ST. LOUIS — Florida guard Jalen Hudson just wanted one more shot. And then another.
He needed to see the ball swish through the net before tip-off. He signaled to his much more relaxed teammate, center Kevarrius Hayes, pleading for a pass. Hayes indulged him.
From the top of the arc, Hudson let loose a final jump-shot ahead of Friday night’s 80-72 loss to Arkansas (23-10, 10-8 SEC) in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament. With the signature swoosh of the net, Hudson was ready.
He does it before every game.
“I just want to see (the ball) go through,” Hudson said.
But his pre-game tradition didn’t take him far. Hudson attempted the Gators’ first shot of the night, a jumper from the left elbow, and missed. He then missed a deep three-pointer. And later, two back-to-back free throws that failed to go through the net.
And it only got worse for the junior transfer from Virginia Tech.
With over eight minutes remaining in the first period, Hudson committed his second foul, earning himself a spot on the bench until the intermission. He sat scoreless and watched the Gators fumble a seven-point lead. By the first-half buzzer, Florida (20-12, 11-7) trailed Arkansas 30-29.
Coach Mike White was disappointed in his team’s energy and questioned if Hudson would’ve been effective if he did play out the opening half.
“Our intensity level wasn’t as high as (Arkansas’) was,” White said. “They played with more aggression.”
Just a minute into the second frame, however, Hudson showed signs of an offensive resurrection. He converted on a three-point attempt and pushed UF to a 34-32 advantage. But other than a second conversion from deep — which came in the game’s final moments, after Arkansas had secured the victory — he didn’t score again.
Hudson ended the night with 6 points on 2-of-9 shooting, marking his sixth single-digit scoring performance of the season. Of the half-dozen games Hudson has failed to reach 10 points, the Gators have only won one.
Without Hudson’s offensive contribution, the Gators floundered. He leads the team in scoring (15.3 points per game) and has always been an essential component to its success.
Prior to Friday night’s loss, UF was riding a three-game winning streak that brought the regular season to a close. In those three games, Hudson averaged over 22 points per outing and shot over 57 percent from the field. These equally prolific and efficient performances carried the Gators to a top-25 ranking heading into this week’s SEC Tournament.
His disappearance in the quarterfinal matchup against the Razorbacks spawned Florida’s disappointing exit, leaving only the NCAA Tournament ahead. Hudson will need to find his firepower if he wants to give his team a shot at reliving some of last year’s March magic, which ended with an Elite Eight appearance.
According to White, it’s all about intensity.
“We’ve got to be better,” he said. “We’ve got to play with more energy.”
Follow Benjamin Brandt on Twitter @bhb1227 and contact him at bbrandt@alligator.org.
Guard Jalen Hudson came into the SEC Tournament averaging 15.6 points per game. He ended Florida's quarterfinals loss with six.
