Free throws plagued the Florida men’s basketball team down the stretch as the Connecticut Huskies rallied from a 13-point deficit to put away Florida 63-59 at the O’Dome on Saturday afternoon.
The loss ends the non-conference portion of Florida’s regular season schedule as the Gators fall to a 7-6 record heading into SEC play.
With the Gators down by one with 39 seconds remaining, Alex Murphy missed two crucial free throws that could have had Florida tie or take the lead.
After two made free throws from U-Conn senior guard Ryan Boatright to stretch the lead to three, Florida big man Chris Walker also missed two free throws from the charity stripe with 21 seconds remaining.
The Gators combined to go an abysmal 8-for-20 (40%) from the free-throw line while the Huskies went 17-for-20 (85%).
“I thought our inability to rebound the ball in crucial situations hurt us (and) I think obviously the free throw line at the end of the game hurt us,” said Florida head coach Billy Donovan. “A lot of times when you are young, when you step into a program you think you can win by osmosis and it doesn’t work like that.”
“Right now, we don’t do enough things on a consistent basis to put ourselves in a position to win,” Donovan added.
Florida was able to contain Boatright to 14 points on only 2-of-11 shooting but allowed three other Connecticut players to reach double-figures as well.
Sophomore center Amida Brimah was a brick wall at the rim all night long. While receiving credit for only two blocks, his presence in the paint made life difficult for the Gators. Brimah also came down with 10 rebounds.
Dorian Finney-Smith led the way for the Gators with 19 points, five rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Michael Frazier II could not find his groove shooting only 3-for-10 for eight points.
“You take three guys in particular from last year’s team (Frazier II, Finney Smith, and sophomore point guard Kasey Hill) and you’re asking those three guys right now to do a lot of heavy lifting and I think it’s been overwhelming for them to able to do that game-in and game-out, day-in and day-out in terms of what really goes into winning.”
Up next, the Gators will open up SEC play when they travel to South Carolina on Wednesday.
To listen to audio from the quotes above, click below:
Donovan on the main concerns he saw in the second-half
Donovan says his team needs a more competitive mindset moving forward
Donovan says Doe-Doe, Hill, and Frazier have struggled to lead this team