Florida basketball advanced to the semifinals of the SEC Tournament with a 71-63 win over the Kentucky Wildcats on Friday afternoon at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. It was the Gators’ third victory in as many tries over ‘Cats, with the last two coming back-to-back.
Todd Golden’s team came out and set the tone early, but Mark Pope’s squad could not be put away. It ended up being a bit of a rock fight, but when it comes to the tournament, a win is a win.
Following the game, Golden along with Alex Condon and Thomas Haugh spoke with the media about the team’s performance on Friday. Take a look below at what they had to say.
Todd Golden’s opening statement
“Good win for us today. Coming into the conference tournament, we hadn’t played in about a week. I thought we were a little rusty. Played with good energy in the first half.
“It was kind of the same story each of the three times we played these guys this year. Got up big in the second half. We were up 17 with 13 to go, had an opportunity to extend to a point where they couldn’t get back in the ballgame. We got sloppy with the ball.
“I thought our execution and the way we played physically for the last 13 minutes was not good enough. That’s something we can address and get ready for our opponent in the semifinals.”
How weird was it facing Kentucky just a week after playing them before?
ALEX CONDON: “Yeah, it was a bit weird. Just playing them already twice this year. We had the scout for them ready to go. I feel like we were a bit passive in the second half, cruising a little bit out there. We got to bounce back, play up to the competition. There’s some good teams in the SEC and in March, too.”
THOMAS HAUGH: “Yeah, just what he said. Am I supposed to say something (laughter)?”
How have you grown to learn to impact the game beyond scoring?
HAUGH: “Yeah, I mean, that’s just kind of how I played my entire life. I never was the flashy guy, go out there and play one-on-one ball. I try to do little things. I think Condo is the same way.
“We came into Florida since we were freshmen, that’s our play style, just a little scrappy.”
You out-rebounded Kentucky; was that the point of emphasis?
HAUGH: “Yeah, obviously, they played two games before this. That’s going to tire out their guys. We knew coming in they were going to be a little slow at the boards and stuff like that. That just happens when you play in this tournament, three, four games back to back.
“Credit to our coaches. They told us that at the beginning. That’s how we played the entire year, fight for boards. You saw it in the beginning of the game and towards the end, too.”
CONDON: “Tommy hit the nail on the head right there. That’s all I got.”
Can you speak to the careless nature with the ball?
HAUGH: “Yeah, I think the turnovers we need to fix. We had that problem a little bit in the beginning of the year. We fixed it. We have to get back to playing who we are. We don’t turn the ball over like that. That’s pretty uncommon.”
We’ve seen Xaivian Lee’s shot before
HAUGH: “Xaivian, he steps up, hit big shots. Hit a shot against Vanderbilt like that. Saw it again.”
CONDON: “Shout-out to X. I think he did a good job of facilitating early, let the game come to him. Hitting the big shot down the stretch, he likes that go-to move.
“Any shot for us is a great shot, we crash the rebounds. We sort the turnovers out, get shots up at the rim, we’re going to be good.”
MODERATOR: “Gentlemen, thank you. We’ll continue with questions for Coach Golden.”
Talk about the overall defense; also Xaivian hitting a step-back again
“We’re a very good defensive team. We have been all year. The times where we struggled today defensively were a product of our offense, in my estimation. Obviously, we’ll go back and watch the film. When we were bad with the ball leading to turnovers, they were able to get out in transition or get us in odd-man advantage where we weren’t matched up properly. They had some success offensively.
“Anytime we got them operating in the halfcourt against a set defense, it was challenging for them. That’s where complementary basketball, take better care of the ball, they’re not going to be able to put us in those predicaments.
“In terms of X, that’s a good shot for him. It’s a tough shot, but it’s one he’s very comfortable taking. He has the ability to snatch that thing back and get separation from the defender. He’s confident shooting that shot.
“Obviously, you want to work to get something that might be a little more higher percentage in that moment. We use clock, everybody else knew he was going to take the shot. We were going to put pressure on the offensive glass if he didn’t make it. He stepped up and hit a dagger.”
3 for 20 from 3 — is that a product of being rusty or Kentucky’s effort?
“No, I think we’re a little rusty. First time we shot in here was today. It takes a little bit to get comfortable back in the venue.
“I thought we missed some really good looks. We’ll go back, watch film. Out of our 17 misses, I would imagine 10 of those were open and uncontested.
“I’m not too worried about it. We’ve been shooting the ball really well. We just haven’t played in a week. I think it will take us a little bit of time to get back in that rhythm and flow we had ending the regular season.”
Would you also talk about the physicality of the game
“I think anytime the game is physical, that’s going to be to our benefit, just with our physicality in the front court, our depth. We have strong, live bodies. I think that’s a good battle for us to get into. I thought we did a great job the first, let’s say, 27 minutes of the game just dictating everything that way.
“But just started not doing a good enough job taking care of the ball. I thought once they got behind, the last 10 or so minutes, we were kind of playing not to lose, and they were playing free with no pressure because there was none left at that point.
“We have to do a better job managing those situations if we’re fortunate enough to be in them moving forward.”
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Todd Golden, players talk Florida’s SEC Tournament win over Kentucky
Reporting by Adam Dubbin, Gators Wire / Gators Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
