Hoops Recap

The Dawgs fell 90-72 to the Gators Saturday afternoon. Florida is an extremely talented basketball team with terrific shooters. When they are shooting well, I don't think there is a team in the country they couldn't beat. Some thoughts:

The Good:
First and foremost, Terrance Woodbury returned today after missing the previous 10 games due to an injury. He played very well considering the fact he had been injured. Terrance scored 14 points and played some good defense. Being back in the lineup is going to make a big difference from a depth perspective for the Dawgs down the stretch because Terrance is able to log quality minutes. Steve Newman also had a nice game, with 15 points.

Before the game, Coach Felton told the Tip-Off Club that the team was well prepared for this game, and stressed that Florida is explosive on offense, and that we would have to slow them down in order to keep the game close. Everything he predicted Florida would do, they did. He said if you see Lee Humphrey open to jump down onto the court and guard him yourself. Coach Mike Jones prophetically said Lee Humphrey may look like Howdy Doody, but if you leave him open he'll drain the three (5 for 10 on the afternoon).

Additionally, Jones said that Florida had been successful against a 1-3-1 zone, so expect to see man-to-man defense. True to his word, Georgia remained in man coverage nearly the entire game. Georgia played with good intensity in the first half, and did a good job dictating a slower tempo. I felt like Georgia was prepared for the game, but executing a game plan and forcing your will on an opponent as tough as Florida is a tall order for a young team.

The Bad:
The Gators started to run a little bit in the second half and pulled away just before half time. After the half, Georgia got into a shooting match with Florida, and there are not many teams in the country that can outshoot this Florida team. Georgia's defensive intensity lagged a bit, and Florida will shoot if any of their five are unguarded for a nanosecond. They can score so easily, shooting 53% for the game, even though it felt more like 65%. It seemed to never stop raining Gator three-pointers in the second half (5 out of 10 in the second half, and 9 out of 17 for the game).


Billy Donovan

Georgia seemed to struggle much more to score points, moving the ball around and using much more of the shot clock than Florida. Georgia had some nice offensive possessions and offensive rebounds, but Florida played like a Top 5 team. The killer stat of the game would have to be the assists ratio. Georgia only had 9 assists to Florida's 20.

The crowd was announced at 9,217. This was a charitable estimate. I would estimate closer to 7,500 (with entirely too many empty seats on the lower level behind the benches). There were a lot of Gators in attendance, too--probably as many Gators as I've ever seen at a basketball game in Athens. There were around 2,500 if I had to guess, but that's what being ranked #5 will do for your road games.

Neither Here Nor There:

This was my first basketball game in Athens this season, and I must say UGA has done a nice job reorganizing the banners displaying the accomplishments of the teams that compete in Stegeman. Obviously, some teams have more to display than others.

I try not to let little things get to me. But, is it that hard to wear red and black if you are coaching the team? If it is that hard to wear red and black, is it too much to ask not to wear the colors of your opponent? I swear Felton had an orange tie. For all his other faults (and they were legion), Jim Harrick usually had the decency to wear a red tie. He left a grease spot where he stood, but he'd have on proper attire.

Not a pic from today, but you get the idea.

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