Takeaways from Florida basketball’s blowout loss to UCF in NIT first round
Initials that make Florida fans wince – NIT and UCF.
On Wednesday night, it was the Knights who ended Florida’s basketball season in the first round of the NIT 15 months after the school beat the Gators in a bowl game.
In both cases, Florida was its own worst enemy.
On Wednesday night, the Gators were bad in every phase of the game and were humiliated by the Knights, 67-49.
The Gators couldn’t shoot, couldn’t defend and didn’t take care of the ball in losing their sixth game at home for only the second time in 25 years.
It was the fewest points Florida scored all season and the fewest since a 2015 SEC Tournament loss.
What happened
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It was just awful and might have left UF wondering if the Gators should have taken the easy out the way North Carolina did and just end the season after the conference tournament.
Florida did nothing well and any hopes of a comeback after a miserable first half were ended by terrible shooting and more turnovers. Florida had 18 for the game and shot 32% compared to UCF’s 53%.
It was that ugly.
The Gators spent the first half of the game looking like a team that had no interest in being in the NIT. Florida allowed a 20-2 run by UCF and committed 10 turnovers in the first 11 minutes.
They trailed 35-26 at the break as the Knights shot 56% from the field and Florida went 3-for-15 from three-point range.
It didn’t get any better in the second half as the team that did such a good job digging itself out of holes all season just kept digging this one deeper.
What it means
AP Photo/Mark Zaleski
It means that the season is over. It also means that Florida as a program has had its first season since 1979 that both the football and men’s basketball finished below .500. It will get better. I promise. Let us also point out that Todd Golden is only the second Florida coach ever to make the postseason in his first year (the other was Mike White).
Player of the Game: UCF
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Freshman Taylor Hendricks lived up to the hype that has him as a projected first-round pick in the NBA draft. He scored 17 points, all of them in the first three quarters of the game, and had eight rebounds. Hendricks was 8 of 11 from the field.
Player of the Game: Florida
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Can we leave this space blank? Asking for a friend. Riley Kugel led Florida with 13 points. He was also 4-for-12 with three turnovers.
Inside the numbers
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The paint has been an issue since Castleton went down and this was about as bad as it could get. UCF scored 40 points in the paint vs. 28 by Florida. As a result, forcing 18 UCF turnovers didn’t matter a bit.
He said it
Matt Pendleton-USA TODAY Sports
“I have no answer to that question. I don’t want to answer questions like that at this time.” — Freshman Riley Kugel, when asked if he will be back next season.
Next up
Matt Pendleton-USA TODAY Sports
Nothing. Nada. Zip. The 2022-23 season ends with Florida losing five of its last seven games after Colin Castleton went out. Now, we have to be patient and see what Florida is able to add via the transfer portal, which will be a major part of how this team is built for 2023-24.
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