Next-Day Takeaway

NEXT-DAY TAKEAWAY
No. 18 Tennessee 62, Florida 57
Three leftover thoughts from Wednesday's loss at Knoxville.

1) On Tennessee's second possession of the game, Volunteers guard Jordan Bone was set up on the right wing, defended by Florida guard KeVaughn Allen, when he tried to bounce an entry pass into the block for forward Admiral Schofield, who was guarded in the post by Egor Koulechov. On the pass, Koulechov got enough of a hand into the play to knock the ball away and send it rolling toward the corner. A 50-50 ball. Schofield vs. Allen. Schofield extended his right arm into the side of Allen, who instantly begged out of the play. Schofield then gathered the ball, jab-stepped, took two bounces into the lane past Koulechov and a digging Allen, and hit a jumper. That pretty much summed up a completely disengaged night for Allen, who over 29 minutes attempted just three shots (two of them 3-pointers), did not get to the free throw line, grabbed two rebounds, had one assist and turned the ball over twice. When it was over, Allen had failed to score for the first time in 84 games, dating to Jan. 12, 2016 of his freshman season at Texas A&M. Not that this is breaking news, but something has happened to the player who was first-team All-Southeastern Conference in 2017. This is no longer about how Koulechov or Jalen Hudson, the Gators' arriving transfers this season, taking away scoring opportunities for Allen. The truth is, Allen has taken away Allen's scoring opportunities by a lack of aggressiveness that has the UF coaches and his teammates baffled, given he has the blessing of his head coach to shoot the ball whenever he wants. Allen is averaging 7.4 points over the last five games, and that's with a 19-point outburst in the loss to Georgia. For the season, Allen is shooting 36 percent from the floor and 32 percent from the 3-point line for the season. In SEC play, Allen is averaging 1.7 rebounds per game. He's playing 31 minutes per game. Someone who plays that many minutes and doesn't score, needs to find a way to impact the game. The Gators, already saddled with scoring issues inside, basically played 4-on-5 at Tennessee in a five-point loss. They needed something from their preseason All-American, but Tennessee's physicality took him out of the game early. Allen, whose basketball skills are unquestionably the best on the team, will be challenged by the coaching staff heading into those final, pivotal three games. How he responds is anyone's guess.

2) Florida scored just 18 points in the first half, tying a season low for a period this season. The Gators then scored 39 in a second half that represented one of their best 20 minutes of offense during the league season, as far as execution. UF got a bunch of good, clean shots, but unfortunately missed a bunch of those shots on the way to making 41.2 percent after intermission (up from 26.9 in the first half). Senior point guard Chris Chiozza, who had really battled with his offense as of late, finished with 11 points on 5-for-10 shooting, dished nine assists (to three turnovers), was the team's second-leading rebounder with six, plus had a pair of steals. Chiozza either scored or assisted on two-thirds of UF's 21 field goals on the road against one of the SEC's best defense. Just a couple more buckets, whether from Allen or Koulechov (2-for-10), or Keith Stone (1-for-6), or either backup guards Mike Okauru and Deaundrae Ballard (combined 1-for-9) and things might have been different.

3) UF's nose dive on the shooting front isn't relegated to points per game and converted field-goal attempts. The Gators, once the No. 2 free-throw shooting team in the SEC, have hit 65 percent or less from the line in five of the last six games, thanks to 9-for-16 (.563) against the Vols. Make that 59.2 percent (32 of 54) during the current three-game losing streak when the defeats have come by three (home against Georgia in overtime), three (at Vanderbilt), and five (at Tennessee). Those three opponents, meantime, went a combined 53-for-66. That's 80.3 percent.

Gators Calendar

Players Mentioned

KeVaughn Allen

Deaundrae Ballard

Chris Chiozza

Jalen Hudson

Egor Koulechov

Mike Okauru

Keith Stone

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