Gators Men’s Basketball Sweeps Season Series Against Georgia

The Florida men’s basketball team (15-15, 8-9) handled the Georgia Bulldogs (16-14, 6-11) in Athens on Tuesday, winning 77-67. After beating the Bulldogs, this means head coach Todd Golden and the Gators sweep the season series against former head coach Mike White and the Bulldogs. This win also marks the fifth straight win in Stegeman Coliseum, the Georgia Bulldogs’ home arena.

Gator DUB!

5th straight win in The Steg #GoGators | presented by @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/uOGl2o9q4w

— Florida Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) March 1, 2023

Trio leads the way for the Gators

Will Richard, Riley Kugel and Myreon Jones led the way for the Florida Gators on Tuesday. The first of the three, Will Richard, ended with 24 points and five rebounds. Kugel had 19 points on the night and added six rebounds and three assists. Jones scored 14 points and grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds on the night. This trio accounted for 74% of the points for the Gators against the Bulldogs.

Gators end the first half hot

The Gators began the first half down 5-0 to the Bulldogs but quickly went on a 9-0 run to take the lead early. From there, it would be a back-and-forth battle between the two. Neither team really garnered enough momentum to separate themselves from the other for most of the first half. And from the 13-minute mark until about the five-minute mark, offense from both sides was non-existent. This stretch could be characterized by fouls, turnovers and very few shots made.

However, with around five minutes left in the first half, Florida began to turn up the effort on both sides. After tying the game 26-26 with a Riley Kugel 3-point basket, the Gators went on a 17-7 run. During this run, Florida made four 3’s and forced three turnovers. This late push from the Gators saw them take a 43-33 lead over their opponents.

On offense, Will Richard had 15 points while the next closest scorers were Riley Kugel and Myreon Jones who had nine apiece at halftime. As a team though, they were very efficient. They shot 55.6% overall from the field and were 6-of-11 from 3.

https://twitter.com/GatorsMBK/status/1630733001008238593

Gators control the second half

Florida never trailed in the second half. The Gators managed to always keep the Bulldogs at arms length. The lead stayed around 10 points for the Gators in the second half until about 12 minutes left.

https://twitter.com/GatorsMBK/status/1630737380922761220

Georgia did start to claw their way back into the game though. After being up 11 with 12:05 left in the game, the Gators lead had been cut down to two with 7:19 left in the game. However, the Gator confidence never seemed to waver. They quickly pushed their lead back to seven in just one minute and forced a timeout from the Bulldogs. From there, the Gators managed to close out the game behind dominant performances from Richard, Kugel and Jones. At the final buzzer, the Florida Gators won 77-67 over the Georgia Bulldogs.

In the end, the Gators finished shooting 53.7% overall and 36.8% from 3. They could have shot better from the charity stripe, making 12-of-20 of their free-throw attempts. Their opponents shots an inefficient 33.3% overall and 18.2% from behind the arc.

Ending the regular season

Florida will end their regular season on Saturday at home against LSU. This game is set to tip off at 6 pm. They then will head into the SEC Tournament.