In one of their poorest efforts in years, it seems like all of the Gators inadequacies were on display Friday night against Florida State in the 65-51 loss.
Low post defense and rebounding were huge question marks for UF heading into the season, and the Gators probably couldn't have played much worse in those areas.
The score was deceiving. Florida State milked the clock down on most possessions before pulling up for an easy floater or layup. If Florida State really wanted to, they could have scored 80 or 90 points. And even when the Seminoles missed, the Gators were allowing far too many offensive rebounds. While the Seminoles were shooting bricks from the outside, they still dominated because they got anything they wanted in the paint.
Meanwhile, the Gators aggression in their offensive sets, often pulling up for contested jump shots rather than taking it to the rim.
Turnovers were also a problem for the Gators as they continuously gave the ball away with silly mistakes.
UF really seemed to lack energy, too, but can you blame them? To a certain extent, you had to expect that a team this young would lay a stinker here and there, but they were as good as helpless out there on defense.
UF had better find some way to guard teams down low and box out, or it could be a very long season.
