Gators Guard Chiozza Named SEC Player Of The Week

Florida Gators junior guard Chris Chiozza has been named SEC Player of the Week. The honor comes following Chiozza’s  triple double performance during Thursday’s 93-54 win against Missouri. He finished the night with 12 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. Chiozza also made his presence known in the historic 88-66 victory over Kentucky on Saturday. He led the team with nine assists. Chiozza was tied for the team high in rebounds with nine for the night, all of which coming on the defensive side of the floor.

.@Chiozza11 is the @SEC Player of the Week! pic.twitter.com/A6LC1jynh3

— Gators M-Basketball (@GatorsMBK) February 6, 2017

Gators on the Boards

Chiozza’s rebounding effort helped the Gators in manhandling the Wildcats on the boards. The Gators out rebounded the Wildcats 54 to 29. The Gators recent four game winning streak is thanks in large part to the domination in the rebounding category. Three of the last four games saw the Gators totaling over fifty rebounds (50 against Oklahoma, 56 against Missouri, and 54 against Kentucky). The majority of these rebounds have come defensively. In the last two home wins, the Gators had more defensive rebounds than both Missouri and Kentucky had the entire game. Head coach Mike White attributed Saturday’s win to the team’s focus on the defensive boards.

Making the Highlights

Chris Chiozza’s numbers were a big reason why he got SEC Player of the Week. His SportsCenter Top 10 worthy assist also helped his case. One of Chiozza’s nine assists made the packed O’Connell Center crowd rise to their feet. Early in the second half, Chiozza took off after a missed dunk by De’Aaron Fox and executed a behind the back pass to a trialing Devin Robinson, who slammed it down to finish the break. The play put a stop to the small Kentucky push back to start the second half.

And the other O'Dome rocking DUNK! pic.twitter.com/yRgcL2Jmhl

— Gators M-Basketball (@GatorsMBK) February 5, 2017

What’s Next

After a successful home stand, the Gators hit the road, once again. The destination this time around will be Athens, Georgia and the opponent being the Georgia Bulldogs. The last time these two teams met was back on January 14 in the O’Connell Center. The Gators and Bulldogs needed overtime to come up with the 80-76 win. The Gators and Bulldogs will continue their rivalry on Tuesday with tip-off at 7:00 p.m.