Having gotten the art of blowing opponents out of the water down pat, the Gators tried their hand at winning the other way: with great defense, guts and willpower.
And they did.
On an afternoon in Starkville where Florida enjoyed few positives other than Kasey Hill eclipsing the 1000 point mark, the Gators lowered their heads and powered past a game Mississippi State squad for a 57-52 road win. It marked Florida’s seventh straight victory over MSU, but more importantly, keeps the Gators locked up with Kentucky atop the SEC standings.
It was also Florida’s eighth straight win, though this certainly looked nothing like the team that began that streak or even pushed it to seven last Tuesday.
The lack of John Egbunu’s presence was obvious, even with a terrific game by Kevarrius Hayes. MSU felt comfortable in dishing the ball off into the post and letting their big men go to work. And they did, to the tune of 36 points in the paint. Only because Hayes blocked four shots and forced a turnover did the Bulldogs not have more.
But Florida’s perimeter defense was outstanding. The Bulldogs could muster just ten points from the field outside of the paint (and free throw line) and that averages out to a miserable 36.1% shooting night from the floor. MSU connected on just two of the 23 three balls they attempted, a testament to Florida’s quick defensive reactions as well as MSU simply being cold.
Meanwhile, Florida’s entire offense was stuck in reverse for much of the afternoon, and that’s putting it kindly. The lack of ball movement, bad shot quality and an array of foolish turnovers- issues that plagued the Gators in their brief two game tailspin last month- that were on display throughout prevented Florida from opening up the kind of big lead many probably thought they should have, even on the road.
Despite the lopsided odds the Gators forced themselves to face, Florida drove ahead 45-33 midway through the second half thanks to some stray threes here and there from Chris Chiozza, one from Canyon Barry, and ten big rebounds from Devin Robinson. They then proceeded to score just 12 points over the last 12:03 of the contest, a head scratching drought that allowed MSU to climb back into the game and eventually tie it on an inside feed from Quinndary Weatherspoon to Aric Holman for an earth shattering dunk. Truth be told, it felt like Florida was going to lose, and deservedly so.
Luckily, Hayes wouldn’t let them.
With 1:57 to go and the game tied at 52, Hayes tracked down a blocked shot, took some shoves underneath the backboard, identified where he was, went up strong and laid it in. Mississippi State would have one final chance to tie it in the waning seconds, but Weatherspoon’s last gasp three fell short and the Gators put the game away with a couple of free throws. And thus, Florida had the win.
That Florida scored precisely half the points they scored against Auburn on Tuesday will be what this game is remembered for by most. But what’s easy to lose sight of is that the Gators found a way to win a game that they probably didn’t deserve to win. Any team can win games when they shoot the lights out from three point land, but this team proved to have an added dimension. And that added dimension makes them a formidable foe come March.
You can no longer accurately label the Gators as hot and cold, streaky, or anything else that implies they can be really good or really bad. (As a team, not their three point shooting.) Sure, some nights will yield better performances than others, but Florida has now put together a pair of wins in the span of five days that could not be any farther apart in style. The fact that the Gators can shape shift and play the kind of style needed to win well enough to actually get the win- or more accurately in this case, overcome a really weak offensive showing to get the win- increases the list of teams they’d be a “bad matchup” for in the NCAA Tournament.
Essentially, the Gators were given chance after chance to buckle under the pressure and lose. Instead, they buckled down in pressure packed moments and won. And in a game like today’s, that’s more than you could realistically ask for.
