The Florida Gators went on the road to the freezing Fayetteville, Arkansas tonight; and after a slow start followed by an impressive and almost predictable comeback, the final score was 75-64, seeing Arkansas come out on top. This was their first win against UF at home since 2013, extending their six game in-conference win streak to seven. Adding a second sour loss to the Gators win-loss column in the last two weeks.
The Gators got off to a slow start in the first half, and normally you’d expect an energetic and ready to compete team, but the common phrase seemed to be “They are trying to knock the rust off.” When in reality, they should be running the floor with high intensity and readiness after thirteen days off; and when speaking with Colin Castleton, he expressed his disappointment with his first half leadership.
“Yeah, to be honest with you,” Castleton said. “I feel like I did a bad job in the first half of being a leader.”
Even though the team seemed to struggle most of the night, Castleton still finished with an impressive stat line consisting of 13 points, six rebounds, two blocks, and two steals.
When asked about his overall thoughts of the game and the slow start, Coach Mike White voiced his frustrations, saying “I was very displeased with our overall physical effort in the first half. We didn’t match Arkansas’ intensity and competitiveness level. I thought we did in the second half, but again down the stretch, we didn’t make the plays needed; but in the first 15 minutes of the second half, we were very competitive.”
As previously expected, the perimeter was guarded well. The Gators held the Razorbacks to 4-15 (26%) from behind the arc, but the paint was heavily exposed Tuesday night. The Razorbacks scored exactly 50% of their points down low, which kept the Gators from maintaining their composure. Not to mention the phenomenal job Arkansas did on defense. They held UF to 4-21 (19%) from three, 23-61 (37.7%) from FG, along with forcing 16turnovers.
Who: Florida vs Georgia
When: Saturday, Feb. 20 | 3:30 pm
Where: Stephen C O’Connell Center
TV: SEC Network
Tyree Appleby led the Gators in scoring in a return to his home state, scoring 16.
Colin Castleton also scored double figures with 13 points, including 5-for-5 from the free throw line.
Florida recorded six blocked shots, on track with the team’s nation’s-best 6.3 blocks per game average.
Florida had a tough night from 3-point range, shooting just 4-for-21 (.190), but was outstanding from the free throw line with a perfect 14-for-14 mark at the stripe. It marked the Gators’ most free throws made without a miss since hitting all 14 vs. Alabama on Feb. 8, 2003, and tied for the third-most all-time (record: 27, 1/8/94 at Tennessee).
#GatorsTerritory #Florida #complete #comeback #Arkansas
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