Billy Donovan attributed Tuesday’s 93-75 loss against Ohio State primarily to what he called the double-D: decisions and discipline.
No. 9 Florida’s defeat was due to turnovers and a lack of intensity down the stretch, areas it will have a chance to improve upon tonight when it squares off against North Carolina A&T (1-2) at 7 in the O’Connell Center.
“The biggest key for our team is, can we become more disciplined and can we make good decisions in what we’re doing?” Donovan said. “I thought for about 30 minutes we were pretty good and did a good job, and then I thought we really broke down in those areas.”
With 12:29 left in the game, the Gators held a 57-56 lead on the No. 4 Buckeyes.
But from there, UF (1-1) committed 11 turnovers and allowed Ohio State to shoot 74 percent from the field.
“Beating them in the first half is irrelevant,” senior Chandler Parsons said. “We’ve got to continue to get better, continue to execute and continue to play defense throughout the whole game, not just the first half.”
Seven of the team’s 18 turnovers came from junior point guard Erving Walker.
Although Ohio State was content to sit back in its half-court defense, Walker frequently made wild drives to the hoop that usually ended with a turnover or errant pass.
Donovan said Walker was guilty of trying to do too much down the stretch, when a better course of action might have been to find an open teammate in the post.
Florida’s guards frequently fed their interior players over the first 20 minutes, resulting in 20 field goal attempts from the paint. In the second half, however, that number dropped to eight.
“I applaud his competitiveness and wanting to win and his fire, but he’s not going to be able to do it all by himself,” Donovan said.
Walker, who is beginning his second year at the point guard position after playing off the ball as a freshman, is still learning the nuances of running the team on both ends of the floor.
The Gators frequently allowed the Buckeyes to get uncontested looks off inbound plays, something Donovan wants Walker to identify, control and prevent.
“As a point guard, you’ve got to get our team matched up,” Donovan said.
Donovan also expects Walker to control the tempo of the game on the offensive end, something he struggled to do in the team’s opener against UNC-Wilmington.
In an attempt to establish UF’s frenetic pace, Walker sometimes rushed the Gators into situations where it might have been better to slow down, rest and focus on getting a basket.
“There’s times when we get out on the break and the ball is not in his hands and he needs to take more command of going and getting the ball and settling us down,” Donovan said after UF’s opener. “There’s got to be a better awareness of Erving to sit there, put the ball under his armpit and say, ‘Whoa, let’s slow down and get what we need.’”
Injuries: The Gators will enter tonight’s game without senior forward Alex Tyus, who suffered a mild concussion against OSU.
Senior center Vernon Macklin, on the other hand, will play despite a knee injury that has limited him in practice the last few days.
