ORLANDO — Sitting at their lockers a foot apart from one another, Scottie Wilbekin and Michael Frazier II had the same look of dejection on their face.
Florida had just secured its spot in the Round of 32, but by the way the two guards handled the media, it seemed as if their season was over.
“We didn’t play to our ability; we didn’t play to our potential,” Frazier said. “That’s always disappointing.”
Wilbekin, the Southeastern Conference Player of the Year and MVP of the league tournament, wasn’t any more upbeat.
“Maybe we took some things for granted,” the senior point guard said. “Just didn’t play like we need to in the NCAA Tournament and I think we all know that and realize that and are going to make a better effort next time.”
In a game where the Great Danes used their backcourt speed to find open shots and create havoc on the offensive end, the Gators could have used an effective Wilbekin or Frazier to slow down the attack and possibly even counter it with a strong scoring performance.
Coach Billy Donovan didn’t get either Thursday.
Wilbekin and Frazier, two of Florida’s top offensive threats, combined for just 13 points on 5-of-14 shooting. Although both guards have become Donovan’s favorite weapons from beyond the three-point arc, they combined to shoot 2 of 8 from three.
“(Albany) had played some box-and-one, they had played some triangle-two,” Donovan said. “We had prepared for all that stuff.”
The triangle defense proved efficient. Although both Wilbekin and Frazier played at least 31 minutes, neither one shot more than four threes or got to the free-throw line more than twice.
Defensively, the duo struggled to contain Albany’s DJ Evans, who scored a game-high 21 points on 6-of-12 shooting. If Evans had not gone out with a head injury after the Great Danes tied the game at 39 with 14:32 remaining, he might have done even more damage.
“On Saturday if we do that, we could be down by double digits in the first half,” Wilbekin said.
Pitt, which also beat Albany by 12 points on Dec. 31, played some of its best defense of the year in its matchup with Colorado. The Panthers allowed just 48 points while limiting the Buffaloes to 35.7 percent shooting.
If Wilbekin and Frazier struggle out of the gates against Pitt — especially on defense — Donovan said his team would have a hard time moving on.
“Our margin for error as a team is not great,” Donovan said. “So when you see what you see today, we were able to overcome it and win the game, but we were not the same defensive team I think that we’ve been in the past.”
Follow Jonathan Czupryn on Twitter @jczupryn
Scottie Wilbekin drives down the court during UF’s 67-55 win against Albany on Thursday in Orlando.
