After owning a 15-point lead at Allen Fieldhouse coming out of halftime, the Gators (3-4) ultimately fell, following a season long trend.
The No. 11 Kansas Jayhawks (6-1) defeated Florida 71-65 on Friday night in Lawrence, Kansas. For the second year in a row, the Jayhawks walked away from the Southeastern Conference-Big 12 Challenge with a win.
Florida yet again demonstrated its second-half offensive and defensive struggles. As coach Billy Donovan has said since the start of Florida’s season, the Gators who played the first half seemed to be absent during the second half.
“I don't know what it is, something happens to us in the second half,” Donovan said. “We're not going to be able to beat teams playing 20 minutes."
The Gators started the game strong, shooting 56.3 percent and holding the Jayhawks to 34.4 percent. But Florida’s field goal percentage dropped 19.1 percent from the first half to the second.
Florida’s first half was won 39-24 in points off rebounds, which the Gators led in with 18. When the second half came around, Florida managed just 9 rebounds while Kansas secured 24.
Kansas’ comeback started with 6:18 left to play in the second half. The Jayhawks tied the game 52-52. Less than a minute later, Kansas reclaimed the lead 54-52 for the first time since the 13:08 mark, when they were winning 14-12.
For almost seven and a half minutes, the Jayhawks held the Gators scoreless in the second half. Kansas’ run started after a three-point shot from freshman forward Devin Robinson that put Florida ahead 52-43. The Jayhawks’ run came to a close when with sophomore forward Chris Walker’s 1-of-2 free throw shots at the three-minute mark.
Walker put up 12 points and five rebounds in just 15 minutes played on Friday.
Starter Robinson had career game with a team-leading 13 points, five rebounds and five fouls, which took him out of the game with 1:13 left to play.
Sophomore guard Kasey Hill saw some more offensive struggles on Friday. Contributing five points in 32 minutes, Hill was 2-for-9 from the field and 1-for-3 from the charity stripe, though he led the team with eight assists.
“They put pressure on us the entire night,” said Kansas coach Bill Self. “We couldn’t keep Hill out of the lane… In the first half, we were way too passive.”
Hill snapped Florida’s second half field goal drought when he finally made a shot with 1:01 left to play in the game.
The Gators’ fourth loss of the seasons pushes them below the .500 mark for the first time since the 1998. This will be a tough statistic to come back from, considering Florida’s next opponent, Yale, defeated UConn on Friday night.
Follow Erica A. Hernandez on Twitter @EricaAlyssa
Chris Walker attempts a layup during Florida's loss to No. 11 Kansas on Friday in Lawrence, Kansas.
