WATCH: Golden credits UConn for getting Gators out of comfort zone
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Florida Gators were no match Wednesday night for No. 5 UConn, falling 75-54 to snap their two-game winning streak.
UF had its worst shooting performance of the season, going 16-for-53 from the field (.302) while facing a nonconference AP top-five opponent in Gainesville for the first time since 2010.
“I thought we got away from what we wanted to do offensively, especially in the second half,” Gators coach Todd Golden said. “We kind of went a little too 1-on-1 or tried I don’t want to say hero shots but, you know, tried to get it all back in one possession. So, just staying with it that way is something that we gotta do better.”
In the video below, Golden discusses the Gators’ poor shooting night, their defensive performance and what the Huskies did on defense to stymie Florida.
Todd Golden reacts to the Gators’ loss
Golden’s opening statement
“This obviously is a really good opponent. This is at the level, honestly at a higher level than Xavier and West Virginia. These guys have been playing like a top five team all year. I don’t think they have a game inside of 10 points on their schedule. They played some really good teams. So, we knew it was going to be a challenge going into it. I thought we competed, for the most part, really well. Defensively in the first half we did a good job, kept us in the game that way. Second half, I thought we came out with some juice and just couldn’t get over the hump. They were able to keep us at 10 when we had some chances.
“In terms of our competitiveness, and we talked about this last time, that was better against a good team. But at the end of the day, against a team like UConn, you just got to make some shots to give yourself a chance and multiple guys on our team didn’t. Obviously, we shot 30 percent for the game. I don’t think it’s too complicated. Our competitiveness is getting better, it’s improving, especially against a team like this. I think it is better than it was in Portland. But we just got a lot of work to do and a lot of work on the offensive end to get comfortable and confident to win a game like this we need to step up and make some shots.”
