Asked about playing for the championship of the ESPN Events Invitational Friday, Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr. wasted little time making his feelings known.
“Any time you can play for a championship of any fashion is great,” he said. “Obviously, we came here to win, so it will be a good Thanksgiving if we can do it.”
The 18th-ranked Gators will try for that championship in Orlando against another unbeaten team, Wichita State. The Shockers face the same problem every Florida opponent has so far: How do you consistently score on that defense?
Wake Forest found out the hard way Thursday how good the Gators are on the defensive end in a 75-58 defeat. In a game in which Florida (7-0) made just 39.7 percent of its field-goal attempts, it still won going away because it limited the Demon Deacons to 37.5 percent shooting and earned a 44-30 advantage on the glass.
Defensive deficiencies were the prime reason Florida went one-and-done in the NCAA Tournament in March. This year? The Gators are 33rd in adjusted defensive efficiency on kenpom.com, allowing 96.4 points per 100 possessions.
“Too often, we got into track meets and didn’t value the defensive side of the ball,” Florida coach Todd Golden said of last season. “This year’s group has done a better job, as well as our staff, committing to being better at it.”
The Gators’ ability to force turnovers and chomp down on opponents might get a good test from the Shockers (6-0). They have the 15th-best turnover rate offensively in Division I at 9.2 per game and also bring a top 70 defense to the party with a 99.3 adjusted defensive efficiency.
It was defense that allowed Wichita State to outlast Minnesota 68-66 in overtime on Thursday. It held the Golden Gophers to 41.5 percent shooting from the field, including 3 of 23 on 3-pointers.
The outcome seemed to back up second-year coach Paul Mills’ assessment of his team.
“You win with men,” he said. “You don’t win with young kids, you win with men. The way you win with men is men understand responsibilities and they follow through on them. Men show up. Men are responsible. You win with men and our guys are men.”
The only question Mills presently has about his team is their inconsistency on the glass. Minnesota earned a 38-34 advantage on the boards, grabbing 13 offensive rebounds.
“We’ve got to be better at being able to retrieve more of those opportunities,” he said.
The Gators have won both previous meetings of the programs, which haven’t met since January 1993.
–Field Level Media
