Florida vs. Georgia score, takeaways: Gators continue on-court domination of No. 18 Bulldogs

Basketball

0

Image Credit: UAA

For the 13th time in the last 14 meetings, Florida Gators basketball prevailed over the Georgia Bulldogs. The Gators broke away in the second half to win their seventh straight showdown in Gainesville, Florida, taking down the newly minted No. 18 Dawgs in the first game since UF was bounced from the AP Top 25 this season.

Though Florida’s shooting struggles continued from the perimeter, it focused on more efficient offense over the latter 20 minutes, picking up a significant Quadrant 1 victory on the back of a devastating road loss to open SEC play over the weekend.

Let’s take a look at what went down Tuesday night inside the Stephen C. O’Connell Center with some Fastbreak Takeaways.

It was over when … the Gators exploded on a 12-1 run with 3-pointers by guards redshirt senior Xaivian Lee and sophomore Urban Klavžar to open a 21-point lead with 6 minutes to play. Though Florida entered the second half barely ahead of Georgia, the hosts used an extended 18-4 run — featuring eight points from sophomore G Boogie Fland — to break open a 12-point lead with 14 minutes remaining. All it had to do was protect its advantage from there.

First half focus: Florida scored 12 of its first 30 points via dunks, and ultimately, 78% of its scoring across the first 20 minutes came inside the arc. Junior forwards Thomas Haugh and Alex Condon combined for 26 points on 11 of 14 shooting, while Fland and Lee were held scoreless, going 0 of 7 from the field. Georgia lost its top rebounder and rim protector to a Flagrant 2 foul in the early going, but UF was unable to capitalize on the scoreboard, holding a single-point advantage at the break.

Exceptional efforts: Haugh and Condon followed through with their twin-tower effort, each posting a game-high 21 points. The former completed a double-double with 12 rebounds and five assists, while the latter posted eight boards. Klavžar was a crucial component from beyond the arc, hitting 3 of 7 shots from deep for 11 points as Florida’s third-leading scorer on the night.

Mired in mediocrity: Fland scored all eight of his points in a 3:34 stretch that helped the Gators break open the game. He also registered a team-high six assists and eight rebounds, ensuring that he contributed to the victory. However, he also fouled out of the game and committed a game-high three turnovers while again struggling with his shot. Fland went just 2 of 10 from the floor and 0 of 3 from beyond the arc. He has now missed 13 straight 3-pointers, shooting 19% from long range this season. There have been plenty of players who have gone through cold stretches in the orange & blue, but it’s tough to recall anyone playing this poorly for such an extended period without being injured.

Odds & ends: Florida improved to 127-104 all-time against Georgia with head coach Todd Golden holding a 6-1 record against ex-coach Mike White … an unranked Gators team faced a ranked Dawgs team for the first time since 1996 … UF improved to 9-1 wen leading at halftime, 10-1 when leading with 5 minutes left, 6-1 when shootin better than 45% from the field, 9-0 when outshooting an opponent, 4-1 when outshooting an opponent from downtown and 10-1 when attempting more free throws

What it means: The Gators picked up a much-needed win over a ranked opponent, but they did so with the Dawgs missing a key contributor. That changed the game on the interior as Florida dominated the boards (56-35) and paint scoring (58-38). UF scored 19 second-chance points on 22 offensive rebounds and had assists on 51% of its baskets, tied for their fourth-most in a game this season.

Florida entered the game ranked 356 out of 361 teams nationally in 3-point shooting (.280). Hitting just 6 of 25 triples in the game, its efficiency now stands at .277, bumping it down to 358th in the country. This is not a winning formula. The Gators are the worst-shooting Power Four team in the nation, nearly 3% worse than the next-lowest SEC team, South Carolina (.301).

What’s next? Florida will remain home through the week before hosting No. 21 Tennessee on Saturday. The game will tip off at noon ET and air live on ESPN. The Volunteers will be the fourth ranked opponent the Gators face this season, second in as many games.