KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Junior point guard
Tyree Appleby nodded when the subject turned to Florida's inexplicable (and inexcusable) turnover issues that cost them dearly in Wednesday night's home loss to Missouri. The Gators had 18 of them, including 15 in the first half, that led to 25 points in a game the Tigers won on a buzzer-beating final possession.
Being guilty of five of those turnovers, all in the first half, Appleby knew the team put themselves in harm's way and — compounding matters — did so on a night it shot nearly 55 percent from the floor; 62 after halftime. Cut those turnovers in half, the Gators likely win comfortably.
And yet Appleby didn't confine the blame to the giveaways. Something else was working against the team.
"We pouted a lot," he said.
Explain, please.
"I would say me, for instance, because I try to be one of the leaders on the team," Appleby continued. "Me turning the ball over and hanging my head, instead of going on to the next play. We can show emotion during the game, but like Coach says, don't show it on your face so the other team or your team sees you down."
Indeed, that has been a problem that Coach
Mike White has spoken of often during this roller-coaster, COVID-impacted 2020-21 regular season that will wrap Sunday when the Gators (13-7, 9-6) face Tennessee (16-7, 9-7) at Thompson-Boling Arena in the final game before this week's Southeastern Conference Tournament in Nashville, Tenn., followed by the NCAA Tournament the week after in Indiana.
[Read senior writer Chris Harry's "Pregame Stuff" setup here]
In his post-game remarks Wednesday, White made reference to his team's penchant for letting their feelings be known on the floor. And not just after a bad play, either.
"We have to play with emotion without being emotional," he said.
Florida coach Mike White, who drew a technical foul in his team's win at Kentucky, wants to be the one talking to officials about the way a game is being called, rather than his players. One of a handful of elements that trace to the Gators' inability to quell emotions in the moment.
Example: Junior forward
Colin Castleton, like his teammates, had a rough first half against Mizzou, finishing with no points and just one rebound. He scored his first basket of the game on a post move about three minutes into the second period — cutting what was a 10-point deficit to just three — and then yelled at the baseline official that he got fouled.
Technical.
The Tigers made both free throws at the other end, then netted a couple more free throws out of the possession to go back up by seven.
Did that technical lose the game? No, there were plenty of possessions left to make a difference. But it's worth noting the Gators lost by two.
"We talked about what we could do better and what we need to do better," Appleby said.
They're better be a bunch of things done better Sunday, especially on offense, because the sort of carelessness displayed of late — UF is averaging 17.0 turnovers per game over the last four — will spell doom against a Volunteers defense ranked No. 6 nationally in overall efficiency. That version of UT didn't show up when the two teams met earlier this season in Gainesville, where the Gators torched the Vols from the tip in a 75-49 drubbing. It wasn't so much what UF did on offense that night (though 48 percent from the floor was very good), as how horrific UT was in shooting just 29 percent and turning it over 18 times.
The Vols won't do that this time. In fact, expect an entirely different version than the last, what with the winner Sunday securing a top-four seed and double-bye into the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament.
But what version of the Gators will show up? And in what emotional state? And with how much care for the basketball?
"It's that time of year that we have to fully embrace the importance of every possession," White said. "We've just done a poor job with it. Offensively, it's been our most glaringly deficiency all season."
That and how the Gators react when those deficiencies rear themselves likely will determine how they end the regular season.
And thus enter the postseason.
