Florida Gators

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas — The subject was free-throw shooting, but Coach Mike White's post-game answer Wednesday could just as easily been applied to all facets of the Florida basketball program.

"I don't think we're a team with a bunch of swagger, right now," White said. 

Rightfully so. There wasn't much to get swaggy about during UF's 65-60 loss to Oklahoma in first-round action of the Battle 4 Atlantis. Facing their toughest opponent since taking a season-opening beatdown at Florida State, the Gators, to their credit, fought back from a double-digit first-half deficit to take a second-half lead, but didn't show much poise or make the necessary plays down the stretch when opportunities arose to seize momentum. 

OU point guard Aaron Calixte hit two free throws with five seconds left to ice the game after the Gators (2-2) failed to convert on a third consecutive possession while trailing by three, with the last of those scoring chances coming when KeVaughn Allen (10 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists) tried a baseline drive, looking for contact, but could not converted a contested layup. 

At least that was a closely guarded play, as opposed to some of the missed layups and bunnies around the block the Gators could not convert. The kind the Sooners (4-0) put in repeatedly.

The loss dumped UF into the tournament's loser bracket to face Stanford (2-2), which was beaten 62-46 by Wisconsin in the other early game.

OU senior guard Christian James scored 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds, backup guard Rashard Odomes straight-lined drove the UF defense to death for 11 points, center Jamuni McNease posted his way to 11 more, and forward Brady Manek had six points, 10 rebounds and two steals. The Sooners shot just 39 percent for the game in large part because they missed 14 of 18 shots from the 3-point line, but 18 of their 21 makes from inside the arc came in the paint. They also rocked undersized Florida on the glass, 48-34.  

"You just have to fight and come up with the rebound," UF reserve forward Dontay Bassett said. "In the game of basketball, sometimes that favors them." Bassett, the redshirt sophomore, came off the bench to lead UF with 14 points and four rebounds, playing the best all-around game of his career. Fourth-year junior forward Keith Stone had 10 points and seven rebounds. The Gators only shot 39 percent overall, yet had their best outing of the young season from the arc (11 makes and 39.3 percent), only to torpedo their comeback hopes with an atrocious 3-for-11 effort from the free-throw line, including 1-for-5 in the second half. Allen, whose career free-throw percentage is 87.9, missed both his attempts. Stone missed all four of his. Freshman point guard Andrew Nembhard (6 points, 6 assists, 2 steals, 1 turnover), went 1-for-3 from the line, including a bounced front end with 1:49 to go and his team down three.

What happened? 

"It just comes down to focus and confidence," Stone said. 

Ah, there's that C-word. 

The Gators are not a confident team, right now. Far from it. It's evident in their body language and certainly in their play.

Take fifth-year senior swingman Jalen Hudson. UF's leading scorer from a season ago at 15.5 points per game not only fell short of that number for the fourth time in as many games this season, but his four points on 2-for-8 shooting (and 0-for-4 from deep) were the second-fewest in his 41 games as a Gator.

"Confidence is a big issue with this team right now, and that's something we've got to get to the bottom of," White said. "I don't think free throws were the only factors where that showed. We had six or eight basketballs go through our hands because we're playing a little bit too fast. Missed layups. Missed tip-ins. Some of it is playing hard, 'cause my guys played hard and fought for each other, but you have play more confidently." 

Interestingly enough, it was a rotation of mostly young, backup players — Bassett, freshman guard Noah Locke (9 points, 3-for-6 from 3) and freshman forward Keyontae Johnson — who jump-started the Gators and helped erase an 11-point OU lead in the first half. Five different UF players hit 3-pointers during a 17-6 run that eventually tied the game at 30 with just over a minute to go before halftime. UF went to the locker room down two, 32-30.

Seven straight points just after the break had the Gators up three, but that's when they hit a cold snap and the Sooners surged ahead with an 11-0 run and eight-point lead. The margin was nine with three and a half minutes left when Allen and Locke both hit 3s to make it a one-possession game. 

That's when UF got a key defensive stop and Nembhard was fouled, only to miss the front end. The Gators got another stop, but Allen was long on a 3 for the tie. And they got yet another stop, but OU grabbed the offensive rebound and ran more clock before Bassett came up with a steal with 32 seconds left and one last chance. 

With nothing working, the Gators called a timeout with 14.6 left, but out of the stoppage failed to get a 3-pointer off, with Allen opting for the drive, instead.

Calixte, confidently, sank his free throws at the other end.  

In two cracks against high-major opponents (FSU and Oklahoma), Florida has managed 60 points in each game. 

"I never would have thought on November 21st that I'd be sitting here talking about how inefficient we are offensively — and we're probably better defensively than I thought we were going to be in the summer," White said. "I have to find a way to help these guys, but they've also got help themselves by staying in the game, getting into more of a flow, by being good in other areas; being aggressive, making good decisions."

And doing it all with some conviction. And, preferably, with some swagger.