ChompTalk.com

It was 18 degrees in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Tuesday night, and the Gators men’s basketball team couldn’t overcome their cold first half from the floor as they played, and lost, their first game in 13 days.

After a crushing loss to unranked South Carolina Feb. 3 that ended a four-game winning streak, a bout of COVID-19 within the men’s basketball program put head coach Mike White’s squad on pause for the third time this season. With last week’s scheduled matchups against LSU, Tennessee and Texas A&M canceled, Florida traveled to Arkansas with hope of some delayed vengeance.

However, the Gators shooting didn’t quite follow them west. Arkansas held the lead for the entirety of the opening twenty minutes in a first half plagued by bricks. Florida’s backcourt trio of guards Tre Mann, Tyree Appleby and Noah Locke combined to start 2-13 from the floor as the Gators made only seven of their first 30 shots from the field.

Aside from the differences from the floor, the game was fairly even as both teams retreated to their respective locker rooms. Both Arkansas and Florida has 20 rebounds and had forced four turnovers each. Arkansas had blocked three shots and Florida had blocked two.

However, the Razorbacks had 24 points in the paint compared to UF’s 14. The most alarming split was each team’s shooting percentage. Florida was only 11-36 (30.5%) from the floor while Arkansas was 17-33 (51.5%). Those two compounded to give Arkansas a 40-30 advantage halfway through the game.

Arkansas came out firing early in the second half, with 7’3″ sophomore Connor Vanover helping pull down four straight offensive rebounds in a single possession for the Razorbacks as the Gators fell behind by as much as 15 with 18 minutes left.

However, as the rust began to wear off and the ice began to melt, UF slowly but surely crept its way back into the game. A quick 7-0 run highlighted by a three-point play by Appleby cut the deficit to eight points. Back-to-back baskets by forward Scottie Lewis, who has been almost an afterthought since being forced to sit for health and safety reasons in early January, pulled Florida within five before a Locke jumper made it a one-possession game.

Appleby wasn’t hyper-efficient to start but came up incredibly clutch in the closing half, shooting 4-5 from the field and, with an athletic finish with 4:40 remaining, gave the Gators their first lead of the entire night. Within just 13 minutes, Florida outscored Arkansas 32-16 run to claw all the way back.

The comeback wasn’t meant to be, however, as that was the last field goal of the night. Arkansas closed the game on a 14-2 run to end the game, 10 of which came from free throws. True freshman Davonte Davis and Moses Moody, both Arkansas natives, combined for 10 of those closing points and finished with 18 and 14, respectively. Davis was the night’s leading scorer.

Florida’s momentum dissipated once it finally took the lead. Four killer turnovers in the closing minutes stopped potentially game-tying possessions in their tracks. The final dagger came when Appleby, who had made every big shot, lost control of the ball on a drive to give the Razorbacks possession and a four-point lead with under a minute remaining.

The scoreboard read 75-64 in favor of the home team when the buzzer sounded and Florida was left to leave, contemplating a second-straight loss in which the final minutes resembled more of a whimper than a bang. Now 10-6 overall and 6-5 in conference, the Gators, who were ranked just two weeks ago, desperately need a few wins to steady their feet before the postseason.

The Gators host rival Georgia Saturday in hopes of avoiding a third-straight loss and staying within shouting distance of second in the SEC.