UF forward Keith Stone, like the rest of his teammates, found the real estate tough to come by in the paint against 17th-ranked Florida State and 7-foot-4 center Chris Koumadje
Seminoles Take Gators to the Woodshed Again
Wednesday, November 7, 2018 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — From Florida's standpoint, the 2018-19 season-opening road date at rival and 17th-ranked Florida State — fresh off its run to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament — presented an opportunity to learn instantly whether the Gators had taken strides in their toughness and physicality, as well their development in the front court, after being completely overmatched by the Seminoles 11 months ago.
Well, consider Tuesday night an opportunity lost, along with a game lost; one that was never really even competitive.
"I'm a little bit shellshocked," UF coach Mike White said after FSU outdid its 17-point road rout of a year ago with an 81-60 thrashing at Tucker Civic Center. "[The margin] was 21, it could have been 40. As a head coach, I don't think I've taken a bigger butt-whipping than that."
Then came this line.
"They were really good," White said of the Seminoles. "I certainly hope we're not that bad."
UF coach Mike White agonizes on the bench on the way to falling to 0-4 against FSU.
Senior guard PJ Savoy scored 20 points, with all his field goals coming on a 5-for-7 spree from the 3-point line, to pace 11 different FSU players into the scoring column. The Seminoles (1-0) shot 48 percent both overall and from the arc in racing to an 11-point lead at the half and swelling that margin to as many as 35 deep in the second half, thanks to 56 percent after the break, before a late UF flurry prevented what was on pace to be the worst loss ever suffered by the the Gators (0-1) in a series that dates to 1951.
Instead, it was just the worst since Florida State won 74-52 on Dec. 16, 1995 on a neutral floor in Orlando. And it was the fifth straight win by the Seminoles in the series, adding to a streak that coming in (at four in a row) already was their all-time best in a rivalry first contested in 1951.
"We just didn't play hard enough. They played more together and like they wanted to win it more," fifth-year senior swingman Jalen Hudson said. "We have to go back to the drawing board."
Just what White and his staff can scratch out on that board remains to be seen, but there's definitely room for growth after shooting just 37 percent for the game. That figure actually was way better than the 24 percent made in the first half, when the Gators went 6-for-25 — 2-for-10 inside the 3-point arc and 4-for-15 from distance — and fell back 31-20 at the break.
UF was hesitant to challenge FSU's perimeter defense, what with 7-foot-4, 268-pound Chris Koumadje (9 points, 5 rebounds) roaming beneath the basket. Florida's five front court players — starters Kevarrius Hayes and Keith Stone, plus reserves Keyontae Johnson, Dontay Bassett and Isaiah Stokes — combined for only 16 points.
While the Gators (forwards and guards) didn't find much success deep in the paint, that doesn't mean they shouldn't have taken a few more turns at least trying to get downhill and into the teeth of the defense.
"They definitely have size and made it tough to finish in there," Hudson said. "But we didn't attack the rim or put any pressure on them to make plays at the rim because we didn't drive it as much as we we should have."
Last year, when the Seminoles won 83-66 in Gainesville, they did so by bombarding the Gators on the glass, including 24 offensive rebounds, and by turning live-ball turnovers into run-out scores. This time, though, the battle on the glass was relatively even (FSU 33-30), turnovers were a wash (16-all), and so were transition points (6 each).
It came down to shooting.
Hudson, who averaged 15.5 points last season, went 3-for-10 and knocked down just one of his five 3s. Senior shooting guard KeVaughn Allen, looking to pick up his game following season lows in points, field-goal percentage and 3-point percentage last season, went scoreless for the fifth time in his career. Three years after ringing up the Seminoles for 32 in just his 12 collegiate game, Allen took just four shots in 23 minutes and grabbed one rebound.
"I've got to put him in a better position," White said of Allen and his latest mystifying MIA performance. "We'll put our heads together and find a way to get him going, but I'll tell you this: It starts with the Seminoles defense. Those guys are long and quick and tough — and unbelievably long with Kamadje on the court. And disciplined. It's no wonder they had the year they had last year."
Senior shooting guard KeVaughn Allen took just four field-goal attempts and went scoreless for the fifth time in his 107-game UF career.
UF got 13 points off the bench from sophomore guard Deaundrae Ballard, while heralded freshman point guard Andrew Nembhard braved the FSU pressure defense for 12 points, four assists and four turnovers.
"We just put a lot of pressure on the ball, gave him a lot of problems," FSU guard Terance Mann (9 points, 9 rebounds) said of Nembhard. "Kind of took him out of the stuff that they run."
Nembhard buried a 3-pointer off a screen from the top of the key for the game's first basket. UF led 6-2 when the Seminoles ran off eight straight points — and never trailed thereafter.
Never were threatened, either.
White's halftime chat, Hudson said, focused on chipping away at the lead, not trying to do too much, sharing the ball, and being men.
FSU needed less than 90 seconds to take the lead from 11 to 17. Like that, game over.
"We're just starting to figure out who we are," said Seminoles coach Leonard Hamilton, who was without burly starting power forward Phil Cofer and still won going away. "We played a good basketball game against a good basketball team. But we still have a long way to go. We don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves."
Neither do the Gators; as in putting too much stock in one bad game against one very good team, on the road, and with some young players (four, to be exact) getting their first taste of action at this level.
Florida is back on the court Friday night for its home opener against Charleston Southern.
"College basketball is 31 games and then the postseason. You don't have time," White said of the notion of wallowing too long in season-opening misery. "Boy, I would hope our guys would be ready to get back in the gym and get ready to work."
With 30 games and then postseason, they have no choice.
