Although missing shots has hurt the Gators in late-game situations this season, coach Billy Donovan said turnovers played a bigger role in the Gators’ meltdowns against Kentucky on Saturday, Missouri on Feb. 19 and Arizona on Dec. 15.
During its 61-57 loss against Kentucky in Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky., No. 13 Florida relinquished a lead of at least six points in the final 10 minutes of a game for the third time this season. Late turnovers by the Gators fueled runs of 11-0 by Kentucky, 7-0 by Arizona and 12-0 by Mizzou in UF’s three losses to those teams.
"We’re having a hard time taking care of the ball," forward Will Yeguete said. "We’ve struggled the past couple games down the stretch. I think we have to work on executing, and we’ll be fine."
Donovan added: "If you look at the numbers, it’s not like we’re turning the ball over 20 times a game. But in some of those stretches where we’ve got a lead, some of those things are coming back and we’re not giving ourselves a chance to shoot the basketball."
Against Kentucky, Missouri and Arizona, Florida committed just 23 combined turnovers in the first 30 minutes of play but was plagued by 17 giveaways in the final 10 minutes.
Ten of the 17 turnovers came from errant passes. Guard Mike Rosario committed six of those, while forward Erik Murphy had four.
Mistimed passes hurt UF against UK on Saturday. Four of the Gators’ five turnovers late in the second half resulted from miscommunication.
Kentucky defenders stole two of Rosario’s passes in the last 10 minutes.
Two passes from Wilbekin — a dish intended for guard Kenny Boynton on the right wing and a lob pass to forward Casey Prather for a dunk — sailed out of bounds.
"The building was loud, and I called a play. Boynton thought I called something else," Donovan said. "He kind of got confused. Then when he realized what I called, he was running to get into the action when Scottie threw it to him. So it was kind of a miscommunication, which was hard.
"Prather is open on a backdoor lob, wide open. Scottie throws a lefty pass with one hand. It goes off Prather’s hands and goes out of bounds. We have to execute that, because it was open and was the right pass, but a poorly executed pass."
Yeguete feeling better:
After missing six games in February due to arthroscopic surgery to remove bone chips in his right knee, Yeguete is finally seeing increased playing time.
In Florida’s loss to Kentucky, Yeguete logged 19 minutes, his highest total since Jan. 30. The junior forward recorded four points, six rebounds and two assists against the Wildcats.
"This is the first time I’ve seen Yeguete back to close to where he was at," Donovan said after Saturday’s game.
Added Yeguete: "I’m doing rehab every single day, even though we have days off. Taking care of my knee every day, after practice and before practice. So far, it’s good."
Yeguete returned from injury on March 2 against Alabama, but logged only 23 combined minutes in two games prior to Saturday.
With Florida’s first game of the SEC Tournament on Friday, Yeguete is preparing for the challenge of possibly playing three days in a row.
"I don’t think you have any choice," Yeguete said. "Every player is going to be tired, and every player is going to be sore."
Junior forward Will Yeguete attempts a layup during Florida’s 66-40 victory against Vanderbilt on March 6 in the O’Connell Center. Yeguete underwent arthroscopic debridement on his right knee Wednesday.
