Three observations following Florida’s 72-69 overtime loss at the O’Connell Center:
— Should the Gators have fouled up 59-56 with under 13 seconds left? The Gators had already allowed Georgia to grab two offensive rebounds by missing block outs on missed Georgia free throws during the game. As a result, Florida coach Mike White wasn’t confident in his team’s ability to get a rebound on the second miss. Coming off its best rebounding game of the season against South Carolina, the Gators were unable to control the boards against the Bulldogs, getting outrebounded 44-37. Florida has been beaten on the boards in 8 of 13 SEC games this season.
— It was a bad day at the office for junior center Kevarrius Hayes, who appeared to have a big momentum-changing block of Yante Maten early in the second half. But Hayes was whistled for two offensive fouls down the stretch and missed three of four free throws in overtime. The normally reliable Gators once again struggled at the line, going 16 of 27 (59.3 percent), which played a big factor in the loss.
— Bottom line, White’s stall ball with under 10 minutes left while holding a double digit lead isn’t working. The Gators got into too many late shot clock situations and passed up good looks for bad looks late in the shot clock.
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