Florida Gators

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — In retrospect, especially in light of the loss, Colin Castleton's 25 field-goal attempts in Florida's 76-74 defeat against Florida Atlantic Monday night might've seem a little excessive. After all, the last time a UF player attempted that many shots in a game was nearly 18 years ago. 

The last time before that? Try 1972. 
 

But go back and watch the tape, as the Florida coaches obviously did. Castleton, the 6-foot-11, 250-pound two-time All-Southeastern Conference post man, had mostly really good looks at the basket against the Owls. Yeah, he took a trio of 3-pointers (even made the first of his career against 21 attempts), but Todd Golden and his staff looked at Castleton's 11-for-25 shooting line (44.0 percent) as a night where a couple that should have fallen did not. In fact, that was the case for a few of Castleton's teammates, as well, what with forwards Alex Fudge and CJ Felder, as well as guards Kyle Lofton and Riley Kugel each missing shots in close in what eventually played out as a two-point defeat. 

When the night was done, UF finished 38.2 percent from the floor, including just 35.5 from inside the 2-point area versus 42.0 percent overall for FAU, which was a smokin' 13-for-24 from the 3-point line (54.2 percent). 

But crunch the numbers a little more — and flush out the analytics — and Florida was just 13-for-42 "at the rim," as Golden put it, which is anything (layups, jump hooks, stickbacks and the like) in around around 3-5 feet from the bucket. Golden expects shots that close to go down 60 to 65 percent of the time. So a bad night of even 15- or 16-for-35 and the outcome might very well have been different.

In other words, no need to panic.  

"Very correctable," Castleton said. 

The Gators (2-1) spent the last couple days processing those missed shots, as well as a bevy of missed defensive assignments (especially in transition), knowing a similar performance Friday night at Florida State (0-3), the team's first road game of the season, will net a similar result. 

[Read senior writer Chris Harry's "Pregame Stuff" setup here]

The roster-ravaged Seminoles played their last game, a 79-72 home loss against Troy, with six scholarship players and one walk-on. They may not have depth right now, but they've got enough talent, fight and pride to stop their three-game skid at the Gators' expense, especially if UF can't capitalize on shots in close. That includes Castleton, who is averaging 25.3 points a game, which leads the Southeastern Conference and ranks seventh in the country. Against FAU, Castleton became the first UF player to post back-to-back 30-point games since guard Anthony Roberson in 2005.

And he just as easily could have had 40. 

"Colin wasn't very efficient," Golden said, who was just as quick to point out the Gators' superstar big could have used some help down low. "We weren't physical enough around the rim, we weren't strong enough, but again on most nights we'll be better than that. ... It will help us if [others] can take on a little more of the load offensively."
 

It was just three days earlier that Castleton tallied a career-high 33 in a win over Kennesaw State and became the first UF player to score at least 30 points in a game since Tre Mann did it against Tennessee in the 2021 SEC Tournament. By repeating the feat against FAU, Castleton became the first Florida player to post a second 30-point game in the same season since Nick Calathes in 2008-09, as well as the first with back-to-back 30s since Anthony Roberson in 2005. 

No Gator ever has scored 30 in three straight games, and only 11 players in program history have scored 30 three times in their career (the list is below). Only two have done so the last 35 years. 

Of course, the trip west on Interstate-10 will not be about how many points Castleton gets, but the Gators scoring more than the Seminoles. UF has not won at FSU since 2012. 

"How we deal with adversity is going to shape our season," sophomore guard Kowacie Reeves said.

They'll have to do so against a ferocious opponent with its back against the wall, but also down severely in front court manpower.

The message will be clear: Finish strong at the rim. 

"We've got to be more physical. And if we're not finishing, we got to get to the line," said Golden, whose team shot just two free throws over the first 18 minutes of the second half. "We have to have a way to counteract [poor shooting], but at the same time I'm not sitting here like, 'Oh my gosh! We've got to change what we're doing.' We've proven it's been effective for us."

CHARTING THE GATORS 
UF Players to score 30 points in a game at least three times during their careers. 

Player	Years	30-pt games
Neal Walk	1966-69	15
Andy Owens	1967-70	13
Tony Miller	1970-73	10
Vernon Maxwell	1984-88	6
Chip Williams	1972-75	6
Andrew Moten	1983-87	4
KeVaughn Allen	2015-19	3
Bob Emrick	1954-57	3
Joe Hobbs	1955-58	3
Anthony Roberson	2002-05	3
Ronnie Williams	1980-84	3