Florida Basketball: Phil Knight performance shows Gators still building

While most of the focus for Florida Gator fans was in Tallahassee this weekend, Florida basketball took a trip out west to take part in the Phil Knight Invitational. The Gators lost to Xavier, beat Oregon State, and were blown out by West Virginia to finish the week 1-2.

While there were some positives to take away from the trip, it is now clear that anyone hoping for an instant turnaround under Todd Golden is going to have to wait a bit longer for Florida basketball to become ranked this season.

Florida Basketball: Gators don’t win gold in Portland. Or silver. Or bronze.

The in-season invitational tournaments that now dominate the non-conference portion of college basketball can be a double-edged sword. They provide the opportunity to play a lot of quality opponents in quick succession. If a team is rolling, it can result in a momentum-building weekend. If a team is struggling, it can snowball quickly.

But what makes these invitationals tough is that they don’t mimic any other part of the season beyond the conference tournament. Teams play three games in four days and don’t go through their normal preparation before each game.

It is with that in mind that the only “normal” game the Gators had in Portland was their opening game against Xavier, a 90-83 defeat. Xavier is a quality opponent, ranked 32nd in the current KenPom computer rankings.

The Gators had their chances to pull away with this one, but sequences such as Myron Jones having the ball stolen right before halftime, leading to an And-1, or Alex Fudge missing a dunk and Xavier immediately hitting a three on the other end doomed Florida basketball.

It also doesn’t help that Xavier shot 10-20 from three.

The effort against Oregon State was certainly better, winning 81-68. Florida at one point had a 23-point lead and never trailed. It should be noted Oregon State is currently 240th in the same KenPom rankings.

Last night against West Virginia revealed a very uncomfortable truth about the Gators this year, they are screwed without Colin Castleton. The senior got in early foul trouble, and everything snowballed. The defensive stats for the Gators weren’t much different than their game against Xavier. West Virginia only shot 43% from the field and their three-point percentage was a manageable 41%.

But Florida didn’t have answers on offense without Castleton as their safety net and this highlights one of the red flags the Gators have early with Todd Golden.

Florida Basketball: Where are the three-pointers?

One of the trademarks of Golden’s offense while he was with San Francisco was the reliance on the three-point shot. USF (west) finished 18th in the country last year in attempted three-point shots per game with 27.

Through seven games, Florida basketball is averaging 19 three-point attempts per game, 275th in the country.

Florida’s offense has been an improvement overall under Golden. Gators are 62nd in points per game with 76.1 whereas last year they were 163rd in the country with 70.6. With so much of the offense funneling through Castleton though, Florida is in real trouble if he gets in foul trouble. And given his three blocks a game, it’s likely to happen again down the road.

Will Richard is chipping in with 13 a game and Kyle Lofton did have 17 points vs West Virginia, but Trey Bonham has been mostly quiet beyond his game vs Oregon State.

Combined with Florida sitting at 178th in the country in three-point percentage, the offense hasn’t quite clicked as we hoped.

It also doesn’t help that Florida basketball is 285th in the country in opponents’ three-point percentage, highlighted by FAU shooting 13-24 from three in its upset win over the Gators.

As the season progresses, Florida will need to tighten up its three-point defense and have a plan if Castleton goes out. If it can do that, the Gators should be okay. If not, it will lead to another frustrating year on Billy Donovan Court.

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