Florida Gators look to put slow starts in rear view mirror

It’s not about how you start, it’s about how you end.

However, starting quickly helps to achieve a favorable result.

Falling behind by margins of seven (Auburn), 11 (Texas A&M), 13 (Georgia), eight (LSU) and 11 (Missouri) in the first half of the league’s first five games, an inability to find a rhythm. of the door became an obvious trend for Florida. Despite relative success during that stretch, going 3-2, the formula is not a sustainable practice when playing against upper echelon Southeastern Conference opponents.

On the road against Texas A&M, 14 days after a three-point loss at Gainesville, the struggles early on came to a head when Florida made just 2-of-26 field goals in the first half against the Aggies. The Gators scored 12 points over the first 20 minutes; as a result, they fell behind Texas A&M only to later have to climb out of an 11-point hole in the second half.

The final loss, despite a 40-point second half, is directly related to the start Florida experienced.

“We definitely need to start better,” head coach Todd Golden said. “I don’t think it’s a good strategy to be seven points down [or more] each game.”

He referred to slow starts, largely due to offensive inefficiency, before the contest against Mississippi State on Saturday. He spoke candidly about the difficulties adjusting when he fails to score points despite decent looks from the field.

“All the teams we play against every night are pretty good and well trained and it’s hard to score,” he said. “It’s that toughness of being mentally and physically strong that, even when you don’t see the ball go through the rim a little bit, you stay the course.”

“I think we have to find a way to find easier baskets early in the game to lift the lid off the top of the rim. We have continued to improve. We just have to be a little more efficient in the first half.”

In Starkville, Mississippi, Florida finally created an early spark to lead 11-3 in the first media timeout when colin castle, Richard Y Alex Fudge knocked down three pointers while kyle lofton plugged into a mid-range hub.

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The notable outlier during the SEC game was a sign of improvement as Florida took the game to the Bulldogs instead of letting it come to them. That, of course, was a central starting point, based on Richard’s assessment of the early Friday lapses before kick-off.

“I feel like we’re waiting for the game to come to us instead of going out, attacking, being the aggressor to start with, so I feel like we have to go out more aggressive and try to make things happen on our own,” he said.

The Gators hope to replicate what happened at Mississippi State when they host the South Carolina Gamecocks on Wednesday night. However, they will likely do so without Fudge as he recovers from a head injury suffered in the previous outing, forcing Florida’s “small” lineup to carry a heavy load on both ends of the court.

Fortunately for UF, the combination of Richard at Fudge’s small forward spot with Kowacie Reeves Jr. either riley kugel occupying the position of three has presented fruitful results, specifically when the trio operates on the court simultaneously in two, three and four.

“Their ability to guard multiple positions, really anything they can guard from one to four, that’s given us a huge boost in conference play,” Golden said of the three talented forwards.

“The fact that we can play those lineups and be as good as before on defense and pretty close to being as good as on the glass allows us to play with more space on offense, I think that’s a big reason.” why we’ve been able to get going a bit.”

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