Florida sweeps Georgia after Bulldogs lack efficiency
Georgia has suffered much bigger defeats this season, but Saturday’s loss to Florida was nothing short of an offensive disaster.
Florida (11-6, 7-5) secured a 70-63 win over Georgia (13-9, 6-9), despite almost giving up the game in the final minutes. As cliche as it may sound, this contest can be considered a tale of two halves for the Gators, which is why the final score was so close.
Georgia never had control of the game, but coach Tom Crean’s squad made it a close game in the end. Unfortunately, that was more because Florida played poorly in the second half. After shooting 50% from three-point range in the first half, the Gators finished the game with a three-point field goal percentage of 26.1.
There was a sign of life for the Bulldogs when they cut the lead to five points with 27 seconds left, however, Florida was efficient in making their late-game free throws.
While the game was relatively close, there was not a moment where it seemed Georgia would come out victorious. Even when Florida was struggling in the last few minutes, Georgia was in desperation mode.
Going eight minutes without a field goal in the first half is not a good sign, and to make matters even worse, Georgia was a pitiful 1/12 from beyond the arc in the opening 20 minutes.
The Bulldogs only had two players reach double figures. Sahvir Wheeler carried the team offensively with 27 points while draining eight free throws.
Turnovers are normally Georgia’s nightmare, but against Florida, they were near the bottom on their list of issues. Florida actually committed 20 turnovers compared to Georgia’s 12. Georgia’s turnover number was better, but not enough to overcome the other shortcomings in their offense.
Up Next
Georgia has a rematch with LSU at home on Tuesday. When the two teams met back in January, the game was a shootout, with LSU edging Georgia 94-92 in an overtime victory. LSU has played well the last couple of weeks, so Georgia may be in for another tough battle where they give up a lot of points.