Florida Basketball: Gators pull off 16 point comeback against Cowboys

Florida basketball overcomes 16-point deficit to capture win over Cowboys

Florida basketball, despite missing two of their frontcourt members, was able to pull off a win against the Oklahoma State Cowboys with a final score of 81-72.  This game was heavily in the favor of the Cowboys in the first half, taking at highest a 16 point lead against the Gators, as well as other spots of 15 and 13 throughout the half.  It had seemed like the Florida Gators would end up losing due to this, and according to the ESPN win probability, Oklahoma State had an 87.6% chance of victory by the end of the first quarter.

This chart, as you can see, would completely flip over by the end of the third quarter, and would completely turn in favor of the Florida Gators.  This game was won for a few reasons, one of the most primary ones was the second-half performance by Tyree Appleby, who would score a career-high 21 points, 13 of which came in the second half.  He would also grab 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals during the game while shooting 50% from the field and 37.5% from 3.  Overall, he was the leader for a Gators team missing their star in Colin Castleton.

The second reason this game completely flipped in favor for the Gators was their ability to force turnovers.  The Gators would force 11 turnovers by way of the steal, and 12 total on the game, which would truly decide the game down the stretch as they would get some much-needed transition offense, and score on high-percentage shots.  Forcing turnovers has been something we have been watching all season for the Gators, as it seems to be a key point as to whether or not they win, and in this game?  It clearly was a deciding factor.

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The final factor in this win for Florida basketball was their defensive prowess.  Weirdly enough, the Gators lost in the rebounding department on the night, as well as both FG% and 3 point %, how does this manage to happen?  Defense.  The Gators as previously mentioned would force 12 turnovers on the game off of 11 steals, but it is also worth noting their block numbers, accumulating 6 on the night.  3 of these blocks came from a member we believed would play an impact prior to this matchup with Jason Jitoboh out for the season, that being Tuongthach Gatkek.  Gatkek being the only Gator not injured currently over 6’7″, was thrust into the role of paint defender, which he played exceptionally well.  He would end up with 8 points on the night, on 2-2 from the field and 4-6 from the line, as well as his 3 blocks and 3 rebounds, also grabbing a steal on the night as many for Florida did.  Overall, these 3 factors played the biggest role for Florida in a comeback win many did not expect.