Florida Gators Men’s Basketball Faces Toughest Test Yet in UNC Tar Heels
By Terry Lane
Going into the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas, the Florida Gators (3-2) hoped to see No. 6 University of North Carolina on Friday. They just wanted it to be in the championship game.
Instead, the Gators are facing the Tar Heels at 8 pm tonight in the final game of the loser’s bracket, where Florida went after dropping the opener to Georgetown, losing a tight game on a buzzer beater. But if you thought undersized UAB would be an easy second game of the tournament, the Gators struggled with that Sun Belt foe on Thanksgiving night, trailing late in the second half and eventually surging with under 3 minutes to play to take a 56-47 victory.
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Against UNC, the Gators will get their toughest test of the season. So far, the early part of the season should make Gator basketball fans temper their expectations for this team. They’re a team that can get better, but they will play a lot of team close early in the season, and will likely drop a few of those. But a win against the Tar Heels will give this team the confidence it needs early in the season.
But despite the slow start, there have been some positive signs for the Gators. The Gators have been struggling on offense, shooting just 41 percent and averaging just over 64 points a game. Sophomore forward Chris Walker has struggled to generate offense or get rebounds. And freshman Devin Robinson has been ice cold from the three-point line.
But against UAB, they came alive defensively in the end, getting a few big blocks down the stretch to kill the Blazers threat.
The tournament has also given some Gators the opportunity to show improvement. Sophomore point guard Kasey Hill drove the ball to the basket at clutch moments in both the Georgetown and UAB game. If not for the late second Hoya heroics, Hill would have had a game winner. And his impressive ability to drive the lane helped give the Gators a spark when they needed it against UAB.
Freshman point guard Chris Chiozza is finding where to go with the ball — including take it himself if he needs it. He scored 11 against Georgetown and 13 against UAB. Jacob Kurtz has done great work to help an undersized Gators unit compete with the bigger inside players of Georgetown.
This will be just the sixth time these two teams have met, with the Gators winning the last meeting – the 2000 Final Four game, 71-59.
To win this game, the Gators will need to see a standout game from either guards Eli Carter or Michael Frazier. Carter has been battling a foot injury, and came up short in a last second game winning try against Georgetown. Frazier is expected to lead the Gators offensively, but has been an inconsistent scorer so far. Without offense from these Gators, they will struggle to keep up with a Tar Heel team that averages more than 80 points a game.
The game tips off at 8 pm and can be found on the AXS TV network or on the radio through the Gator radio network.