Top takeaways from Florida’s low-scoring win at Arkansas on Saturday

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Jan 11, 2025; Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA; Florida Gators head coach Todd Golden reacts to a call in the first half against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Bud Walton Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

Florida finished off a 2-0 week with a 71-63 win over Arkansas, advancing to 2-1 in SEC play and 15-1 overall.

In many ways, Florida’s win over No. 1 ranked Tennessee on Tuesday felt easier than Saturday’s victory over Arkansas. Neither game was sloppy, but hardly anything fell in the latter matchup. Florida is used to rotating big nights in its backcourt, but it wasn’t anyone’s night to step up offensively.

Alijah Martin’s 14 points led the team, followed by Walter Clayton Jr., Alex Condon and Will Richard with 12 apiece. The top three Arkansas shot-takers combining for 8 of 34 shooting helped ease those scoring deficiencies.  Florida won the rebound battle with ease, 49-39, and capitalized on second-chance opportunities, outscoring Arkansas, 19-6.

Ugly first half for both offenses

It’s not surprising to see Florida’s opponent without 30 points at halftime this season, but for both teams to stay under that threshold requires more than just good defense.

Neither squad had a feel for the ball, especially from 3-point range. Florida made 3 of 16 shots from deep before the break, and Arkansas only made 1 of 6 attempts.

A combined 1 of 10 effort from Florida’s two best shooters, Walter Clayton Jr. and Will Richard, explains the offense’s first-half woes. Clayton didn’t get to the free-throw line at all, which hurt his scoring numbers, but it’s the disappearance of a reliable 3-point shot that has been most noticeable lately.

Alijah Martin (8 points, 3 of 8 shooting) and Thomas Haugh (6 points, 3 of 4 shooting) combined for half of the Gators’ first-half 28, and Sam Alexis was effective with 4 of 4 over seven minutes.

Fortunately, Johnell Davis and D.J. Wagner went a combined 1 of 12 from the field to offset Florida’s struggles.

Florida figures it out after halftime

Clayton and…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/top-takeaways-floridas-low-scoring-001447142.html

Author : Gators Wire

Publish date : 2025-01-12 00:14:00

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