MBB OGT: #5 FLORIDA at South Carolina -- January 22, 2025 -- 7 PM [SECN]

gators1994 · Jan 23, 2025 at 3:23 PM

gator34654 said: ↑

Our bigs are good but strong athletic bigs on other teams tend to give us issues especially if we are unable to double. Time and time again they were able to back our guys close to the basket thus getting an easier shot. Perhaps our guys need more girth and strength.
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Condo needs to learn to take charges or something. They backed him down all night.

bullish · Jan 23, 2025 at 5:19 PM

rserina said: ↑

I hear ya, but the reality is that probably happens regardless. We are likely a 1-3 seed, which means odds are good that we get bounced the second weekend, and by a team that is lower seeded. We don’t have a generational talent like Flagg, or the depth, length, and athleticism of Bama or Auburn, an elite game coach like Sampson or Hurley. We don’t have a single top-100 recruit on the team, IIRC (though they are coming!).

We sort of are who we are: a team that games the system offensively with tempo, shot volume, and offensive rebounds, and runs a switch heavy defense that contests everything. It’s all based on numbers, and the team has specifically been engineered to that end (volume shooters like Martin and Clayton, with lots of length and depth up front).

19 games in, I just don’t see that changing much. So far, it has produced great results: 17-2, only 5 games decided by single digits and 2 losses by a combined 7 points, with a top 10 offense and top 20 defense across the board. We always knew teams would figure out how to slow us down in the half court, but we are still banking on tempo, shot volume, and offensive rebounding to carry us when teams do take us out of our continuity stuff, or some of the other off ball actions for Clayton and Martin.

I’m not throwing in the towel or saying we can’t get to the third weekend, but we’ve seen a lot of really good teams bow out early over the years (especially those 2001-2005 squads), and we have a pretty young, inexperienced staff in terms of making major adjustments. The wild card for me is if Clayton and/or Martin get on a heater in the postseason. But the odds of us being the last team standing (or one of the last 4) were never really great. What Golden has done to get us to this point in short order is really impressive. He just needs to keep stacking talent like Ingram, Lloyd, hopefully Bryant and Constanza, in addition to the solid 3-4 year players he develops and the great evals he makes on portal takes and international kids who fit our profile.

For now, though, I’m just enjoying us winning and competing at a high level again. It’s been a while.
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Second round loss in the tournament is probably the odds on us due to us not really having a good half court offense when a team like South Carolina, Butler and others who play tough handsie defense/ hard bumping and plays a good half court slow down offense, gives these teams a chance to upset you. It will depend on the draw, region/teams they give us.
I knew Murray Boyles would shine against us because, we have never had an answer for him.
He and Pringle have nice defensive and offensive abilities. Our bigs have a hard time just getting ten points.

exiledgator said: ↑

Yes. Yes they are.
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bullish · Jan 23, 2025 at 5:23 PM

GatorPlanet said: ↑

Condo didn't have a great game, but he still works hard and helps the team win. On Richard's game-winner, Condo made a textbook screen of Murray-Boyle that allowed Will to get all the way to the hoop.
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Excellent blockout!

rserina · Jan 23, 2025 at 5:44 PM

bullish said: ↑

Second round loss in the tournament is probably the odds on us due to us not really having a good half court offense when a team like South Carolina, Butler and others who play tough handsie defense/ hard bumping and plays a good half court slow down offense, gives these teams a chance to upset you. It will depend on the draw, region/teams they give us.
I knew Murray Boyles would shine against us because, we have never had an answer for him.
He and Pringle have nice defensive and offensive abilities. Our bigs have a hard time just getting ten points.
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So we lose to a 6-7 seed (or 10-11), despite the fact that we have only lost two games all year, both to teams seeded higher than that? Okie dokie.

GatorLurker · Jan 23, 2025 at 6:37 PM

bullish said: ↑

Excellent blockout!
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This has to be something that Golden coaches. Chins is also great at doing this. I have seen that screen to open up the baseline many times this season.

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MBB OGT: #5 FLORIDA at South Carolina -- January 22, 2025 -- 7 PM [SECN]

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