Desert Heat: Florida’s Title Defense Takes Opening Hit vs. Arizona
No. 13 Arizona upset No. 3 Florida 93-87 Monday in a fast-paced, physical top-15 matchup to start the season.
Florida was inches away from tying the game at 88 a piece with 45 seconds to play. Florida guard Boogie Fland picked off the Arizona inbound pass and had a wide open corner 3-pointer to tie the game but came up short. Fland’s backcourt partner Xaivian Lee had an opportunity in the same spot to make the game 91-90 with 15 seconds, but also could not find the bottom of the rim.
“Listen, we’re in a tough spot,” Gators coach Todd Golden said postgame. “We had a chace to tie the game with 30 seconds to go, and then we had another opportunity, one possession later here with another wide-open three to cut it to one. So I’m super disappointed we lost but the reason why we played this game was to give ourselves a really good opportunity to get a quality win.”
What ultimately cost the Gators was their inability to hit clutch shots. With Walter Clayton Jr. gone, one of the biggest questions for the defending champions was who would be the guy when they needed a bucket. Thomas Haugh was sensational in his new role at the three, leading the team with 27 points and hitting 12 of his 14 free throws. However, Florida was unable to put the pull throw the net when it really needed it.
The Gators shot 7-for-27 (26%) from 3, while Arizona only made two of five attempts from beyond the arc. Florida shot 43% from the field, just not enough to beat an Arizona team that dominated in the paint. For a team that made its identity off the 3-pointer last season, Florida will have to use this loss as a learning experience for shot selection.
Arizona guard Jaden Bradley put the team on his back late in the second half, scoring nine points in a row when Florida was threatening only down 75-72 with less than six minutes to play. Bradley made multiple acrobatic layups over Florida bigs who had over eight inches of height on him. He would finish the game with 27 points and 5 assists.
“Jaden Bradley stepped up in the second half. I thought we did a poor job keeping him from getting downhill, going to his right hand,” Golden said. ” (He) made some tough finishes, and then, similar to Peat, we sent him to the line 10 times. They did a good job coverting on those opportunities, and (I) talked to the team in the locker room. You can’t send a team to the line 38 times.”
With four returning national champions in Florida’s frontcourt, five-star freshman Koa Peat was the best big on the floor. He is the first freshman in Arizona history to have 25 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. The 18 year old owned the free throw line, imposing his will physically finishing over the Florida defense with midrange jump shots and post moves. AP All-American Alex Condon did not have an answer to Peat, who looked like the stronger player.
“I think our bigs, as a group, we know we need to be the best frontcourt in the nation this year,” Golden said. “We can’t let somebody like that come out here and score 30 points on us. It’s not acceptable, and it won’t happen moving forward”
Florida Comes Out Firing
In the first seven minutes of the game, Florida looked like it upheld its national championship standards. X Lee set the tone early, drilling a wide-open three and finishing a reverse layup for the team’s first five points. Fland and Urban Klavzar added tough finishes and transition layups, with key seals down low to shield Arizona defenders from Florida bigs. The Gators were at their best when pushing the pace, and Florida jumped to a 32–20 lead behind crisp pick-and-pop action and off-ball cuts between Condon, Haugh and the backcourt.
What killed Florida momentum was Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd’s defensive adjustments. Instead of having his defenders sag off the pick and roll, which was allowing alley oops and open pull ups for Florida, he doubled the ball handler. The height of Peat and Tobe Awaka rattled the ability to create for Lee and Klavzar.
Lackluster Frontcourt Play
The narrative of Florida’s preseason was the dominance of its frontcourt, which was not on display in the season opener. Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu got outplayed on both sides of the floor for 40 minutes. Both ended up fouling out late in the game, due to not moving their feet and hacking on defense. In the first half, they were a combined 3 for 10 from the field. Condon finished with 11 points and eight rebounds, while Chinyelu had four points and one rebound. Ultimately, Arizona was the more physical team.
A silver lining performance was Micah Handlogten, who made winning plays in 23 minutes of play. He finished with a double double of 11 points (5 for 5 from the field) and 12 rebounds. He was the only Florida big to play his size, doing what he did all of last year: make his prescense known with hustle on the offensive glass.
Up Next
Florida (0-1) will face North Florida Thursday in its home opener.
Category: Feature Sports News, Gators Men's Basketball
