Three observations following UF’s 81-74 win over Vanderbilt at the O’Connell Center.
— Junior center Kevarrius Hayes was more active inside with 7 points, 5 rebounds and 4 blocks against Vanderbilt. But the 6-foot-9 Hayes needs to continue to do a better job of staying out of foul trouble. Hayes picked up his fourth foul at the 10:40 mark in the second half and was limited the remainder of the game. Redshirt sophomore forward Keith Stone also had four fouls, forcing little used redshirt freshman forward Dontay Bassett to play four minutes due to Gorjok Gak being out with a knee injury.
— Though Florida had just 7 assists, I thought the Gators did a better job of moving the ball and looking for one another. In the first half, Florida was able to work the ball inside-out and get some open looks from 3-point range. Florida finished with 7 assists to 5 turnovers, its first positive assist-to-turnover ratio since Nov. 26 against Duke (11-9).
— Credit Florida for attacking the basket more to get to the free-throw line. The Gators were able to get into the bonus at the 12:29 mark of the second half, which proved important in the outcome. Florida went 27 of 30 (90 percent) from the free throw line because the right guys got to the line, namely Egor Koulechov (10 for 10) and KeVaughn Allen (6 for 6). Koulechov is 40 for 41 from the line this season, with his last miss coming Nov. 19 against New Hampshire.
We’re still seeing the second period letdown in defensive intensity. That’s going to continue hurting us against decent teams with a strong post presence.
There’s a fine edge on energy vs. fouling for Hayes and Stone. I thought the post play was better overall due to the physicality of their play.
Is it just me Kevin, or is there a bit of a problem with the offense when Hudson and Allen are on the floor? Hudson is scoring but Allen is slow to penetrate. Hudson is great from the perimeter and his lingering out there seems to affect Allen’s offensive game.
being up 40-20 at halftime may have contributed to the lack of intensity in the second half, but agree that the intensity was missing. very understandable, and very hard to correct. this is a tendency that all teams at all levels have, regardless of talent. do believe that coach white has to solve this problem, so hopefully he can spark that fire in his team.