Frigid Gators falter against struggling Bulldogs
ATHENS, Ga. — The Florida Gators’ inconsistent play continued Tuesday night.
scored 20 points and Georgia recovered after wasting a halftime lead to beat No. 23 UF 72-60.
Florida (15-7, 6-3 Southeastern Conference) began the night in second place in the SEC, one game behind No. 11 Auburn.
Georgia (13-8, 4-5) had lost three straight and five of six.
The Gators recovered after trailing 37-32 at halftime to lead 48-43. Florida opened the second half with a 12-2 run that included two 3-pointers by and a jam by
for a 44-39 edge. Georgia regrouped and led 55-51 following a threepoint play by Maten and stretched the lead to 60-53 on a 3-pointer by Maten.
Cold-shooting Florida could not answer. Georgia led 66-53 before sank a 3-pointer, ending a Florida scoring drought of about four minutes. Georgia protected the lead by making 12 free throws without a miss in the final 1:35. led the Gators with 15 points, including 11 in the first half. had 13 points. Florida led 26-22 following an open layup by before the Bulldogs took the lead with 11 straight points. and
hit 3-pointers to start the run. Maten added a jam for a 33-26 lead.
Jackson had Parker had 12.
The Gators lost despite excellent ball-handling, committing only seven turnovers. The Gators suffered their first loss at Georgia in three seasons under coach
falling to 4-1 16 points. overall and 2-1 in Athens. Florida fell to 3-2 in SEC road games, and has lost two straight in the conference, including a home loss to South Carolina.
The upset, meanwhile, could help revive Georgia’s postseason outlook. The Bulldogs have made only two NCAA Tournament appearances, with no wins, in coach eight seasons and will need a strong showing in February to enter the NCAA picture. The Bulldogs had improved ball movement and grabbed firsthalf momentum with backup point guards
and Crump on the court. Crump scored six points on two 3s in his first four minutes.
It was a tough night for the Gators in a hostile gym.
With less than a minute remaining, Georgia fans started chanting “Just like football,” a reference to the Bulldogs’ 42-7 football win over the Gators in Jacksonville.
said Sunday he stayed true to his heart and all it took was affirmation from the new Florida State coaching staff for him to know that he still was a Seminole.
The Kissimmee Gateway defensive lineman committed to FSU after his official visit during the weekend and said he had the Seminoles at the top of his list all along.
He said he even likely would have signed with FSU during the early period in December had it not been for a coaching change at the end of the season. The new coaching staff under
however, reassured him that FSU was still the place to go and he committed Sunday. It also helped that the holdover defensive line coach from staff, is still on board.
“He was fired up,” Briggs said of the reaction by Taggart. “I just feel relieved now. … I’m ready to get up there and go to work and play with my boys.”
Miami was also in the picture for Briggs and the Hurricanes were the first bigtime state school to offer the 6-foot-4, 250-pound lineman.
Briggs, however, said it was FSU atop his leaderboard all along.
He also said his official visit reassured him that his feelings for the school and the program had not changed.
“Just looking at everything again that I had already seen before just reaffirmed everything and I figured, so why wait?” said Briggs, who will sign on the regular National Signing Day, Feb. 7.
“It was really close,” Briggs said of the battle for his services between FSU and Miami, “but I am a ’Nole at heart.”