Saturday, February 5, 2022 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
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By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Phlandrous Fleming Jr. stepped off the airplane Thursday afternoon and let the fresh air and gorgeous, 80-degree sunshine bathe his body. The Florida guard/forward opened his arms, looked to the skies and shouted toward the heavens.
"THANK YOU!" Fleming exclaimed.
About two hours earlier, the UF basketball team left what easily could be described — cue John Facenda, courtesy of NFL Films — as "the frozen tundra" of Columbia, Mo., where an epic blizzard blanketed the Midwest and plummeted temperatures into single-digits. Not exactly Gator weather, but the team was forced to go there earlier than scheduled and stay an extra day because of travel logistics.
In between, in a game that had to be moved up six hours to combat the wicked wintry conditions, UF shook off a dreadful second-half sequence and late nine-point deficit to rally for a 66-65 victory over the Missouri Tigers. Offensively, the shots weren't falling, but aggressive drives to the basket turned into trips to the free-throw line, which turned into 17 consecutive converted free throws, including 10 by fifth-year point guard Tyree Appleby. His two with just 7.9 seconds to go proved the difference in a second straight victory.
They had plenty of reasons to fold. A hefty deficti. On the road. Freezing cold (outside the gym and on the court). No Colin Castleton for a sixth straight game. A run of seven minutes when they missed 11 of 12 shots and turned the ball over five times. Instead, and sort of like last Saturday in rallying from 16 back to beat Oklahoma State in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, the team showed elements of toughness and moxie in the face of adversity. That hasn't always been the case.
Attacking the paint, like Tyree Appleby (22), got the UF to the free-throw line Wednesday at Missouri and the Gators took advantage.
"We just stayed together," said guard Myreon Jones, who led the team with 18 points, including three straight free throws in the second half during a critical 9-1 run that closed the Mizzou margin. "It was a lot like the Ole Miss game. The situation, I mean. That [game], we went our separate ways. This time, we stuck together and just took every four minutes and said, 'OK, let's cut it down some more. Now a little more,' and just stayed the course."
That Jones would choose the Ole Miss comparison was both fitting and timely, what with the Gators (14-8, 4-5) playing host to the Rebels (12-10, 3-6) in a rematch Saturday afternoon at Exactech Arena just a dozen days removed from what was an ugly 70-54 loss at Oxford.
[Read senior writer Chris Harry's "Pregame Stuff" setup here]
In that one, the two teams were tied at 22 at halftime, but UF allowed 74-percent shooting in the second half and Mississippi poured in 48 points over the final 20 minutes, basically having its way on both ends of the floor. Point guard Daeshun Ruffin dribbled circles around the UF defense on his way to a career-high 21 points and six assists, but the speedy freshman suffered a season-ending knee injury in the team's road upset Wednesday at 25th-ranked LSU. The Rebels are going to look different this time around.
So will the Gators.
The Gators bounced back from that game two nights later by showing far more fight in a seven-point loss at Tennessee. They've won two since, despite losing backup-turned-starting center Jason Jitoboh to season-ending eye surgery. They've done it by turning to a lineup of almost exclusively perimeter players — What other options are there? — with forward Anthony Duruji getting the bulk of the turns playing an out-of-position "5," but getting some surprisingly good minutes from junior-college transfer Tuongthach Gatkek, who had five blocked shots in the win Wednesday, including a huge one on a potential game-winning shot with 2.2 seconds to go.
"As a group, we just pulled together," Appleby said.
Senior forwardColin Castleton, out the previous six games with a shoulder injury, is getting close to a return for the Gators.
Doing so, for now, has given the team some direction as it waits — and hopes — for a return from Castleton, the 6-foot-11, 240-pounder who remains the Gators' leader in scoring (15.5 points per game), rebounding (9.1 pg) and blocked shots (2.8 pg). Castleton spent the week running, lifting and doing some non-contact work. On Friday, he had an individual workout in the morning and took part in some more extensive drills at practice in the afternoon.
"I think he's getting closer," Coach Mike White said of Castleton, who has been the most vocal of any player on the UF bench during his injury hiatus, taking time to both encourage and coach up his teammates on the floor. "I know he's eager to try to help these guys. He's close with these guys. It's a tight-knit group and Colin's competitive and he's dying to be out there."
The Gators, in turn, are dying for Castleton to be out there, as well. What a warm and pleasant return that would make for this team.
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