White: Gators were soft in loss to FSU
GAINESVILLE – In a state of shock, his mind racing, his blood boiling, UF coach Mike White tried to gather his thoughts following a loss no one saw coming.
Once he did, White did not sugarcoat his disappointment following the Gators’ 83-66 loss Monday night at home to Florida State.
Unranked, nine-point underdog FSU was the tougher, more determined and ultimately better team, he said. Worse, FSU exposed White’s biggest fear about his Gators.
“You guys have heard me use the word soft with this team,” White said late Monday night. “And we use the word with our team every day and it reared its ugly head tonight. Tonight was the epitome of soft.”
Earlier in the day, the Gators had risen to No. 5 in the Associated Press Top 25 and entered the game leading the nation in scoring, averaging 99.5 points. They were ranked in the top 10 in 3-pointers, averaging 11.5.
When the shots did not fall Monday night, UF did not have a backup plan. When the long, athletic Seminoles swarmed the passing lanes and crashed the backboard, the Gators wilted.
UF (5-2) ended with the night with a seasonhigh 17 turnovers and was outrebounded 51-34, including 23-11 on the offensive end that led to a 24-8 edge in second-chance points for FSU (7-0). When the dust settled, UF had lost just one game under White by a bigger margin, falling 80-61 in February 2016 at Kentucky during his first season in Gainesville.
Fifth-year senior guard Egor Koulechov, who finished 1-of-7 shooting from 3-point range, called the loss “a reality check.”
UF shooting guard Jalen Hudson said it also is the nature of the game and good teams can rely on more than one way to win.
“Shots aren’t going to fall every night,” he said. “We’ve had games that we’ve won that shots haven’t fallen. You can’t win when they’re playing harder and they’re tougher than us.”
White said he is not exactly sure how to address the Gators’ shortcomings.
For one, toughness is innate, not taught.
The Gators’ rebounding woes are not an easy fix, either, especially when using a four-guard lineup. The return next month of 6-foot-11, 255-pound John Egbunu will help, but White said missed block outs plagued UF all night against FSU.
“I don’t know what to say there — it’s not our strength,” White said.
But the Gators’ strength turned to a weakness Monday night. UF shot just 21 of 58 from the field, including 6 of 25 from 3-point range, but the Gators continued to fire at the rim with impunity.
“We were pressing from the jump,” White said. “It was, ‘How quickly can I get a shot up?’ ”
An off night for senior point guard Chris Chiozza was a big reason for the Gators’ lack of offensive flow. FSU harassed Chiozza into his worst performance of the season, limiting him to just three points and four assists while forcing four turnovers.
“He didn’t play with the confidence he has been playing with,” White said. “He didn’t get into a rhythm.”
Chiozza and the Gators seemed to find their stride during Thanksgiving weekend at the PK80 Invitational in Portland, Ore.
After routing Stanford, the Gators outlasted No. 17 Gonzaga 111-105 in double-overtime and had top-ranked Duke on the ropes until stumbling down the stretch of an 87-84 loss.
“That’s who we are,” White said of UF’s offensive explosiveness.
Shots were falling and the tempo favored UF in Portland. Other than in the final minutes of the Duke loss, the Gators’ toughness was not tested.
After Monday night’s loss it will be, starting tonight against LoyolaChicago (7-1).
White is eager to see if his team shows the resilience it will need the rest of the season.
“We’re not nearly as, again, tough — I hate to wear the word out — tough, reliable, accountable, gritty,” he said. “We’re not close.”