Florida goes for its third consecutive win and a sweep of the season series when it visits Georgia in a Southeastern Conference matchup Saturday afternoon in Athens, Ga.
The Gators (17-7, 7-4 SEC) have won six of their past seven games to move into contention for one of the top-four spots in the conference standings and a potential at-large bid to next month’s NCAA Tournament.
But their success has not come easy. A tendency toward second-half meltdowns after building comfortable leads seems to be becoming a trend for the Gators. They led LSU by 20 points at home on Tuesday but had to hang on for their 82-80 win.
“Obviously really pleased with the outcome,” Gators coach Todd Golden said. “Not pleased with the recurring theme of some of our second halves lately.”
The problem showed up in the first meeting with Georgia when the Gators built a 21-point advantage in the second half before escaping with a 102-98 win in overtime. Also in their current stretch they led Mississippi State by 21 in the second half before settling for a 79-70 win after their lead was cut to five points.
In their lone loss over the past month, Florida led Texas A&M by 12 points in the second half before losing 67-66 overtime. Even in their 81-65 romp at then-No. 12 Auburn last weekend, they saw the Tigers cut a 29-point deficit almost in half over the last 14 minutes.
“I need to do a better job with our guys,” Golden said.
The Bulldogs (14-10, 4-7), meanwhile, have slumped badly since getting off to a 4-2 start in league play. Their 78-75 loss at Arkansas last weekend stretched their losing streak to five games.
Freshman Silas Demary Jr. led the Bulldogs with 19 points.
“Silas Demary Jr., I would guess before evaluating the film, was probably as productive as anyone on our team today,” Bulldogs coach Mike White said. “He was really good.”
In last month’s overtime loss at Florida, Micah Handlogten led the Gators with 23 points and 17 rebounds and Zyon Pullin scored seven of his 20 points in the extra session. RJ Melendez had 35 points off the Georgia bench.
–Field Level Media
