Florida basketball: Maybe the Gators aren’t as good as we think
Two wins in their first four games aren’t necessarily what Florida basketball fans had in mind when the season started.
Well, Florida basketball has managed to beat North Florida and Towson. However, we couldn’t hold it together against Florida State and UConn.
While the Gators are outscoring their opponents 250-244, it’s their abysmal shooting that has bubbled up to be the biggest cause for concern.
Especially from 3-point range.
In their first four games, Florida basketball is shooting 38.4% from the field and a horrendous 24.1% from beyond the arc.
For their parts, Andrew Nembhard is 29% from the field and 29% from 3-point range while Noah Locke is 25% from the field and 23% from beyond the arc.
In fact, only Keyontae Johnson is shooting over 50% from the field among starters. Omar Payne is shooting 69% from the field but has only played 57 minutes in four games.
The fact that only Kerry Blackshear Jr. and Johnson are the only two Florida basketball players averaging double-digits in points is certainly a cause for concern.
Against UConn Sunday, the Gators dug their way into a five-point halftime deficit against a team that suffered a nine-point loss earlier in the week to the Gators’ next opponent — St. Joseph’s.
Florida basketball was 1-for-11 from 3-point range in the first half and 31% from the field.
1-for-11.
That’s awful.
The Gators picked it up in the second half, shooting 48% from the field, but was marred when Blackshear fouled out of the game with 4 minutes, 37 seconds left on the clock and the Gators down by five.
And, it wasn’t necessarily that UConn was a better team because they weren’t. Florida still had chances to win the game as they whittled things down to a one-possession game three times in the waning minutes.
This is a slump to be sure.
The biggest question is: When will the Gators break out of it?
Next. Gators slug it out with Missouri. dark
Florida will take on St. Joseph’s in the first round of the Charleston Classic in Charleston, South Carolina at 2 p.m. Thursday.