South Carolina is no Kansas.
But the Gators learned a similar lesson during Wednesday’s 74-58 victory against the Gamecocks as they did when the Jayhawks rolled into the O’Connell Center one month ago: Jumping out to an early lead does not put the game away.
No. 10 Florida appeared to be on its way to another blowout against South Carolina after forcing 15 turnovers and holding USC to 31.6 percent shooting in the first half. The Gators outscored the Gamecocks 14-1 in the first six minutes before tying their biggest lead of the first half with 4:08 remaining in the first 20 minutes after going up 32-14.
With 4:14 remaining in the first half against Kansas on Dec. 10, Florida also had a 32-14 lead that seemed like it would hold for the rest of the game.
But to the dismay of coach Billy Donovan, the Gators let their opponent inch back into the contest with sloppy offense and a lack of intensity.
The Jayhawks charged back within four points before eventually losing 67-61, and the Gamecocks chipped away at their 18-point deficit until it was as small as eight with 6:05 into the second half.
"I don’t know what it is, but we have a very, very hard time sustaining intensity," Donovan said. "We inevitably let teams get back in games and we’re going to have to do something to get that resolved and corrected. I don’t know what the solution is, but it’s starting to become a theme ... and I’m starting to get irritated by it."
After opening the season with a 77-69 victory over North Florida, Donovan said the most disappointing factor was his team’s sense of entitlement and lack of motivation. Fast forward two months, the Gators are back at the No. 10 spot they started the season at, but they are still having trouble finding that energy Donovan wants them to have throughout a game.
Senior center Patric Young said his team felt content with the lead it took over South Carolina, which allowed the Gamecocks to storm back.
"We allow that human nature to kick in and us having that mindset of relaxing a little bit instead of having that killer mindset of keep pushing and pursuing greatness," Young said.
With Florida having four seniors, including Young, it’s easy to place the blame on them for not keeping the team motivated throughout the game. But Donovan said it’s not necessarily all on them, but agreed with Young that there’s a fight within each player to play content and without energy.
"Guys want to play in a comfortable place," Donovan said. "They’ve got to battle that. They’ve got to have an awareness of that."
Prather questionable for Saturday: Casey Prather (knee swelling) joins Scottie Wilbekin (sprained right ankle) as questionable for Florida’s road matchup with Arkansas on Saturday, UF announced Thursday evening.
Prather, the Gators’ leading scorer this season, woke up Thursday morning with a swollen right knee, which kept him out of practice.
Donovan said in a school release that the senior forward did not injure his knee in Wednesday’s win and that the swollenness "came out of nowhere." Prather was scheduled to undergo tests Thursday night.
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UF’s Casey Prather looks to pass the ball during the Gators’ 74-56 win against South Carolina in the season’s SEC opener on Wednesday night. Prather is questionable for Florida’s road game against Arkansas on Saturday due to swelling in his right knee.
