Five things that went wrong for Florida basketball this year
When the NCAA men’s basketball selection committee announced the 68-team field for the 2016 NCAA Tournament, to not much surprise the Florida basketball team (19-14, 9-9 SEC) was nowhere to be found for the second straight year. The Gators now are likely headed to the NIT in Mike White’s first season as head coach.
Now, Inside the Gators takes a quick look at five things that went wrong for UF in 2015-16.
INEXPERIENCE ON THE ROAD
Florida went 12-4 at home and 3-2 in neutral sites but just 4-8 on the road this season. Keep in mind, the Gators’ main rotation featured just two players (Dorian Finney-Smith, Kasey Hill) who played prominent roles during the Gators’ Final Four run in 2013-14. Ultimately, that lack of seasoning and savvy hurt a roster with nine of its 16 players being freshmen and sophomores. Florida had the fifth most difficult schedule in the country but couldn’t pull off at least one road win against the likes of Miami, Michigan State, Kentucky, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt – teams that all made the tournament field. The Gators notably laid eggs on the road against Tennessee and Kentucky, dropped a crucial contest in overtime to South Carolina after a handful of late-game miscues, and allowed 96 points to LSU in a road loss. As a first-year head coach in the SEC, from time to time the 39-year-old White had his growing pains as well – especially in some of those road contests.
MOSTLY POOR SHOOTING FROM THREE-POINT RANGE
White reiterated quite frequently throughout the season that the Gators weren’t a good shooting team. Well, he wasn’t lying – especially on the three-point shooting end. Florida shot 31.2% from downtown this year, which ranks 303rd nationally. In too many games this year, Florida struggled from shooting behind the arc – and it cost it plenty of contests. No Gator on the roster with at least five attempts shot 40% or better from three-point range. The leaders of the pack were Finney-Smith (.376), Devin Robinson (.357) and Justin Leon (.333), while KeVaughn Allen (.308), Hill (.273), Chris Chiozza (.332) and others (more on them below) posted poor percentages. Not having a spot-up shooter like Michael Frazier II on the roster this year was certainly a blow to the Gators.
FREE THROW SHOOTING WOES
Oy vey. This season, Florida went 64.3% from the foul line this season, which ranks 328th nationally. Like its three-point shooting woes, free throw struggles were a consistent theme all year for this squad and cost it plenty of games as well. The biggest culprits regarding missed free throws were John Egbunu (91/170, .535), Hill (70/127, .551), DeVon Walker (12/25, .480), Leon (10/24, .417) and Kevarrius Hayes (22/53, .415). Allen (.847), Chiozza (.788) Robinson (.747) and Finney-Smith (.740) actually shot well from the charity stripe, but the rest of the team brought the average considerably down. White’s first few comments a week ago on UF’s ups and downs with free throw shooting this year summed it up best: "It's unbelievable. I can't even explain it. It’s an odd deal.”
INCONSISTENT POINT GUARD PLAY
Hill and Chiozza had a couple standout performances this year, but overall they were a mixed bag. A former five-star recruit, Hill averaged 8.6 points on 38.8% shooting (27.3% from downtown) and 3.2 assists against 1.9 turnovers in 33 appearances (14 starts) as a junior. Hill had 13 double-digit scoring performances but in eight games he scored five points or fewer. Meanwhile, in 33 appearances (22 starts) Chiozza averaged 7.2 points on 33.2% shooting (30.6% from three) and 4.3 assists against 1.8 turnovers. He scored in double-figures on 11 occasions but recorded five points or fewer in 13 games. Throughout the year, White found himself alternating between the two for the starting role at point guard, with Chiozza seeing more starts than Hill (and when UF rolled out three-guard lineups, both sharing the backcourt together). It’s safe to say their inconsistencies set UF back this year.
DEARTH OF EFFECTIVE ROLE PLAYERS
Ultimately, UF’s lack of production from its role players coming off the bench hurt it considerably down the stretch. Guards like Brandone Francis-Ramirez and Walker were pretty atrocious shooters this season, with Francis-Ramirez going 20.4% from the field (10-of-58, or 17.2%, from three) and Walker shooting 23.2% (just 2-of-19, or 10.5%, from three) in 2015-16. Not having those two being reliable enough to jump into the game and knock down threes from the wings and corners hurt a team that didn’t have too great of a shooting starting lineup to begin with. The depth in the frontcourt also wasn’t ideal, with Alex Murphy (foot) out for the majority of the year, Kevarrius Hayes having his ups and downs as a true freshman and Schuyler Rimmer proving ineffective on the offensive end despite a couple of commendable defensive performances.
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SPRING FOOTBALL CONTENT:
ITG Mailbag: Answering subscriber questions about Florida spring practices
ITG Spring Practice Update: Week 1
Florida Spring Practice: Day 1 Quick Hitters
Florida Spring Practice: Day 2 Quick Hitters
An early unofficial look at where UF's spring depth chart currently stands
VIDEO: Open portion of Florida's second spring practice
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