As Mike White took to the lectern after Florida’s win over Ole Miss on Jan. 3, there was a sense of relief spread across his face.
Just minutes prior, after holding a commanding lead for much of the contest, the Gators were reeling as the Rebels went on an 11-2 run to cut UF’s lead to just six points with under a minute left in the game.
Florida managed to escape Mississippi’s monstrous comeback bid.
But just barely.
“Disappointing the way we finished the game,” UF’s second-year head coach said. “We knew they were going to keep coming.”
The Rebels put up just 21 points on 40-percent shooting and went 0-of-6 from beyond the arc in the first half.
The second half told a different story as Ole Miss shredded a Florida defense to the tune of 42 points, 59.3-percent shooting from the field and five three-pointers.
Ole Miss' comeback attempt illustrates a larger problem: Nearly halfway through the season, second-half slip ups have been the theme for a squad that is 13-3 and undefeated through four games of SEC play.
As soon as the Gators set foot outside of the locker room after halftime, they are a completely different team. At least defensively.
Point blank, this is a solid UF team. After a long absence from the polls, White finally returned the Gators to the AP Top-25 rankings, where they sit at No. 23. They average a respectable 78.9 points per game, and their 16th-ranked defense, according to kenPom, holds its opponents to 92.6 points per every 100 possessions and just 66.6 points per game.
In the first half, the Gators are solid on the defensive end of the floor, holding opposing teams to 30 points per game, 41.4-percent shooting from the field and 27.9-percent shooting from three-point range.
In the second half, however, Florida’s defense has been torched routinely.
For the season, the Gators give up nearly seven more points in the second half (36.6).
In addition to the increase in scoring, the shooting percentages of opposing teams also greatly increases once the final 20 minutes commence. Florida’s opponents shoot about 44.6 percent from the field and convert 38.5 percent of their threes in the final frame.
In the Gators’ three losses, No. 5 Gonzaga, No. 7 Duke and No. 9 Florida State combined to score 135 second-half points, including a 47-point outburst from the Seminoles.
Even in wins, UF still struggles to defend for a full 40 minutes. The Gators dominated Arkansas Little Rock in a 94-71 thrashing, but gave up 44 points in the second half to a team that ranks seventh in the Sun Belt Conference.
Offensively, nothing much changes for the Gators. They average roughly the same amount of points per half at 39.1 and 39.9, respectively.
But the lack of a consistent defensive presence has really hurt this team and could have much darker implications for postseason play.
“We have to show our hands. We have to be physical and clean,” White said. “But we can’t be tentative, and we can’t be scared. We’ve got to be aggressive but intelligent at the same time.”
How should they fix this problem?
Maybe they could rebound the ball better (at 35.4 rebounds per game, UF is dead last in the SEC).
Maybe they could hustle more in transition.
Or maybe they could address their foul issues in the frontcourt.
Who knows?
Regardless, one thing remains clear.
With teams like Kentucky looming on the schedule and tournament aspirations on the line, they’ve got to figure it out.
Ray Boone is a sports writer at the Alligator. His column appears on Fridays. Contact him at rboone@alligator.org or follow him on Twitter @rboone1994.
Florida coach Mike White calls out instructions to his team during Florida's 88-79 loss to Kentucky on March 1, 2016, in the O'Connell Center.
