Florida Gators

What Happened

Florida freshman forward Alex Condon hit one of two free throws with 9.9 seconds to go and LSU guard Jordan Wright missed a wide-open floater from in front of the basket as time expired, as the Gators survived a near-disaster Tuesday night with an 82-80 victory in their Southeastern Conference game at Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center. The win was UF's sixth in its previous seven games, but the Gators probably didn't do a lot of celebrating in the post-game locker room after blowing a 20-point lead with just over 15 minutes to go. The Tigers, losers of six of their last seven, trailed 60-40 five minutes after the break, but ended up shooting 62.5 percent in the second half, including 6-for-9 from the 3-point line, while the Gators were going through a miserable dry spell when they missed 10 of 11 shots to allow the visitors back in the game. Backup guard Tyrell Ward's 3-pointer with 1:29 to go tied the game at 78 and threw shock waves through the O'Dome. Grad-transfer forward Tyrese Samuel hit the first of two free throws with 38.2 second to go to give UF a 79-78 lead. LSU brought the ball into the front court with a chance to go ahead, but grad-transfer point guard Zyon Pullin stripped Tigers counterpart Jalen Cook, shoveled a pass ahead to Samuel, who fed Walter Clayton Jr. for a layup and 3-point lead. Out of a timeout, the Tigers got an easy layup from Wright with just 11 seconds left, then fouled Condon, the 6-foot-11 reserve, on the inbound. Condon hit the first free throw, missed the second and LSU rebounded. In the halfcourt, Tigers forward Will Baker appeared to have an open look for a jumper, but ripped a pass to Wright cutting to the hole unguarded. Wright, maybe hurried but certainly was not covered, missed from point-blank range (maybe 5 feet) and the ball rolled off the rim as the horn sounded. Clayton led all scorers with 21 points, with Samuel posting 15 points and seven rebounds, plus Pullin going for 14 points, four rebounds and three assists. UF shot 66.7 percent in the first half on the way to building the fat lead, while defending LSU to just 41.9 percent. The script completely flipped in the second hafl, as LSU was led by Wright's 16 points and five rebounds, plus another 16 from Baker, the 7-footer, outscoring the Gators 46-34 after intermission   

What it Means

A win by the skin of their teeth, but still a win. Florida, which will be no worse than in a two-tie for fifth by day's end, moved to 10 games over .500 in February for the first time since 2017.
 

In the Spotlight

The Gators' inability to hold big leads. Again. 
 

Staggering Statistic

UF's 66.7 percent on 20-for-30 shooting in the first half was the best shooting performance in any half by the Gators this season. And, boy, did the Gators need it. Every bit. The previous high was 64.3 in the first half against Florida State on Nov. 17 when UF opened a 30-point halftime lead and eventually ran away to an 89-68 victory. 
 

Up Next

Florida (17-7, 7-4) has a landmine road game at Georgia (14-10, 4-7), which has lost five straight. The struggling Bulldogs will be on their home floor, coming off a midweek bye and laying in wait for the Gators (much like Texas A&M a couple weeks ago), with a full week to prepare for the Gators. Florida has won nine straight in the series, dating to the 2020 season, and is 3-0 against UGA under former coach Mike White.