All good things must come to an end and that was the case with Florida’s SEC winning streak in men’s basketball.
The Gators fell in a deep hole early and never recovered, falling to Georgia 73-61 in Athens on Saturday afternoon. Florida is now 10-7 on the season, 3-1 in the SEC.
The loss snaps their 24-game conference win streak. Florida tasted conference defeat for the first time since March of 2013 when Marshall Henderson led Ole Miss to an SEC Tournament championship win over the Gators.
Florida struggled from the tip-off as Georgia scored 12 unanswered points to start the game. The Gators didn’t get their first points until almost five minutes into the first half.
Despite shooting 50% from the floor (24-for-48), the Gators were unable to take care of the rock, committing a season-high 19 turnovers in the contest.
“This game is a microcosm of our team,” said Florida head coach Billy Donovan. “The hardest thing for younger players is to be consistent day in and day out, what comes with that is maturity.”
Junior Dorian Finney-Smith, perhaps Florida’s most consistent player coming into the game, was limited to 11 points on 5-for-13 shooting and six rebounds. Freshman Devin Robinson also contributed 11.
The Gators were no match for a veteran-laden Bulldog team that started two seniors and two juniors. Marcus Thornton produced an efficient 16 points on 7-for-8 shooting. Sharpshooter Kenny Gaines added 16 points as well, hitting 4-of-5 shots from behind the arc.
Georgia improves to 11-5 on the season, 2-2 in conference play. The win over Florida adds to their list of impressive victories this year. The Bulldogs have beaten Kansas State and Seton Hall as well.
Up next, Donovan and company will regroup as they look to start a new win streak on Tuesday night when they host LSU.