After Florida was knocked off in its first two attempts at an impressive nonconference win, coach Billy Donovan made it clear there is no shame in losing to top-three teams on the road.
What is disappointing is how the Gators fell.
In a pair of single-digit losses to unbeaten No. 2 Ohio State and undefeated No. 3 Syracuse, Florida committed 36 turnovers, leading to a combined 30 points scored for the Buckeyes and the Orange.
“Our guys understand that playing the second game of the year at Ohio State, going to Syracuse — I’m not so sure how many teams would be favored going into both of those teams’ gyms,” Donovan said. “We got one of the better teams in the country coming in here Wednesday, but you’ve got to put yourselves in the position where you don’t beat yourselves.”
Starting tonight at 7 against Arizona (6-2), No. 12 Florida (5-2) will play two teams this month that have been ranked, the other being No. 22 Texas A&M. Arizona slipped out of the polls following losses to No. 17 Mississippi State and San Diego State.
Though there are still opportunities on UF’s schedule to boost its NCAA Tournament résumé, senior guard Erving Walker knows the Gators will have to eventually win a marquee game and not rely on their strength of schedule for that to happen.
“We’ve only played two, so we’ve still got a lot more to go,” Walker said. “But I think it would be pointless if we just lost them all, but let’s just hope that won’t happen. I don’t think that will happen.”
In order to do that, Florida will have to work on its decision-making.
Arizona generally employs a small lineup that can delve into four guards on the floor at one time. While the Gators’ own backcourt-heavy roster can matchup well with the Wildcats’ size, any Florida turnovers could quickly be converted into points by Arizona’s up-tempo style.
“When they’re playing four guards, they’ve got the ability to do that, so our ability to guard those guys will be a great challenge,” Donovan said. “Syracuse does it with length and size and these guys do it with speed and quickness based on the lines they got out there.”
The Gators’ most turnover-prone player early this season has been freshman Brad Beal with 19 giveaways. Normally playing guard, the 6-foot-3 Beal has had to move down low to the power forward slot during the last three games due to an injury to 6-foot-10 starter Erik Murphy.
While Murphy will likely make his return against Arizona, Donovan said he has been able to live with Beal’s mistakes because of his effort on the boards. Beal has posted three consecutive games of nine rebounds or more in Murphy’s absence.
“Part of the reason he’s been able to stay on the floor for as long as he has is because he is defending and he is rebounding,” Donovan said. “That was one of my concerns when we lost Chandler (Parsons) with our guards is: What kind of rebounding will we get from the small forward spot?”
Contact John Boothe at jboothe@alligator.org.
Senior point guard Erving Walker said he isn’t worried by losses to Ohio State and Syracuse but that the Gators need to snag a quality nonconference win. Florida plays Arizona tonight at 7 in the O’Connell Center.
