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Florida's Xaivian Lee: ‘I need to start making some [expletive] shots’

On3 imageby: Zach Abolverdi6 hours agoZachAbolverdi

NEW YORK — Florida coach Todd Golden said transfer guard Xaivian Lee had his best game as a Gator in the loss to UConn on Tuesday. Lee, however, was not pleased with his shooting performance against the Huskies.

Lee almost had 20 for the second time in three games, leading the team with 19 points. He dropped 13 in the first half, including a stretch where he scored 11 points in a row.

Lee played a complete floor game as well with six rebounds, a team-high five assists, a team-high two steals and no turnovers. He also finished 8-for-9 from the free throw line.

“Proud of this guy next to me,” Golden said of Lee after the game. “I thought he had his best game in a Gator uniform. I tell him this all the time. He needs to shoot the ball a little bit better; 1-for-7 is not good enough. But I thought he played a great floor game. To finish with 19 and five, no turnovers against a good offensive team, got on the glass. I thought he played really good winning basketball tonight.”

As Golden mentioned, Lee struggled again from the perimeter and made just one of his seven attempts (14.3%). It marked his fifth time shooting under 20% beyond the arc, and he’s averaging 20.3% through nine games.

On Lee’s last try, Florida was trailing 68-62 with under two minutes left and he attempted a step back 3-pointer as the shot clock was running out. He airballed it, although Golden thought the ball was by tipped Alex Karaban.

Regardless, Lee didn’t mince words after the loss.

“I need to start making some [expletive] shots, that’s what I need to do,” Lee told Chris Harry of FloridaGators.com. “When I start making shots, we’re going to be so [expletive] good. Not to put pressure on myself, but it’s true.”

Dating back to the FSU game, Lee missed 20 consecutive 3-point attempts before ending the drought from downtown against TCU. He finally got it going in the win over Providence, scoring a season-high 20 points on 4-for-9 from 3.

Lee wasn’t able to follow that up at Duke, going 1-for-10 from the floor and 1-for-6 from 3. He shot the ball better against UConn but still struggled beyond the arc. Lee enjoyed playing at Madison Square Garden, but he’s tired of losing.

“I’ve been trying to soak it all in and play well. Obviously, MSG is one of the best venues in the whole world,” Lee said.

“It’s an incredible opportunity obviously playing great teams. I’d like to win more.”

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