NASHVILLE, Tenn. — After a season of scoring struggles, he was the reason Florida was even playing on Friday and why the Gators almost upset No.1 seed Texas A&M.
Kasey Hill led Florida in scoring with 18 points on Thursday against Arkansas and again with 18 on Friday against the Aggies — his two highest scoring games of the season.
The junior guard finished the regular season averaging 8.0 points per game and shooting 37.1 percent from the field, the second lowest percentage to guard Chris Chiozza’s 34.2 percent among players who took more than 200 shots.
Hill has been criticized this season for taking unwarranted three-pointers, missing gimmes and failing to convert at the free-throw line. For the most part the criticism has been fair, but when the bright lights came on in Nashville, with postseason hopes on the line, Hill showed up.
“Kasey was in a really good rhythm offensively,” UF coach Mike White said Thursday after the Gators’ win over Arkansas. “Getting downhill, getting to the basket and making pretty good decisions. Finishing. Finishing. For him to score 18 is big for us.”
Hill’s 18 points were big again for Florida against Texas A&M in a close loss that eliminated the Gators from the SEC Tournament. The loss and departure from the tournament may overshadow how well Hill performed in the two-day stretch.
Against Arkansas and Texas A&M combined, Hill shot 12-of-21 (57.1 percent) from the field and made one of just three attempts from beyond the arc. He played the game he is best at — attacking the rim and working for high percentage shots rather than settling for any open look.
He also converted at the charity stripe, making 11-of-18 attempts (61.1 percent), and played smart basketball. Hill committed just two personal fouls and five turnovers in Florida’s two games while dishing out 7 assists and recording three steals.
His improved play over the SEC Tournament was palpable: his 58 regular-season turnovers were second most on the team to Dorian Finney-Smith’s 62.
Hill’s offensive outburst and efficiency were a major reason why the Gators made it to the conference tournament’s quarterfinals. Not many people expected Florida, the No. 8 seed, to put up a fight against top-seeded Texas A&M, but the effort of Hill led to a near win.
Those efforts will likely soon be forgotten, as the Gators head home to Gainesville rather than face LSU on Saturday in Nashville in the SEC semifinal, their NCAA Tournament hopes all but gone.
Hill’s tone after Friday’s loss suggested his performance over the last two days didn’t mean as much to him — the loss meant more.
“Just playing hard,” a disappointed Hill said after Florida’s loss, on his efforts in the tournament. “Trying to help my team as much as I can.”
Contact Alex Maminakis at amaminakis@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @alexmaminakis.
Kasey Hill dribbles the ball down the court during Florida's loss to Texas A&M in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament on March 11, 2016, in Nashville, Tennessee.
