Gators cruise to 84-72 victory over Georgia

Led by Athens native Phlandrous Fleming Jr., the Florida Gators men’s basketball dominated the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday by a score of 84-72.

The game was neck-and-neck through the first 10 minutes, but Florida took the lead with 9:15 to play in the first half and never trailed from that point on.

UF went into the locker room up 41-34 and came out with a 10-point run to take a 51-34 lead. The Gators led by double digits for 18:39 in the second half and cruised to a 12-point win.

“That’s as well as we’ve played offensively, all year.” UF head coach Mike White said. “The shooting percentages speak for themselves, 14-for-31 (from 3-point range. But when you complement that with 20 (assists) to six (turnovers), you got a chance to beat any SEC opponent. We weren’t perfect defensively, but it’s easier said than done defending Georgia and a Tom Crean team.”

The win puts the Gators (18-11) at 8-8 in conference play with two conference matchups left before the SEC Tournament begins on March 10.

Gators offense was firing on all cylinders

The highlight of the game was Fleming Jr.’s return to his hometown with an electric performance. He finished with a season-high 27 points while adding five rebounds and four assists.

“He made shots and he made plays. His intensity level and his level of competitiveness is no different,” Florida coach Mike White said of Fleming. “I’m telling you; we could call practice in an hour, and he would be the same guy. It’s just who he is. I do think he was really locked in. His attention to detail, his focus, his decisions offensively. He was really solid defensively. When you talk to your guys about being locked in, he epitomized it today.

“He didn’t make many mistakes. He threw a no-look pass that went out of bounds that we jumped on him about. Other than that, he was nearly perfect. He played really, really well and he’s turned himself into a really good player at this level in a hurry. Great attitude, high-character guy, and I’m happy to see him play really well in front of a lot of his people here in his hometown.”

Without forward Anthony Duruji sidelined with an injury (ankle/foot), the Gators needed the entire team to step up. They did just that, with four players scoring in double figures.

“Ruj was out, so we had to adjust, man,” Fleming said. “Hopefully he’ll be back Tuesday. But if not, next man up.”

UF guard Tyree Appleby was on the bench in the first half due to early foul trouble, but exploded with 15 second-half points to finish with 21 and a team-high seven assists. 

Gators forward Colin Castleton did a little bit of everything Saturday. He scored or assisted on Florida’s first 16 points and posted his eighth double-double this season. He had 10 points, 12 rebounds, three blocks and a career-high five assists, all on 3-pointers.

“Credit Georgia, again, throwing traffic at Colin, and Colin demands that, of course with the way he’s developed, and the player he’s become,” Coach White said. “And Colin made good decisions. He only was credited for five assists, but he had a bunch of kickouts, could’ve had more.”

It was a parade of triples for the Gators, and guard Myreon Jones got in on the action with 13 points and three makes beyond the arc. 

UF was the lights out from 3-point range (45.2 percent), finishing with a season-high 14 treys and shooting 51.7 percent (31-for-60) from the field.

The ball movement was on point for the Gators, who finished with 20 team assists on 31 shots made.

“We moved the ball well,” Fleming said. “We only had six turnovers, and that was the key to the game: valuing the ball and getting A-shots. Knowing we had that many assists, that means we got a lot of good shots up.”

Florida is still alive in the hunt for an NCAA Tournament bid, but the focus moves to Tuesday night’s matchup in Nashville against the Vanderbilt Commodores.