J.J. Frazier had a chance to be a hero twice on Saturday, but he came up a little short each time. The first opportunity came at the end of regulation when J.J. took a last second shot from the top of the key as timed expired, but the ball didn’t cooperate, bouncing off the back of the iron and sending the game into overtime. At the end of OT, Frazier took an off-balanced shot from the corner that could have tied the game at 79 apiece, but that shot was off the mark as well and UGA lost an 80-76 heartbreaker to the Florida Gators, making it 14 straight years since they last won in Gainesville.
In some ways it was kind of amazing that the Dawgs managed to get to OT considering that they had to play the last 3:51 without their leading scorer, Yante Maten. Maten fouled out vying for position underneath with a Florida player, his team up 64-59. But without Yante on the court, the Gators were able to extend their defense so that they could key in on Frazier around the perimeter, and they limited UGA to just 3 points during this final stretch. Overtime felt like more of a formality than anything since it seemed improbable that the Dawgs could actually outplay Florida for 5 minutes without Maten’s inside presence.
But moral victories aside, this loss was also incredibly frustrating for a number of reasons. First and foremost, Georgia missed out on a chance to notch a serious NCAA tournament resume win on the road against a team with an RPI of 3. At halftime, ESPN college basketball analyst Andy Katz repeated almost to the point of ad nauseam how important it was that Georgia get this game.
Second, the Dawgs once again played loose with the basketball, turning it over 18 times, and it cost them: Florida converted those turnovers into 22 points. While the Gators did enter this game 18th in the nation in turnovers forced, that didn’t mean that UGA had to oblige and hand the ball over to them. The Dawgs are now averaging just under 16 turnovers a game in conference play, which is third to last in the SEC in that category.
Also, at the end of this game Georgia failed to limit the Gators to just one shot on offense. Florida collected 5 offensive rebounds over the final five and a half minutes (including OT), and they turned those boards into 4 of their final 14 points. Let’s not forget that Florida guard Kasey Hill tied the game from the line at 67-67 after John Egbunu kept Hill’s previous missed free throw alive. Derek Ogbeide led UGA with 10 rebounds on the afternoon, but he only managed 1 defensive board during this critical stretch of the game. Florida only had 6 second chance points in the entire game, but unfortunately for Georgia the Gators collected the majority of them with the game on the line.
Finally, Georgia made too many bonehead plays to walk out of this one with a win. The Dawgs committed three fouls on Florida shooters attempting three-pointers, and Canyon Barry turned two of them into four-point plays. I would wager a large sum of money that no other team in the country today surrenders more than one 4-point play in a game. I guess I have to at least credit the Dawgs for attempting to contest his shot, though, since twice on inbounds plays Mark Fox’s team left the youngest Barry wide open at the top of the key, where he buried both attempts. Barry scored a season-high 27 points on the Dawgs this afternoon, connecting on 5 of his 8 three-point shots.
This was a winnable game for Georgia. Despite Florida’s #23 ranking in the polls and their high RPI, this Gator team did not look nearly as scary as the ones that Billy Donovan fielded in the past. I was expecting 40 minutes of full-court pressure from this highly regarded Florida defense, yet for much of the game the Gators seemed content to play half court man to man, which played to UGA’s strengths. In the first half, the Dawgs pounded the ball inside and led the entire twenty minutes, taking a 1 point advantage into the break. Georgia made more than 48% of their field goal attemtps, well above the team’s season average of 44%.
But alas, it wasn’t meant to be, and the Dawgs are now 11-6 overall, and 3-2 in conference play. J.J. Frazier played well, scoring 25 points and dishing out 5 assists, but man would it have been epic if he could have sunk that shot at the end of regulation. Juwan Park, who has been getting better and better since the start of the SEC season, netted 17 points to go along with his 7 boards.
Georgia has a few days to lick their wounds before playing host to a Vanderbilt team that just lost a close game at home to Kentucky.
IMO, you have to put a lot of this loss on Maten. Of his 5 fouls, I think only one came on the ball, and that was when he hacked someone shooting a 3. He did not play smart and it hurt his team.
Also think Ogbeide disappeared after Maten fouled out. He got beat on the defensive boards, and didn’t do much on offense. I realize he only has one move around the basket, but it would be nice to get a putback bucket now and then from one of your bigs.
In years past, Frazier makes that 3 at the end of regulation to win the game. It was a pretty good look. He also missed a free throw at the end. I’m sure he was feeling the pressure of carrying the load with Maten on the bench.
Edwards made his usual contribution. I don’t think basketball is his sport.
You’re right about the Gator team. Ranking and RPI aside, they’re not that good. They were very beatable today.
UGA’s bench was outscored by UF’s bench 51 to 5! Fox likes to believe he has a roster that goes 13 deep based on his substitution patterns, but we clearly only have 7 or 8 SEC-caliber players at this point. Of the underclassmen, who is developing as a player over the course of this season? Jordan Harris has his moments, but I don’t see anyone else who is on the verge of stepping up. Some, like Edwards, even appear to be regressing. I’m completely miffed by Fox’s refusal to give Crump any playing time. Crump and Turtle are going to be our point guards next year and practice only isn’t going to get them ready for that responsibility. JJ is going to be a big loss any way you look at it, but it looks especially bleak from a production and leadership standpoint when you consider the lack of game experience behind him.
I’m worried that Crump might transfer after this year. He’s currently WAY behind Harris, Turtle and Juwan Parker in Fox’s mind, and all three of those guys are back next year. Given Fox’s tendency to be loyal to upperclassman, I don’t really see how he cracks that starting lineup, and I’m not sure an ESPN100 recruit is going to be content coming off the bench for his first two seasons.
Crump deserves an even better look than the Turtle! Ten games through the pre conference schedule and the Turtle failed to produce! Crump and Harris deserve every opportunity to show what they can do! Parker has come alive during the SEC schedule and Obeide has progressed beyond his one and done routine! However, the SEC season will take all five! Hitting on all cylinders, every game! Today was a wonderful opportunity, and we missed out on the NCAA’s again!