Senior forward Dorian Finney-Smith's final home game as a Gator will be Tuesday night against Kentucky in a must-win situation if the Gators want to reach the NCAA Tournament.
Gators Must Prove They Belong -- and Cats Stand in Way
Tuesday, March 1, 2016 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- It was 24 days ago that the Florida Gators boarded a charter flight to Lexington, Ky., with a 15-7 overall record and 6-3 Southeastern Conference mark. They'd won five of six, including a rousing blowout of West Virginia the weekend before, and were as confident as they'd been all season.
Then they got Rupped. And Murrayed. And Ulised.
Just plain Wildcated.
Over its storied history, Kentucky has embarrassed many an opponent, especially at home. On Feb. 6, the Wildcats ambushed the Gators, undressed them, stole their lunch money, however you want to put it. The game was basically over before it began, with the Cats taking a 19-point lead barely six minutes in on the way to an 80-61 wipeout that easily could have been worse. Tyler Ulis, maybe the best point guard in the nation, suffocated counterpart Chris Chiozza from the tip. Jamal Murray, a lottery-pick-in-waiting, made a mockery of UF's defense, raining in his first seven 3-point shots on his way to 35 points. Florida's starting backcourt went 2-for-14 from the floor.
Florida, its players and coaches, had no answers.
"We all had a tough day up there," Coach Mike White said.
The carry-over has been pronounced. Since that game, the Gators (17-12, 8-8) have careened into a tailspin of five losses in seven games, including three straight, and along the way lost the defensive edge that carried them through the multitude of scoring droughts that have been a running theme with this squad all season. Well, here come the No. 22 Wildcats (21-8, 11-5) all over again and in the hunt for yet another Southeastern Conference title, this time into the O'Connell Center in a game that will mark the final home game for out-going senior forward Dorian Finney-Smith.
"We have to get back to doing what we'd been doing," Finney-Smith said. "Playing defense."
UF went to UK earlier this month ranked fourth in the league in defensive field-goal percentage (.392) and second at defending the 3-point line (.312). In the seven games since, opponents have shot 44.5 percent overall and 44.9 from the arc. In the five losses during that span -- home against Vanderbilt and Alabama, on the road at Kentucky, South Carolina and Saturday at LSU -- the Gators have given up 47.3 percent from the floor and 47.1 from deep.
Now, throw in a rash of turnovers. Florida's point guard play pre-Kentucky showed 169 assists to 75 turnovers. That's well over a 2-to-1 ratio. Post-UK, Chiozza and Kasey Hill, combined, have dished 44 assists versus 34 turnovers and they'll be the first and second ones to tell you that has to be better.
On Monday, White pointed a finger at himself relative to the slippage on defense.
"I put that on myself. [We're] searching. Searching offensively, getting a ton of shots [and] the emphasis has probably moved toward offense too much," White said. "We've spent an inordinate amount of time shooting free throws, running dry offense by shooting a ton of jump shots, individual offense, skill development. [On Sunday], 100 percent of the practice was defense and we'll spend a lot more time on defense as well. I guess it's always a balancing act and we've got to get back to defending at a high level to give ourselves a chance."
Finney-Smith, the team's scoring and rebounding leader all season, will be honored before the game. Two years ago, Finney-Smith was named SEC Sixth Man of the Year on a team that won 30 straight games. Their calling card? Yeah, defense.
He knows what good guarding looks like. The Gators have been great at it oftentimes this season -- as recently as two weeks ago in a big road win at Georgia -- and they have virtually no chance to win (regardless of the foe) unless they're really good at it again.
"We're not going to outscore any team," said Finney-Smith, who could have rolled out Saturday's loss at LSU as an example, considering the Gators shot 55.5 percent and scored 62 points in the second, yet lost 96-91. "Our defense, when we get stops, gives us a better chance of winning. When we don't get stops, we can't rely on us making jumpshots because we're an up-and-down offensive team. But we can control our defense."
Only their NCAA Tournament lives depend on it.
Twenty-four days ago, when they left on that Kentucky road trip, the Gators were in great shape as far as an at-large berth. Three games ago, they were in pretty shape, also. Now, as sophomore forward Devin Robinson said after Saturday's setback in Baton Rouge, "We just need a win."
And they need it against, of all teams, Kentucky.
"We have to prove we belong," Finney-Smith said.
Then they got Rupped. And Murrayed. And Ulised.
Just plain Wildcated.
Over its storied history, Kentucky has embarrassed many an opponent, especially at home. On Feb. 6, the Wildcats ambushed the Gators, undressed them, stole their lunch money, however you want to put it. The game was basically over before it began, with the Cats taking a 19-point lead barely six minutes in on the way to an 80-61 wipeout that easily could have been worse. Tyler Ulis, maybe the best point guard in the nation, suffocated counterpart Chris Chiozza from the tip. Jamal Murray, a lottery-pick-in-waiting, made a mockery of UF's defense, raining in his first seven 3-point shots on his way to 35 points. Florida's starting backcourt went 2-for-14 from the floor.
Florida, its players and coaches, had no answers.
"We all had a tough day up there," Coach Mike White said.
The carry-over has been pronounced. Since that game, the Gators (17-12, 8-8) have careened into a tailspin of five losses in seven games, including three straight, and along the way lost the defensive edge that carried them through the multitude of scoring droughts that have been a running theme with this squad all season. Well, here come the No. 22 Wildcats (21-8, 11-5) all over again and in the hunt for yet another Southeastern Conference title, this time into the O'Connell Center in a game that will mark the final home game for out-going senior forward Dorian Finney-Smith.
"We have to get back to doing what we'd been doing," Finney-Smith said. "Playing defense."
UF went to UK earlier this month ranked fourth in the league in defensive field-goal percentage (.392) and second at defending the 3-point line (.312). In the seven games since, opponents have shot 44.5 percent overall and 44.9 from the arc. In the five losses during that span -- home against Vanderbilt and Alabama, on the road at Kentucky, South Carolina and Saturday at LSU -- the Gators have given up 47.3 percent from the floor and 47.1 from deep.
Now, throw in a rash of turnovers. Florida's point guard play pre-Kentucky showed 169 assists to 75 turnovers. That's well over a 2-to-1 ratio. Post-UK, Chiozza and Kasey Hill, combined, have dished 44 assists versus 34 turnovers and they'll be the first and second ones to tell you that has to be better.
On Monday, White pointed a finger at himself relative to the slippage on defense.
"I put that on myself. [We're] searching. Searching offensively, getting a ton of shots [and] the emphasis has probably moved toward offense too much," White said. "We've spent an inordinate amount of time shooting free throws, running dry offense by shooting a ton of jump shots, individual offense, skill development. [On Sunday], 100 percent of the practice was defense and we'll spend a lot more time on defense as well. I guess it's always a balancing act and we've got to get back to defending at a high level to give ourselves a chance."
Finney-Smith, the team's scoring and rebounding leader all season, will be honored before the game. Two years ago, Finney-Smith was named SEC Sixth Man of the Year on a team that won 30 straight games. Their calling card? Yeah, defense.
He knows what good guarding looks like. The Gators have been great at it oftentimes this season -- as recently as two weeks ago in a big road win at Georgia -- and they have virtually no chance to win (regardless of the foe) unless they're really good at it again.
"We're not going to outscore any team," said Finney-Smith, who could have rolled out Saturday's loss at LSU as an example, considering the Gators shot 55.5 percent and scored 62 points in the second, yet lost 96-91. "Our defense, when we get stops, gives us a better chance of winning. When we don't get stops, we can't rely on us making jumpshots because we're an up-and-down offensive team. But we can control our defense."
Only their NCAA Tournament lives depend on it.
Twenty-four days ago, when they left on that Kentucky road trip, the Gators were in great shape as far as an at-large berth. Three games ago, they were in pretty shape, also. Now, as sophomore forward Devin Robinson said after Saturday's setback in Baton Rouge, "We just need a win."
And they need it against, of all teams, Kentucky.
"We have to prove we belong," Finney-Smith said.
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