Florida was rolling. Five straight wins, including statement blowouts over ranked Georgia and Tennessee and a gritty road win at then-No.
10 Vanderbilt, had the Gators playing their best basketball of the season. But that momentum came to a halt Saturday in Gainesville, where they ran into a red-hot Auburn squad and fell 76-67 in a physical SEC clash.
Now sitting at 14-6 overall and 5-2 in conference play, No. 19 Florida heads to Columbia on Wednesday night looking to reset against South Carolina. If the Gators want to get back on track, it starts with reestablishing their frontcourt dominance-something that was missing against Auburn.
Thomas Haugh did his part, pouring in 27 points in a strong individual effort. But the rest of Florida’s bigs struggled to find their rhythm.
Alex Condon, typically a reliable interior presence, managed just one point and turned the ball over four times. Rueben Chinyelu tried to steady the group with 10 points and seven boards, but it wasn’t enough to offset the imbalance.
“We’ve got to find ways to counteract it,” head coach Todd Golden said postgame. “And do a better job of taking advantage of being wide open on the perimeter and wide open in the middle of the floor.”
It’s not just the frontcourt that needs sharpening. The Gators’ free-throw shooting continues to be a concern.
They ranked 13th in the SEC in free-throw percentage heading into the Auburn game-and then went 16-for-27 at the line. That’s a tough number to stomach in a close, high-stakes conference battle.
Chinyelu, who went 4-for-7 from the stripe, didn’t mince words: “I think it’s just unacceptable, just missing free throws. It’s called free for a reason. We’re going to work on that and make sure we’re much better for the next game.”
Despite the hiccup, there’s still plenty to like about this Florida roster. Haugh leads a balanced scoring attack with 17.4 points per game, while Condon chips in 13.4. Chinyelu is averaging a double-double (11.9 points, 11.0 rebounds), and the backcourt duo of Boogie Fland and Xaivian Lee-who transferred in from Princeton-adds another layer of scoring punch, averaging 11.3 and 11.2 points per game, respectively.
South Carolina, meanwhile, is trying to regroup after a rough outing of its own. The Gamecocks were blitzed by Texas A&M in a 92-69 road loss on Saturday, undone by a barrage of threes-17 makes on 39 attempts from the Aggies-and a sluggish start that saw them down 46-25 at halftime.
“Getting off to a fast start is always preferable, I would say,” Gamecocks coach Lamont Paris noted. “It’s not a necessity, but if you had your druthers, I’d always choose to have a fast start than a slow start.”
There were still some bright spots for South Carolina. Meechie Johnson dropped 26 points, while Kobe Knox added 18.
The two combined to shoot a solid 14-for-26 from the field. The problem?
The rest of the roster went just 10-for-35, and the Gamecocks never found their footing defensively.
On paper, this matchup tilts in Florida’s favor, especially in the paint. South Carolina is shooting a respectable 45.7% from the field, but their 32.2% mark from beyond the arc suggests they’ll need to get hot from deep to keep pace. Rebounding will also be key-the Gamecocks average 34.3 boards per game, but they’ll be tested by Florida’s size and physicality inside.
This is the first of two meetings between the SEC foes this season. The rematch comes February 17 in Gainesville. For now, both teams are looking for a bounce-back performance-and for Florida, it’s about rediscovering the form that had them looking like a real contender just a week ago.