TAMPA – Different year, another close loss to Syracuse – but this one might be a precursor to something better.
Syracuse is good -- very good this year, in fact. UF coach Billy Donovan called the Orange a national championship contender, and after a 9-0 start including three wins over teams ranked in the top 15, it isn’t too hard to believe Donovan might be right.
For the second straight year, Syracuse handed Florida its first loss of the year, but this year’s UF squad showed it has plenty of fight.
This time around the Gators feel they can compete with the best.
“I don’t know,” forward Chandler Parsons said when asked whether last year’s team thought it could compete with any team in the country. “I know that for a fact that our team now can play with anybody. We just can’t have any let downs.
“Hopefully this loss here tonight can give us a good perspective of where we’re at and to get better.”
The Gators sure have plenty of fight. There were several moments Thursday night where it seemed like UF was about to get run right out of the St. Pete Times Forum. Syracuse had numerous momentum-grabbing plays that brought the crowd to its feet, but Florida had an answer almost every time.
In the first half, the Gators trailed 32-22 at one point and 35-26 at another. Each time UF responded with four straight points.
After intermission, Syracuse had a 54-44 lead cut to four with back-to-back 3s by Kenny Boynton and Erving Walker.
UF even managed to take a two-point lead with 10:06 left in the game. Syracuse would respond and go on to win, the same way all great teams do, but Florida’s unwillingness to pack it in shows this team might have a chance to go further than the past two squads.
“There is a cohesiveness, a chemistry, a bond that those guys that they want to win,” Donovan said. “They want to play well.
“This was a great team for us to play against because they exposed a lot of things that we’ve gotta get better at.”
This loss is not much of a knock on Florida. The Gators played a team that is better than them and still gave the Orange a run for their money – the game was within two possessions with less than two minutes to play.
Florida’s 73 points is tied for the most anyone has scored on Syracuse all season, and the Gators had the best field-goal percentage (43.5) of any Orange opponent this season.
This is a Syracuse team that beat California and UNC – both were ranked in the top 15 at the time – by double digits on a neutral floor in the 2K Sports Classic.
Of all the flaws that Florida showed Thursday night, there is only one that I worry about its ability to fix – talent and strength in the paint.
UF’s starting frontcourt of Dan Werner, Alex Tyus and Vernon Macklin combined for 18 points and 10 fouls against Syracuse, and SU let forward Rick Jackson go off for 16 first-half points behind seven offensive rebounds.
The Gators backcourt is very good, even if Florida seemed to struggle against Syracuse’s zone, which was quite odd since the Orange have been running the 2-3 since as long as I can remember.
But when Southeastern Conference play rolls around, the biggest question for UF will be if it can stop opponents enough in the post.
“As much as we’re focusing on blocking out and rebounding, the reality is we don’t have the most physical front court,” Donovan said. “We just don’t have that. We don’t have anyone who looks like on [Arinze] Onuaku or Rick Jackson.”
That is a little worrisome. Maybe UF can ride its backcourt to enough SEC wins to secure a NCAA berth – it won’t be as hard after nonconference wins over Michigan State, Rutgers and Florida State – but it seems like interior play will be a battle night after night.
But if you’re a Florida fan, you have to like the team’s chances this year. After the game, it was clear the Gators felt they let one slip away, even if at no point did it feel like UF outplayed Syracuse, not even for the slightest stretch.
“They’re not a top-10 team for no reason,” Parsons said. “What hurt so much is the things that we were bad at tonight was the things we can control – rebounds, transition defense and then free-throws.”
A year later, the same result now might result in a different outcome in March.
