Mick's Quicks -- Men's Hoops vs Terps
Tuesday, December 10, 2002 | General
The Gators have enjoyed some much needed time away from the court this week. After playing their first 8 games in a 20-day period, the Gators have Monday and Tuesday off. They return to the practice floor Wednesday in preparation for the defending National Champion Maryland Terrapins on Saturday.
The Gators knocked off two previously unbeaten state rivals last week (Florida State 58-57 and South Florida 68-52) after suffering an upset loss in West Virginia. The two- point defeat marred Brett Nelson's homecoming and resulted in Florida dropping to 14th in this week's Associated Press rankings.
This is the first time since the season began that the Gators will have three days practice time before a game. It could not have come sooner. Five of the top nine players are in their first year. The Gators have already faced their first mental hurdle of the season. The games have gotten in the way of any fine tuning. The offense has slumped as result. The Gators have averaged only 64 points over the last three games. Halfcourt execution has suffered from lack of practice. The injuries have hurt the Gators' depth and that has made it difficult to extend fullcourt pressure with consistency. Free throw shooting is at a Billy Donovan era low of 61.5 percent.
The Florida defense has been a constant. The Gators have held opponents to 60.5 ppg while limiting teams to 39.9 field goal shooting. West Virginia's 47 percent shooting and Kansas' 73 points have been the best totals by a Gator opponent. Florida is second in the SEC at 9.9 steals per game.
Freshman Matt Walsh (15.4) leads four players in double figure scoring. Matt Bonner (4.9) leads in rebounding while David Lee (63.5) leads in field goal percentage. Justin Hamilton leads in assists (36) and has been the team's best defender. Freshman Anthony Roberson leads with 20 three-pointers.
The Gators (6-2) will be playing their fifth straight game on a different court when they play in the brand new Comcast Center Saturday. Maryland (4-2) avoided a three-game losing streak Sunday when the Terps beat George Washington 93-82 in the third place game of the BB&T Classic at the MCI Center. Last year's NCAA champions had lost last week in overtime to Indiana and then to unranked Notre Dame.
We invite you to turn down your TV sound and join us for all the action on the Gator Radio Network. The pregame show starts at 1:30 pm ET. The broadcast can be heard worldwide on the web at Gatorzone.com.
