Throughout his news conference following the Gators’ loss to Florida State, UF coach Cameron Newbauer kept his head down as he assessed a 30-point home blowout.
“We were manhandled,” he said.
Now, Newbauer will look to bring the Gators back into the win column when they begin competing in the Savannah Invitational in Georgia this week.
Over three days, Florida (1-2) will play three games, starting with the Richmond Spiders (3-1) at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday. With the schools meeting for the fourth time, UF has never notched a win against Richmond. Newbauer called the Spiders a “hard playing, tough-nosed team.”
“Their forwards do a great job of rebounding, playing hard,” Newbauer said. “They can step out and shoot the three and pose a big threat inside. They have a couple players that are relentless inside on the glass and with their post touches.”
Even though the Spiders are losing the battles on the boards to other opponents (-4.5 rebound margin), they still bring down over 40 rebounds per game. The Gators, on the other hand, have struggled on the glass early in the season. As a team, they have given up an average of 16 offensive rebounds through three games.
But that wasn’t Newbauer’s main priority on Monday. He said the players are focused on staying fresh and taking care of their bodies prior to playing three game in three days.
“We’ve got to manage our minutes, manage getting off our feet with our practices here and make sure that we’re getting our ice baths and being smart about what we’re putting in our bodies as fuel,” Newbauer said.
He also said getting the details of Florida’s game right and team bonding have been some of the main focuses during their extended road trip.
Following its matchup against Richmond, UF will face Stetson (2-1) on Wednesday and Savannah State (3-1) on Thanksgiving.
Until then, Newbauer is looking to take advantage of every opportunity the tip will give the Gators.
“It’s a good opportunity to get to know each other on a much deeper level than we would if we were home.”
You can follow Justin Ahlum on Twitter @justinn_case1, and contact him at jahlum@alligator.org.
Over three days, Florida will play three games, starting with the Richmond Spiders at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday. With the schools meeting for the fourth time, UF has never notched a win against Richmond.
