three-point attempts late as South Carolina escaped with a four-point victory.
THEY STOLE THE SHOW: Barry led the way for Florida with 13 points but just on 4-of-13 shooting. However, the graduate transfer guard kept Florida in the game late, with eight points in the final 6:07 of action. Senior point guard Kasey Hill finished with 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting to go along with four steals, but he fouled out late in the contest. He also committed three turnovers and went 1-of-3 from the foul line.
On South Carolina’s end, Thornwell took over, finishing with 20 points on 5-of-11 shooting (and a 9-of-13 clip from the charity stripe).
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* Parting Thoughts, Part II: Anzalone shares thoughts about teammates
* Q&A: Stricklin discusses Florida’s recruiting, upcoming facilities projects
* Was perfect visit enough to sway R100 Hunter
* C.J. McWilliams Redshirt Report
* Robinson forms bond with Franks while on official visit
* Recruit Reaction: Summers leaving for Louisville
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THESE STATS DON'T LIE: Florida went 19-of-54 (35.2%) from the field, without a make from three on 17 attempts. The Gators also didn't fare well from the foul line, going 15-of-28 (53.6%). Florida shot just 7-of-23 in the second half after starting off the period 1-of-14.
Meanwhile, Florida outscored South Carolina in the paint 38-20 but lost the rebounding battle 41-37.
Both teams combined for more fouls (55) Wednesday than Florida had points (53). It's the second straight foul fest for the Gators, who combined for 49 fouls with UGA last Saturday in an overtime thriller. Good ol' SEC referees in action.
WHAT A PLAY: Devin Robinson threw down an impressive two-handed slam – one of the highlights of an extremely ugly first half – to tie things up at 13-13 at the 7:36 mark. Once Hill dished it off to Robinson, he drove to the hole and scored on a pretty dunk over two South Carolina defenders.
THE BOTTOM LINE: Florida had a tough challenge on its hands against South Carolina, the No. 1 team in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency per KenPom.com - and one of the most disruptive groups nationally when it comes to forcing turnovers. It was an ugly affair all night and a defensive battle between both teams - and you have to give the Gators some credit for stepping it up on that end.
However, it wasn't a good showing by any stretch for the Gators on the offensive side of the ball. Florida struggled to hit shots from deep and reverted back to its old free-throw woes. The Gators need to clean that up before Saturday.
NEXT UP: Florida will play two of its next three games on the road. After hosting Vanderbilt on Saturday in the O’Dome at noon in a matchup that’ll air on CBS, the Gators will face LSU on the road next Wednesday night at 9 p.m. ET (SEC Network) and then travel to Oklahoma for a 2 p.m. ET contest on Jan. 28 for the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
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