Two of UF transfers and defensive stalwarts, forward CJ Felder and guard Brandon McKissic (23), swarm Ohio State star Eric Liddell during last week's win over Ohio State.
Gators Vow to Take Defense on Road
Wednesday, December 1, 2021 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
Share:
By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
NORMAN, Okla. — There's a popular cliche about defense. How it travels. There's a reason the saying is popular.
"Because it's true," Florida assistant coach Al Pinkins said.
If that's the case (and, yes, history suggests it is), the 14th-ranked Gators (6-0) should be ready for what awaits Wednesday night when they pay a visit to Oklahoma (6-1) and what figures to be a jacked-up Noble Center crowd. The game will mark UF's first true road date of the 2021-22 season, but also a matchup against a UF defense that ranks 11th nationally in efficiency against a Sooners offense that is deadly — 61.8 percent, second nationally, inside the 3-point line — when playing in the half court.
Upshot: Florida's defense better travel.
"Defense is our identity. It's something we work for, something that's very constant with us," UF fifth-year senior forward Anthony Duruji said. "We're going to play hard on the defensive end. Always."
[Read senior writer Chris Harry's "Pregame Stuff" setup here]
Indeed, that has been the Florida blueprint for success thus far in '21-22. It was Coach Mike White's long-range intent when he signed two former conference defensive players in Brandon McKissic (by way of Missouri-Kansas City and the Summit League) and Phlandrous Fleming Jr. (Charleston Southern of the Big South) out of the transfer portal last spring. It was a point of emphasis throughout the summer workouts and conditioning sessions. It was a stated goal during preseason practices, and has carried over through the first six games of the regular-season, with the Gators equaling the fifth-best unbeaten start in program history, as well as the best in nine years.
It's not just that Florida is extending its defense more often this season, with healthy doses of aggressive 2-2-1 zone pressure — although that's helped. No, it's much more than that. This group is wired and wound differently. Not only do the Gators embrace playing defense, they love playing hard and being the ones that beat the other guy to the spot, to the glass and to 50-50 balls.
"Playing hard, playing with effort, playing with passion, that can get you through a lot," said junior backup forward CJ Felder, the transfer from Boston College who last season ranked second in the Atlantic Coast Conference in blocked shots and has been a warrior off the bench thus far. "I've experienced teams in the past that have played hard and teams that haven't. Obviously, it's a big difference."
He smiled.
"I like this way better."
The Noble Center at the University of Oklahoma seats 10,967.
The Gators have allowed just 55.7 points per game and held opponents to 39.0 percent shooting from the floor and 25.0 from the 3-point line. The also own a plus-5.7 rebounding margin for the season and are forcing 16.8 turnovers per game. Of the top 12 defensive categories in the KenPom.com rankings, Florida sits in the top 30 in seven of them and the top 20 in five.
"Points-per-game has never been a big thing to me [because] every team plays with a different tempo," White said. "But the field-goal percentages, the points per possession, 3-point attempts-to-field-goal-attempt ratio, 3-point percentage defense, how you're protecting the rim, all those things, we're obsessed with all of them, honestly. … You're never going to be perfect defensively, but to me it's more — and I've said it a million times — [if] you're in the right spot or not, if you're playing really hard or not."
The Gators haven't always been in the right spot. In fact, several times during last week's buzzer-beating victory over Ohio State, which upset top-ranked Duke Friday night, they fell behind by allowing the Buckeyes to shoot 53.2 percent from the floor. On too many possessions, UF either misplayed or poorly communicated while trying to guard some actions in the paint that led to easy OSU baskets. Things were a little loose around the 3-point line.
But guess what? The Gators made up for their mistakes by forcing 18 turnovers that led to 19 points and by out-rebounding the Buckeyes 16-7 on the offensive glass.
That's playing hard.
"We were far from perfect, but we showed the fight in us," McKissic said.
In an example of playing hard, Florida forwardAnthony Durujimakes like Superman in going airborne for a loose ball against Florida State last month.
Now come the Sooners, who are in a transition phase that has started off fairly well under new coach Porter Moser, who did magical things at Loyola Chicago, including guiding the Ramblers on a Cinderella run to the 2018 Final Four, as well as the "Sweet 16" last March. Moser, like White (and like every coach in college basketball), made judicious use of the portal during the offseason, specifically with the addition of 6-foot-10, 235-pound senior forward Tanner Groves, who was the 2021 Big Sky Conference Player of the Year at Eastern Washington. OU also signed former Duke point guard and defensive maven Jordan Goldwire.
OU has yet to face a team with the athleticism and height of Florida. The Sooners' strength of schedule, in fact, ranks 304th out of 358 Division I teams. The Sooners, though picked as a middle-of-the-pack Big 12 Conference finisher, are expected to be a NCAA Tournament team and currently rate 44th overall by KenPom.
The matchup between Groves (14.6 points, nearly 57 percent from the floor, 6.3 rebounds per game, plus 38.5 percent from the 3-point line) and UF's 6-11 post man Colin Castleton (14.8 ppg, 10.0 rpg) should be a dandy. Castleton is off to a very good start on both ends of the floor, averaging 2.8 blocks per game, while staying out of foul trouble (just 2.0 pg).
Porter Moser, who worked miracles as coach at Loyola Chicago, is in his first season at Oklahoma after taking over for Lon Kruger.
As a team, however, the Gators have struggled somewhat with their foul discipline.
"Our field-goal attempts to free-throw attempts is not very good right now," White said. "We have to defend without fouling."
That's what elite defenses do.
The Gators, to a man, understand this. That, in itself, speaks to their focus on building on what they've started.
"The mistakes we've made, they're fixable," Duruji said. "What I don't doubt about this team is how hard we're going to play. Defense is all about effort. That's what this team is about. Each game, we focus on that end of the floor and playing to our identity."
It's because of the reputation they've carved for themselves that the will not be overlooked. The Sooners will be ready to pounce on an opponent that has won its six games by an average margin of 21.2 points and ascended from to No. 14 the last two weeks.
Yes, Florida now has expectations (along with that pesky number) attached to it, and must put them to the test in a hostile environment.
Assuming the Gators packed their defense, they should be ready.
"We all want to see how we handle this next challenge," Felder said. "The rankings and stuff, that's new to a lot of us. We're grateful for it, but we take it with a grain of salt. Whatever the number is right now, the goal is always to be No. 1. So, we just need to keep doing what we do, and keeping trying to do it better."
