There are many reasons college basketball teams cut down the nets in early April. Some are led by efficient offenses, scoring 85 or more points round after round. Others lean on their defense to make games messy, slowing the pace of play down to the point where every basket matters that much more. However, there’s a common denominator among the last decade’s national champions: elite perimeter play.
Every team has had a guard average at least 13 points per game entering the NCAA Tournament, and more than half have had two. This year, Florida has three — seniors Walter Clayton Jr., Alijah Martin and, now, Will Richard — and their prowess was on display on Saturday.
In one of the most anticipated games the Stephen C. O’Connell Center has hosted in years, Florida’s trio showed why UF (25-4) remains a national contender. Following a College Gameday visit in the morning and hundreds of students camping out on Friday night in preparation, the seniors combined for 49 points to drown Texas A&M 89-70. Richard led the way with 25, pushing his season average to 13.2 points per game.
The air outside the O’Dome after the pummeling hummed with confidence, but only four days earlier, the feeling in Gainesville was much different. Following its third consecutive week in the AP Poll top 3, Florida traveled into Athens, Georgia, in rhythm, having won six straight. That streak came to an abrupt end.
“[Georgia] just played incredibly well for fourteen minutes to start the game,” Florida head coach Todd Golden said on Friday. “We were disappointed… I don’t necessarily think we deserved to win.”
The Bulldogs (18-11) entered the Tuesday evening contest fueled by an aim to depart from the NCAA Tournament bubble, and they did just that. Georgia took a 39-13 lead in the first half and never let Florida get into rhythm. Ultimately, Florida fell 88-83 for a court-storm defeat, but it wasn’t without a glimmer of hope.
UF outscored Georgia by 11 in the second half, with a significant portion of its offense running through Richard. He finished with a season-high 30 points and launched a three with under a minute left to tie the game, but couldn’t connect.
His final-moment miss on Tuesday didn’t roll over against Texas A&M, though, as he went 6 of 9 from three (66.6%) against the Aggies.
With under 20 seconds left in the first half, Florida led by 11 as Clayton Jr. surveyed the floor. In a seamless flow of motion, he whipped the ball to Richard in the corner as a Texas A&M defender shifted slightly out of position. Eerily similar to Tuesday night, Richard fluidly caught and fired. However, unlike Tuesday, the Florida faithful erupted just moments later.
“My team is doing a good job finding me,” he said after the game. “I’m just taking advantage of that.”
The senior guard opened the second period with two more threes in the first minute and a half, and an 11-point lead at the break became 17. However, his shooting hadn’t been that efficient all year, and that may be the difference for Florida in the postseason.
While Clayton Jr. and Martin remain UF’s leading scorers, Richard’s improved play makes Florida one of the more challenging scouts in the nation. All three are shooting between 35% and 37% from beyond the arc this season, but since February, Richard is knocking down 42.6%. In the last week, he scored 55 points on 11 of 20 from three.
“[He’s] playing with a lot of confidence,” Golden said on Saturday. “We’re getting him good looks, and he’s knocking them down… [he] hit big shots that allowed us to get away from [the Aggies] a little bit in the second half. He’s playing his best basketball at the right time.”
Backed by Richard's impressive, improved play, UF rebounded from its second unranked mid-week SEC loss of the year in definitive fashion, and at the right time. There are 342 hours (as of publication) until 68 teams will be sorted into the NCAA Tournament. Currently, Florida is projected as a No. 2 seed by ESPN’s bracketology, but a win kept its hope of pursuing a spot on the top seed line alive.
Florida's resume hurts compared to teams like No. 1 Auburn, No. 4 Houston, No. 6 Alabama and No. 5 Tennessee. Those No. 1-seed contenders have at least seven Quad 1 wins -- a system of determining the quality of college basketball victories -- while Florida remains a step behind at six following the Texas A&M win. However, UF can change that.
The Gators have a pair of projected Quad 1 matchups this week in No. 6 Alabama and Ole Miss, and that’s not to mention any games that’ll come in the SEC Tournament, which looms the following week.
With a gritty victory on Saturday night, the Gators are well-positioned for a double bye to the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament, growing the odds of any game it plays being Quad 1.
“We have a lot on the line left. We got a lot we’re still playing for. We’re still playing for the one seed. We’re still playing for the double bye,” Golden said passionately, concluding his press conference. “Let’s get that double bye, baby.”
Backed by its trio of starring guards, the Gators had a big week. They lost unexpectedly and had to turn around and face a top-15 team with the fifth-highest rebounding margin in the nation and the ninth-best defensive efficiency rate, per KenPom — and Florida responded emphatically.
The Gators beat Texas A&M at what it does best, out-rebounding the Aggies 42 to 37 while separating in the second half with Richard’s scoring burst. UF’s win proved it can adjust to slower-paced teams, as Texas A&M is 195th in the nation in possessions per game.
However, on Wednesday, Florida will get to test the exact opposite. Alabama leads the nation in possessions per game while also attempting 30.1 threes per game (fifth most in the country). On Tuesday, the Crimson Tide made 22 of 45 (48.9%) from 3-point range in a 111-73 leveling of No. 24 Mississippi State.
To contain Alabama’s fast-paced perimeter attack in Tuscaloosa on Wednesday and notch a resume-boosting victory, Florida will likely have to lean on its guards. However, there may not be a team in the nation better suited to do that than the Gators.
“They’re gonna put stress on you… They play with great physicality,” Texas A&M head coach Buzz Williams said after the loss on Saturday, taking a moment to gather his thoughts before making one final addition to his description. “They’re as good as any team in the country.”
Contact Noah White at nwhite@alligator.org. Follow him on X @noahwhite1782.
Noah is a Spring 2025 Assistant Sports Editor and Copy Desk Chief. He's a second-year journalism major who enjoys reading and shamefully rooting for Tennessee sports teams. He is also a Liberty League Women's Soccer expert.
