FINAL: Ole Miss 70, Florida 54
Monday, January 24, 2022 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
AT THE BUZZER
OLE MISS 70, FLORIDA 54
OLE MISS 70, FLORIDA 54
WHAT HAPPENED: Freshman point guard Daeshun Ruffin scored 21 points, forward Matt Murrell had 20 and the Rebels, behind a torrid second-half shooting display, ran away from the Gators and halted UF's three-game win streak with a victory Monday night at The Pavilion at Ole Miss. The game was a makeup for the originally scheduled Dec. 29 Southeastern Conference opener for both teams. As such, both had to deal with a two-day prep. Mississippi handled it better. Florida was playing its third game without All-SEC forward Colin Castleton. This time it showed, as the Gators found next to nothing going on inside and resigned themselves to launching shots from the perimeter on a night they hit just 38 percent overall and a stone-cold 4-for-29 from the 3-point line (13.8 percent). The Rebels, meanwhile, had no such problems finding the basket. They hit 52 percent for the game and nearly 74 after halftime to turn what was a tie game at the break into a rout. Ruffin, a Jackson, Miss., product and the first McDonald's All American to sign with Ole Miss in program history, and Murrell combined to make 14 of 25 shots for the game and eight of 12 in the second period. The first half was an exhibition of offensively challenged basketball, with UF shooting just 31.8 percent (including 2-for-15 from the arc) and Ole Miss 32.0 and, appropriately enough, the game being tied at 22-all at the half. The shooting percentages changed out of the locker room; for the Rebels, that is. All they did was hit 12 of their first 13 to build a lead that swelled to 12 with 5:17 to go. Defensively, the Gators gave up a couple late-shot clock killers when they needed stops, once after getting the margin back to seven, and really never challenged beyond that. UF got 12 points and five rebounds from junior center Jason Jitoboh, who went 6-for-6 from the floor, along with 11 points and four rebounds from forward Anthony Duruji, but the Gators' perimeter players combined to make eight of 34 shots (and only four of 26 from deep).
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Jitoboh had a third straight very good game. He's averaged 8.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and made 15 of 18 shots over the previous four games. That said, he's not Castleton. That's not a slight. That's just reality. The Gators base their offense off Castleton.
STAGGERING STATISTIC: Nearly 12 minutes into the second half, the Gators were shooting 52.3 percent from the floor. Pretty good, huh? That was almost 40 percent worse than the Rebels, who were at 92.3 after that 12-for-13 start out of the locker room. Also, 22 points in the first half versus 48 in the second. For a team that prides itself on defense, this one had to smart.
UP NEXT: From one quick turnaround into another. Florida (12-7, 3-4) will have less than 48 hours to recover and prep for a road date against No. 18 Tennessee (13-5, 4-3), which annually, under Coach Rick Barnes, is one of the most physical opponents the Gators will face all season. The Volunteers have won two straight and three of the last four, including Saturday's 64-50 home undressing of 13th-ranked LSU. The Gators will remain in Oxford Monday night, practice at Ole Miss Tuesday, then fly to Knoxville in the afternoon, with their third game in five days less than 24 hours later. UF has lost five straight road games at UT, dating to 2016.
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