Florida Aiming to Remain Aggressive to Avoid More Near-Collapses

The lack of aggressiveness with sizable second-half leads has proven near-detrimental for the Gators. They aim to remain on the attack to avoid further collapses.

Winning in the SEC doesn't come easy. The Gators have been forced to learn that the hard way in their last two outings.

Florida has fought hard to build the three-game win streak it currently rides. Following a road victory over Missouri, UF returned home for a two-game home stand against Mississippi State and Georgia. The Gators built 17 and 21-point leads on each opponent but squandered both late in the second half to single digits. They were able to hold off Mississippi State from completing their comeback surge. However, Florida wasn't as lucky versus Georgia.

The Bulldogs knocked down five second-half triples to spark their closing of the 21-point margin. It culminated in five straight points by freshman guard Blue Cain to tie the contest at 85 apiece, ultimately sending the game to a formerly improbable overtime period.

Florida pulled out the win in each, which makes the situations easier to deal with as the process isn't dictating results. But, according to Florida head coach Todd Golden, finding ways to improve on playing for a full 40 minutes is essential to address moving forward.

Gators forward Will Richard celebrates on the floor after sinking a three-point shot through a foul against the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday. Richard finished with 18 points, seven rebounds and three assists to elevate UF to a 102-98 win over UGA / Matt Pendleton

"A win's a win," Golden said frankly after the latter victory on Saturday. "The great thing is we can learn from it positively and not have a tough weekend thinking about a brutal loss. 

"That's part of growing as a program, you know. We've obviously improved over these last couple of weeks. You don't get up by 19 and 21 in these two games at home against some good teams if you're not improving from where we were a month ago, and I think the next step for our group is just pushing through and playing the full 40, you know, regardless of the score, regardless of the situation, just staying true to what we want to do in terms of our execution."

Florida's struggles to close out games in which UF holds a sizable advantage at times in the 2023-24 campaign is a byproduct of its desired style and the conflicting nature of playing with the lead late.

Regarded as the nation's 18th-ranked squad in tempo throughout the season, the Gators have excelled running the floor to find good shot selections early in the shot clock. It's designed to maximize Florida's number of possessions in a game, as more opportunities usually correlate to more points scored.

They're calculated to average nearly 73 possessions per game by KenPom with a 31st-best 14.35 fast break points per outing. The number almost perfectly reflects the staff's vision for the uber-athletic roster it compiled in the offseason.

However, when UF's built a lead lately, Golden's tried to flip the script on its run-and-gun scheme. The Gators have attempted to milk the clock, as they're usually tasked with breaking full-court press attempts and dribbling the clock down before working through their halfcourt set.

Effectiveness has notably deteriorated in those instances.

The premise itself isn't the issue, though. Even fast-paced teams need to utilize the luxury the 30-second shot clock provides to limit opponents' chances to mount comebacks. But it doesn't mean you let your foot off the gas the way the Gators have.

It's likened to a pass-heavy team in football. There comes a time when running the ball will be paramount.

If that team is able to make those adjustments and run the ball effectively, thus allowing the clock to work in their favor in the second half, they'll have greater success in the long run. On the flip side, if they can't run the football, they can't bleed the clock, presenting the opposing offense with valuable time to work with.

The Buffalo Bills have most notably wrestled with this dilemma in recent years, and fallen on the sword of their high-octane passing offense when it came playoff time.

Florida has reached a similar point, where the fast-paced style can be the life and death of the unit.

Golden pointed out the team's biggest fault in those scenarios following Wednesday's nine-point win over Mississippi State. It's the lack of aggressiveness down the stretch.

Slowing down shouldn't translate to stopping attacking.

"We just weren't aggressive enough attacking the press," Golden said on Jan. 26. "I think it's a little bit human nature. You get a 17-point lead, eight minutes to go, and you don't want to take too many chances that open up opportunities for the opponent. But Mississippi State, to their credit, knew their back was against the wall in that moment, was taking a lot of chances and being really aggressive defensively. Once we broke the press, I didn't think we were aggressive enough attacking them in the halfcourt."

And the assertion makes sense. Florida has proven on several occasions that the offense can produce in a multitude of ways. It's not necessarily dependent on open looks from three or rim-running twos in transition, although those surely catalyze the nation's eighth-ranked scoring offense.

The Gators can win in the halfcourt, too.

Gators guards Zyon Pullin and Walter Clayton Jr. against the Michigan Wolverines in the Jumpman Invitational. The duo helped Florida escape with a double overtime victory over UM / © Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

They're equipped with a duo of talented on-ball scorers in the backcourt with Zyon Pullin and Walter Clayton Jr.

Both can create shots for themselves and their teammates at any given moment. It's the reason they're in Gainesville. It was the driving force in targeting their services this offseason.

Golden scoured the open market looking for ball-handling guards who could score or set up a score when UF most needed it to add alongside dynamic wing Riley Kugel.

"When you have three guys on the perimeter that can make plays off the bounce, that can use a ball screen, that can facilitate for others and finish and score, it just makes you so much more potent, offensively," Golden told All Gators this offseason in an exclusive interview. "They just make my life a little easier."

Throughout most of the year, Pullin and Clayton have done just that, leading the team in scoring with 14.9 and 15.9 per game, respectively.

As a result, the Gators have found ways to triumph in some of the close games they most likely would've lost in his inaugural campaign as head coach.

But, in situations where Florida leads considerably, the duo has pumped the brakes on attacking, stopped sharing the basketball and is forced to take difficult shots at the end of the shot clock as a result.

It shouldn't — and doesn't have to — be the case.

According to Pullin, the solution boils down to remaining poised in those situations and finding ways to stay engaged even when their lead begins to marginally shrink.

"I think just staying poised," the veteran guard said following the overtime victory over Georgia. "That was the biggest thing. We knew what we needed to correct and the biggest thing was just staying together to start overtime. Overtime started with a fast start."

It's the adage: Play to win, not to simply not lose. Florida's played not to lose in the final ten minutes of its past two games, which nearly cost them.

But they're ultimately winning, a testament to the team's continued meshing of talent and team-wide growth from the season's start.

Todd Golden coaching in the Gators SEC opening contest against the Kentucky Wildcats at home on Jan. 6. Florida squandered an 11-point lead to fall short of an impressive upset win, 87-85 / Zach Goodall

"The reality is, the guys feel it," Golden said postgame on the importance of the win over UGA. "Like, we're definitely playing better. We're playing better. The wins are stacking. And listen, we got a tough stretch coming up. We go to Rupp, we go to College Station. I think we have Auburn coming in after a bye after that. So it ain't getting any easier.

"This was a game we were supposed to win. Not that that means that you're definitely going to win, as proven by their comeback, but when you stack games like this, you put yourself in position to accomplish your goals."

That can always change, though.

So, as the Gators look to build on the positive momentum they've garnered of late with three-straight wins coming over the likes of Missouri, Mississippi State and Georgia, maintaining their aggressive, attacking nature late in the second half should be the paramount focus.

If it isn't, it could result in Saturday's near-disheartening loss to turn into a real defeat down the stretch of league play.

Allowing that to happen would be catastrophic for their March Madness resume.

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