GAINESVILLE, Fla. — With the box score in front of him (and no doubt taunting him), Florida coach Mike White spoke at the post-game podium about his team's biggest concerns heading into Tuesday night's home date Arkansas. The Razorbacks brought with them the best defensive numbers in Southeastern Conference play. 

"Can we score enough?" was the question White and their staff kicked around. 

Turns out the Gators' middling offense wasn't the problem. UF did just fine on that end. The Gators lost the game on defense and not just because the Razorbacks were red-hot, but because they were faster, tougher, shrewder and made more winning plays that helped the Hogs get out Exactech Arena with an 82-74 come-from-behind victory. 

Offensive rebounds. Second-chance points. Fifty-fifty balls. Hustle plays. Arkansas pummeled UF in those areas and also made the home team pay dearly for some flat-footed defensive possessions when a second straight win over a ranked opponent was there for the taking. Instead, the Gators (17-11, 7-8) let a terrific opportunity — and gold star for the postseason resume — slip away, as well as spoil a remarkable performance from senior forward Colin Castleton, who tallied a career-high 29 points and six rebounds in defeat. 

"They couldn't stop us on their defensive side when we were on offense. Coach White had a good game plan," said Castleton, who threw in 10 of his 16 field-goal tries and nine of 10 free throws over a team-high 35 minutes. "But when we got a first-shot miss [on defense] they just kept getting second-, third-chance opportunities, loose balls, all the things that show more fight."

Those plays kept the Razorbacks (22-6, 11-4), winners of 12 of the last 13, either in the lead or around for most of the game. They seized control and closed out the win by making shots and free throws. 

Senior guard JD Notae, the transfer from Jacksonville U and second-leading scorer in the SEC, poured in 22 points, including a killer 3-pointer with just over a minute to go after Castleton scored on a post move to draw his team within a point. Notae led five Arkansas teammate into double-figure scoring, with backup guard Davonte Davis hopping off the bench for 19 points (on 7-for-10 shooting) and six rebounds, plus forward Jaylin Williams tallying 15 points, 10 rebounds and three drawn charges. Three different Razorbacks had at least six rebounds, as Arkansas beat Florida on glass, 39-31, with a 12-8 advantage on the offensive end that led to 16 second-chance points. 

A handful of the latter came on plays when the Gators appeared to have a rebound; or should have. 

Said Castleton: "At certain times, they just bullied us."

"It's a high-level league with length and athleticism and physicality and some of the best teams in the country," White said. "When you go in there with one hand you're probably not going to get it. We've struggled with it all year. We've stressed it. We can't watch it on film more than we've watched it, either. Unfortunately, we haven't embraced pursuing the ball with two hands as much as a team like Arkansas. Most of the 50-50 situations, they came up with the ball. I thought that was the key to the game."

That and some big shot-making. Despite making seven first-half 3s, UF trailed by five early second half before taking off a 10-1 run that had the Gators up four inside 14 minutes remaining. Twice the Hogs came back to tie, but twice the Gators pushed the lead out to six, the second time when Castleton posted for a bucket with 7:25 to go. Immediately after Castleton's bucket, and with the O'Dome roaring its approval, guard Tony Au'Diese just blew through the UF defense for a layup to cut the lead to four. A missed 3-pointer by fifth-year senior guard Tyree Appleby (19 points) was answered at the UF end when Notae's shot came off the rim, only to be flushed home by Stanley Amide (11 points, 6 rebounds). Two-point game. 

After Appleby missed a second straight 3 (UF went 1-for-9 from deep in the second half), Notae was off on a 3-ball for the Hogs. Guess what? Williams grabbed the offensive rebound and 15 seconds later hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key to give Arkansas seven straight points (five on second-chance situations) and a 63-62 edge with just over five minutes to go. 

Two free throws by Castleton put the Gators back in front, but the Razorbacks whisked down the floor and Umude drained a 3 to retake the lead. When Brandon McKissic missed a shot in deep for the Gators, Davis grabbed the rebound underneath the Florida basketball, busted out from the pack and went coast-to-coast for a layup in seven seconds to put the Hogs up 68-64 with four minutes left.

With 1:23 to play — after Castleton, Appleby and Phlandrous Fleming Jr. (9 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists) mixed in five free throws around two more Arkansas layups, one of them a stick-back bunny — Appleby fed Castleton on the block for a bucket that pulled the Gators within one, 72-71. 

That's when the UF defense lost Notae in the half court. His 3-pointer from the top of the key made it a four-point lead again, the Gators got no closer and Arkansas snapped a 13-game road losing skid in the series that dated to 1997.

"Right now, we're a confident team," Hogs coach Eric Musselman said. 

Florida, on the other hand, is a team leaning on the wrong side of the NCAA Tournament bubble with just three regular-season games to go. The Gators, three days after shocking No. 2 Auburn, had a chance at a second straight signature victory, but instead are looking at a pressure-packed paddle-wheel of must-win situations (and few situations). 

"I guess that's the reality," UF fifth-year senior forward Anthony Duruji said. "We have to be desperate. We have to be urgent now."

They needed to be Tuesday, also.