Ineffective Gators struggle in 2nd half, fall to No. 1 Bears
GAINESVILLE — The Florida Gators couldn’t overcome the Baylor Bears’ smothering defense.
UF trailed by as many as 19 and never cut its deficit below nine points in the second half on Saturday night, falling 71-62 to No. 1 Baylor. It was the Bears’ 16th consecutive win.
“I’m not sure we were great at anything offensively in the last 30 minutes,” Florida coach Mike White said.
UF led early on by as many as eight points, but its strong start was short-lived.
Baylor’s Devonte Bandoo connected on a 3-pointer with a little more than seven minutes to go in the first half to quiet the raucous O’Connell Center crowd, and the Bears (17-1) took a one-point lead over the Gators (12-7).
It appeared the Gators could replicate the stellar shooting performance that propelled them to a win over top-five Auburn a week prior on the same court. But Bandoo’s 3-pointer proved to be the turning point.
It was Florida’s first home loss since a Nov. 10 defeat at the hands of Florida State. Baylor, on the other hand, maintained its perfect road record.
Forward Keyontae Johnson played a big role the Gators’ early offensive success. He scored UF’s first seven points, but two of the Gators’ other top scoring threats — forward Kerry Blackshear Jr. and guard Noah Locke — never quite caught fire.
Blackshear finished with nine points, his lowest output since Dec. 17, and Locke had just three, his lowest total since Nov. 14.
Baylor, on the other hand, got production from its top scoring threats and role players. Bandoo exploded for 16 points, matching his season high. He was one of four Bears players to finish with double-figure scoring, joining MaCio Teague, Jared Butler and Davion Mitchell.
The Bears dominated the Gators
on the glass, winning the battle of the boards 37-26 and keeping possessions alive with 13 offensive rebounds. Three-point shooting was another key area Baylor won. The Gators shot 4-of-17 from outside compared with the Bears’ 9-of-19 showing.
UF point guard Andrew Nembhard, despite a poor shooting night, finished with 16 points and eight assists while a late surge from Johnson saw him finish with a game-high 20 points.
Florida missed five free throws, but a few of them came on the front end of one-and-one opportunities while the team was trying to mount a second-half comeback.
“To beat the No. 1 team in the country, you’ve gotta make some of those,” White said.
There were a few times in the second half when it appeared Florida would cut the deficit, but Baylor was there to stop each UF run.
It was Florida’s lowest-scoring output since a Nov. 17 loss to UConn and a far cry from the above-average offensive production the team has posted since SEC play began three weeks ago.
White said the loss highlighted how much the Gators need to improve in order to beat the nation’s top team.
“We’re an immature team right now and from a mental-toughness standpoint we’re nowhere near what it takes to be a championship-level team,” he said.
Florida fell to 0-4 under White against Associated Press No. 1 teams.
Nembhard was asked after the game if this is where he thought the team would be at this point in the season.
“Nah, not personally,” he responded. “All we can do is look forward right now, honestly.”
The upcoming UF schedule is much kinder than the three-game stretch it just endured against Auburn, LSU and Baylor. The Gators face Mississippi State (12-7) at home Tuesday night and visit Vanderbilt (8-11) Saturday night.