Next up for Florida: #14 Alabama, Tuesday, March 5, 7 p.m., ESPN
Notable
* Zyon Pullin posted a strong all-around outing with 18 points, seven assists and four rebounds with just one turnover.
* Walter Clayton Jr. led the Gators with 20 points and hit six 3-pointers, his fourth straight outing with at least three made 3-pointers. Clayton now has 11 20-point games this season.
* Tyrese Samuel added 13 points and Riley Kugel chipped in 10, while Thomas Haugh scored all nine of his points in the first half.
* After falling behind 14-6 early, the Gators went on a 14-0 run to take the lead, 20-14, holding the Gamecocks to a six-minute scoring drought.
Head Coach Todd Golden
On South Carolina going to a zone defense…
“I thought it was obviously a good move, just to try to change the pace for them a little bit. We just weren’t aggressive enough attacking it. We were just moving it a little too much side-to-side at the top, got it down early to the corners and had a turnover or two, which I think made us play on our heels a little bit. Really good length at the top with Zach Davis, and he does a good job playing that ball using his legs to kicks a couple balls and just disrupting the top. We’ve got to be more aggressive attacking it. With that being said, we weren’t that aggressive and we turned it over a lot, so we really just didn’t attack it very well at all.”
On the ball security issues late…
“I just didn’t think we were collectively strong enough with the ball late. South Carolina is physical. They do a good job playing the ball, and if you’re not strong with it you’re going to put yourself in situations where they can take it. We were trying to kind of knife our way through the zone a little bit, and they’re long, they’re active. We just weren’t playing well in those tight spaces, and that led to most of those turnovers in the second half.”
On whether he has concern about the team not being able to put this one aside…
“No. I don’t. Our team’s been really good that way all year. I feel like we have a really mature, resilient group. That doesn’t mean we’re winning on Tuesday, but I think our team is going to prepare really well. They understand the challenge at hand. I truly don’t. I think we’ll be ready to go Tuesday night.”
On Walter Clayton’s ability to make contested shots…
“It was a little give-and-take today. He was a little loose with the ball. Walter is one of the best shooters in college basketball. He has the ability to beat a defense even if they play really good coverages and execute what they’re trying to do. I think he did that for a majority of the night and took the air out of the gym with some of the 3s that he hit. Again, that’s what makes him a special player. He’s a great contested jump shooter and does a really good job of stopping on a dime, creating space and lifting up into his jump shot. He hit some big ones for us tonight.”
On trying to get more consistent defense and Meechie Johnson’s performance…
“Yeah, he made some shots and they were at the line the whole second half. Again, it’s been an issue for us on the road for us going back to A&M. They shot 31 free throws tonight, we shoot 15. It’s going to be really hard to beat a Top-25 team on the road with that disparity. I think both teams were really physical trying to get downhill and in the paint. But they shot 22 free throws in the second half, we shot 10. That’s just a really big delta to try and close. I have to do a better job teaching my guys to defend without fouling. Obviously, these other teams that we’re playing are doing a better job of defending without fouling.”
Junior G Walter Clayton Jr.
On what made the difference down the stretch…
“I turned the ball over too much. Us not getting shots up, that’s on me.”
On how they put this behind for the next game…
“Keep doing what we’ve been doing, but mentally prepare and talk about second halves.”
Grad G Zyon Pullin
On what made the difference…
“We had a few turnovers down the stretch. That 1-3-1 bothered us a little bit. I think we were starting to figure it out toward the end, but I think that kind of slowed us down. We’ve just got to be better at figuring it out when teams do go like that. I thought we were rolling.”
On moving on to Tuesday’s game…
“Keep that next-game mentality. This was one. They got us. We’ve got to find a way to learn from it. We’ve got another big one Tuesday. If we come out slow, it’s another game we could lose. Just focus on the next game and find a way to win that one.”
