FINAL: Arkansas 75, Florida 64
Tuesday, February 16, 2021 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
AT THE BUZZER
No. 24 ARKANSAS 75, FLORIDA 64
No. 24 ARKANSAS 75, FLORIDA 64
WHAT HAPPENED: Freshman guard Davonte Davis scored 18 points and paced a balanced scoring attack from the No. 24 Razorbacks, who blew a 15-point second-half lead Tuesday night, but came from behind late to beat the Gators in their Southeastern Conference game Tuesday at Walton Arena. Davis hit seven of his 14 shots and also grabbed five rebounds, while forward and Indiana transfer Justin Smith had 16 points and six rebounds. Arkansas, down by a point with more than four minutes to play, outscored Florida 14-2 over the final 3:25, including the final eight points of the game to turn what was a one-possession affair into a double-digit victory. The Hogs shot 51.5 percent in the first half to the Gators' 30.3 to take a 10-point lead at intermission. The margin swelled to 15 early in the second period, but then the visitors found a little bit of rhythm. Florida used a couple mini-runs (plus 48-percent second-half shooting) to get as close as three three times, then one once, then took the lead for the first time in the game on a runner by Tyree Appleby with 4:35 to go. That was UF's last field goal, as a steal and coast-to-coast layup by Davis -- when Florida had a chance to pad that one-point margin -- returned the lead by to Arkansas for good, as the Gators missed their last six field-goal attempts. Appleby, back in his home state, led the team with 16 points, but he and junior shooting guard Noah Locke combined to go just 2-for-12 from the 3-point line, where UF went 4-for-21 as a team (19 percent). Junior forward Colin Castleton had 13 points and six rebounds for the Gators, who shot 37.7 percent overall for the game. Hogs standout freshman Moses Moody had 14 points and five rebounds. They also got 14 points guard Jalen Tate, the transfer from Northern Kentucky. For Arkansas, the win was its seventh straight in SEC play and elevated the Hogs into sole possession of second place in the conference standings.
WHAT IT MEANS: A week-long COVID pause and just a day of full-squad practices probably wasn't enough to properly prepare Florida for a road trip against a ranked, red-hot opponent like Arkansas. The Gators' poor first half was a pretty good indication of that. Anyway, make that two straight losses, as UF fell to fifth place in the league standings and could drop further pending Wednesday's outcomes.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Sophomore guard Scottie Lewis had another one of those foul-plagued outing that prevented his defense, speed and energy from impacting the game. He scored four points, grabbed three rebounds and had three steals in just 15 minutes. He also fouled out.
STAGGERING STATISTIC: The Gators came into the game ranked first in the SEC in field-goal percentage at 47.4. They started the game just six of their first 27 shots. That's 22.2 percent. That's how you dig a hole on the road. They spent a ton of energy to crawl back in the game, but nothing went right over the final three-plus minutes.
UP NEXT: Florida (10-6, 6-5) will be back home Saturday to face Georgia (13-8, 8-8) in a 3:30 p.m. game at Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center. The Gators defeated the Bulldogs 92-84 at Athens on Jan. 23 behind a career-high 24 points from Tre Mann. Georgia, though, beat No. 20 Missouri 80-70 at home Tuesday night. The Bulldogs are better than they were when the Gators played them last month.
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