Thanksgiving left the Gator Nation less than thankful after watching Florida basketball take an 84-80 loss to the TCU Horned Frogs in the Rady Children’s Invitational.
The Gators came in as a double-digit favorite and ranked eighth in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll against their Big 12 foes, but were unable to put away the pesky opponent despite holding a lead for most of the game — including a five-point edge at halftime.
Todd Golden’s gang focused on their powerful frontcourt from the get-go, but the lack of support from the backcourt proved to be the Gators’ bane. The transfer combo of Boogie Fland and Xavian Lee has hardly lived up to their expectations, and while the season is still young, the clock is ticking on those guys if Florida wants to repeat its championship.
While everyone else was chowing down on their turkey day dinners, we have the top instant takeaways right here for you to enjoy. Too bad the bird came out dry and the stuffing was burnt by the end of play.
Florida comes out strong, but TCU Punch-es back
The Gators came out strong in this one, despite surrendering a field goal on a second chance after the Horned Frogs won the tipoff; they attacked the basket mercilessly, as evidenced by Chinyelu’s foul off a pick-and-roll on Florida’s opening possession.
That pick-and-roll play (with a healthy mix of some post-ups) would be the theme for the offense throughout the first half as Todd Golden apparently abandoned the outside game in favor of taking advantage of his top-tier front court, which was facing a much undermatched squad. TCU responded with a healthy helping of tenacity in the first 20 minutes — even if it was at the expense of a pair of Flagrant 1 fouls in the first 7:30 and numerous other rebounding fouls.
The other story of the first half for them, thuggery aside, was David Punch’s performance. The sophomore forward played bigger than his 6-foot-7-inch height down low, giving the Gators trouble by scoring a team-high nine points while grabbing six boards and dishing out a dime in 18 minutes played; not only did he make a mark on the scorecard, but he was also a presence in the paint on defense as well.
Nonetheless, Florida took a five-point lead into halftime thanks to Thomas Haugh’s game-leading 12 points along with three boards, a block and a steal. Fland and Lee combined for 10 points on 2-for-6 shooting overall and a goose egg in three attempts downtown.
TCU simply wouldn’t back down, outlasts Florida
The Gators simply could not pull away from the Horned Frogs despite a seven-point early second-half run that put them up by 10. TCU battled back to take the lead back halfway through the period, then re-took the lead a few more times as the teams back-and-forthed during the de facto fourth quarter.
While the 3-ball started to fall for Florida, it simply was not enough for a scrappy TCU team that continued to press the issue possession after possession on both ends of the court. Golden’s game plan was picked up by the opposition during the halftime break by Jaime Dixon, and his team implemented the fixes with near-flawless execution.
Fland fouled out with 1:10, which was probably the moment most Gators fans realized this one was not going to go how they had hoped. Alas, the Orange and Blue took its second loss of the season — both coming on a neutral court.
Florida’s offensive scheme has definitely changed overall
Some other thoughts on Florida’s offensive scheme. Last year, the predominant perimeter screen play was the handoff, which favors strong guard play; today, it became apparent that was abandoned for the pick-and-roll play, which utilizes a big man as the pass recipient after using the screen.
This represents a major shift in how the Gators run their offense, and with the increased use of the post-up play as well, it appears that Golden is embracing the paradigm shift as his starting backcourt continues to try to figure things out from deep.
Until then, pound it down low, let Haugh (3-for-8) and Klavzar (4-for-7) set them free from 3, and hope for the best. But we should be worried about how teams like Duke and UConn (or even their upcoming opponent) will exploit Florida’s weaknesses at guard while mitigating the front court’s prowess.
Up next for Florida basketball
The Gators will play again on Friday, November 28, in the losers’ bracket, which takes place at 3 p.m. ET at the same place but will be broadcast on FOX this time. The opponent will be decided in the second game of Thursday’s Rady Children’s Invitational bracket between the Wisconsin Badgers and the Providence Friars.
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Instant takeaways from Florida basketball’s loss v TCU on Thanksgiving
Reporting by Adam Dubbin, Gators Wire / Gators Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
