Some observations following UF’s 62-61 loss to Ole Miss at the O’Connell Center:
– The Gators started out the game rebounding well, having an early 17-11 advantage on the boards with eight early offensive rebounds. But Ole Miss eventually evened the rebounding margin at 36 for the game. Florida had 12 second-chance points, while Ole Miss finished with 11 second-chance points. But the biggest offensive rebound of the game came late for Ole Miss. With the Gators up 61-57 and 2:29 left, Ole Miss center Dwight Coleby had a big offensive rebound off a missed LaDarius White 3-pointer and putback to cut Florida’s lead to 61-59. Had the Gators come up with a rebound there, they could have maintained their four-point lead and perhaps built on it, instead of clinging to a two-point lead in the closing minutes.
– Florida didn’t get enough from production from the point guard position, as freshman Chris Chiozza and sophomore Kasey Hill combined to go 4 of 16 from the floor and 1 of 6 from 3-point range. Chiozza and Hill each had 8 assists and Chiozza found Devin Robinson and Chris Walker for some alley-oops. But neither player was aggressive enough to drive the lane and draw contact down the stretch, which could have helped UF’s offense.
– Florida sophomore center Chris Walker had 7 points and 6 rebounds in 14 minutes, but he couldn’t stay on the floor in the second half due to missed defensive assignments. An NBA scout told me during a game that it’s “criminal” that Walker hasn’t learned more fundamentals. “He had a million dollar body,” the scout said. “He just needs to learn how to play.”
