AT THE BUZZER
No. 17 FLORIDA 72, GEORGIA 60
WHAT HAPPENED: The 17th-ranked Gators took their winning ways back on the road, dealing the Bulldogs a defeat at Stegeman Coliseum to capture a fifth straight victory as well as a sweep of the regular-season series against their rivals to the north. Junior guard
Chris Chiozza came off the bench to lead four teammates into double figures with 15 points and four rebounds, while senior point guard
Kasey Hill added 12. Forward
Justin Leon had 10 points and seven rebounds. Backup forward
Canyon Barry had 11 points, five rebounds and continued his run of consecutive made free throws with four more, giving it 35 straight. UF came out hot, opening a 16-point point lead at 30-14, only to watch UGA go on a 15-0 tear to pull within a point and eventually tie the game late in the period. Florida though used seven straight points to begin taking the lead out early in the second half, with a 3-pointer by Barry giving the Gators their double-digit lead again at the 14:29 mark. The closest the Dogs got after that was six. Georgia's star upperclassmen, forward
Yante Maten and point guard
J.J. Frazier, had 37 of their team's 60 points.
WHAT IT MEANS: That five-game winning streak now includes three on the road. Beating a veteran team and desperate team like Georgia in its building and winning a third game in just six days is no small feat. The Gators are on a roll.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: The day after being named SEC Player of the Week, Chiozza had another outstanding performance. He didn't have a bunch of assists (only 2), but he did the floor general thing and was terrific on defense, finishing with four of the team's six steals. When he bombed in a 3-pointer with just under two minutes to go it put UF up by 14, Chiozza raised his hands in triumph.
STAGGERING STATISTIC: At the final media timeout, Georgia had just four field goals in the second half. At that point, the Bulldogs were 4-for-25 from the floor, then managed to scratch out a few more buckets late to finish 8-for-31 (25.8 percent) for the period, including just 1-for-8 from deep. For the game, UF held UGA to 33 percent for yet another dazzling defensive display.
UP NEXT: Florida (19-5, 9-2) returns home this weekend to face Texas A&M (12-10, 4-6) noon Saturday at Exactech Arena. The game already is a sellout. The Aggies are a far cry from the senior-laden crew that won a share (along with Kentucky) of the SEC regular-season title in 2016 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. As of Tuesday night, A&M was in a four-team logjam at ninth in the league standings, with a home game Wednesday night against last-place Missouri.
