Florida basketball just took an 82-76 overtime punch to the gut from the Baylor Bears in Jacksonville. Yeah, it was just a preseason exhibition, designed for “fine-tuning,” but man, losing the first game in their “new and revamped form” still stings. You always want to start strong, even if it doesn’t count in the standings.
Offensive Woes Left Points All Over the Court
This game was a grind, 11 ties and lead changes over 45 minutes, but honestly, Florida’s offense just handed Baylor the win. We’re talking gross inefficiency, man. They shot a pathetic 25-for-72 overall from the floor, that’s a miserable 34.7%! And from deep? Forget about it. A brutal 4-for-29 from 3-point range, sitting at a chilling 13.8%. Even the free-throw line was rough, 22-for-35, just 62.9%.
Thomas Haugh was the only one really cooking, dropping 19 points on 4-for-13 shooting and hitting 9 of 10 free throws. Dude even added five boards, two steals, an assist, and a block before fouling out late in overtime with 26 seconds left. What a warrior, but he couldn’t carry the whole squad.
Coach Golden Calls Out the Rhythm Problem
Head coach Todd Golden didn’t mince words after the game, basically saying these exhibitions are exactly for figuring stuff out and learning from mistakes. He did see some good “process-wise,” like taking 17 more field goals and three more free throws than Baylor. Usually, that’s a winning formula, right? Not today.
Golden gave the defense some props, saying they “made them miss enough,” held Baylor under 50% from two, and mostly “defended without fouling poorly.” But he still pointed out they “didn’t stay down, stay between,” and let Baylor get to the line where it hurt them. But the real kicker was the offense. “Didn’t think we were able really able to ever find a rhythm,” he said. First half, they had “multiple opportunities” to go on a run and get some separation, but went “1-for-13 from three” on “about 10 uncontested looks.” Ten UNCONTESTED looks! That’s just leaving points on the board, plain and simple. And yeah, those misses clearly started to affect them, making them press and impacting other parts of their game that don’t even require talent.
Golden would much rather be celebrating a big victory, but he’s hoping this gut-check loss can be a chance to grow in the 2.5 weeks before the regular season kicks off. Losing leaves a bad taste, but maybe, just maybe, dropping one to a good opponent like Baylor now will force them to address those issues head-on. There’s a lot to fix, especially on offense, but at least they’ve got time to get it right before it truly counts.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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