No. 15 Florida lost a tight game against No. 4 Duke, 67-66, on Tuesday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
The Gators were the better team for all but eight minutes of the game, but a 19-5 run from the Blue Devils to close the second half proved to be the difference. Once again, poor shooting doomed the Orange and Blue. Florida shot just 37.3% from the field and 25% from 3-point range.
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Thomas Haugh did all he could to win, with 24 points, six rebounds, an assist, a block and a steal. It wasn’t enough. Cameron Boozer, who looked every bit the best player in the country, matched Haugh and then some. Boozer finished with 29 points, six rebounds, two assists and a steal.
A strong second half made things close. Boogie Fland and Alex Condon got going, offensive rebounds led to second-chance opportunities for Florida and strong defense forced more misses from Duke. The Gators took a two-point lead with 32 seconds left, but Duke returned the favor on a broken play. Urban Klavzar hadn’t left Isaiah Evans for most of the second half, but the last-minute scramble led to an open look.
Still, Florida proved that it’s still worthy of a top 10 ranking and that it can hang with the best teams in the country. It’s a work in progress, even if 5-3 looks ugly in the standings.
Someone has to help Haugh
Florida couldn’t buy a bucket in the first half, unless Thomas Haugh was shooting. Haugh played all 20 minutes before the break and scored or assisted on 19 of Florida’s 24 points. Boogie Fland and Xaivian Lee went a combined 1-of-11 from the field, and the only make was a lucky roll off the back of the rim. In fact, if you take away Haugh’s shooting, the team went 4-of-26 from the field in the first half. Ugly.
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Haugh can only do it by himself for so long. Eventually, Duke figured out that he was the only threat and all of Florida’s plays were designed to get Haugh driving to his right. Considering the poor shooting, it’s a miracle that Florida kept the game knotted at 19 through the first 12 minutes. The next eight minutes were all Duke. The Blue Devils went on a 19-5 run, leading by 12 at the break.
Florida should have won this game
Several little things buried Florida. Besides the forced 3-pointers, Condon was called on a lane violation to nullify a missed free throw from Cameron Boozer, and a blatant no-call on Duke goaltending was the difference on the scoreboard.
Coaches and players who point to referee errors are often labeled whiners, but sometimes it’s warranted. The ball hit the backboard and was then blocked. A year ago, a timeout gets called and the play is reviewed. The exact butterfly effect isn’t worth going into, but in a one-point loss, that moment looms large.
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Of course, a better end to the first half from Florida makes all of this a non-issue.
Too little, too late from Boogie Fland
Fland was Florida’s leading scorer in the second half. Part of that is Duke adjusting at halftime to slow down Haugh, but he also seemed to find an offensive rhythm that hasn’t been present all season. He finished the day just under 50% shooting and had three steals. Four turnovers ot one assist isn’t great, but he had just one and one in the second half.
The change came once Fland stopped forcing 3-pointers. He came around screens quickly and found plenty of buckets inside the arc. For Florida to be successful, Fland must play that brand of basketball.
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It’s an encouraging sign to see Fland figure it out, but it came way too late. Again, this could have been a multi-possession victory for Florida had the first half gone even a bit better.
Xaivian Lee does his Jekyll and Hyde routine
All the confidence Xaivian Lee built up in the second half against Providence might be gone. A 1-for-10 night with just one assist is not what starting point guards in the SEC do. Lee said he “was in a dark place” before that breakout game. He mustn’t return to the shadow realm.
The saying goes: play with emotion, not emotion. Lee can’t lose his “joy” every time the shots don’t fall. He was nearly a non-factor in this game, and there’s a reason Golden played Klavzar 15 minutes to Lee’s 10 in the second half. A bench role still feels right for Lee, at least until he gets his head on straight.
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No shade. Adjusting to this pace is hard. But it’s what he came here to do.
Florida can win a national championship
Gator Nation is going to leave this one with a bad taste in their mouths, and rightfully so. But so-called moral victories will turn into real victories if this team continues to get better, as it has through the first month of the season.
Losing in November and December doesn’t matter if you don’t lose in March. Forget about TCU for a moment. Arizona and Duke are potential Final Four teams with elite freshman big men. The first thing Boozer said after the game was how good Florida’s frontcourt is.
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It’s the backcourt that needs work, and they are improving. Back-to-back breakout games from transfers show what the Gators are capable of. If Fland plays like that for the whole game, or Lee doesn’t fall back into a slump, it’s a Florida win.
Todd Golden’s job is to get these guys firing on all cylinders before the NCAA Tournament. Seeding doesn’t matter. UConn is Florida’s last chance on the non-conference schedule to add a meaningful win. That complete team performance has to come next Tuesday.
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida basketball vs. Duke Blue Devils recap, instant takeaways
