Gainesville, Florida- It wasn’t pretty, but the Florida Gators (13-8, 3-5 SEC) successfully defended their home court and beat the visiting Oklahoma State Cowboys (10-10, 3-5 Big 12) 81-72. Despite not having standout SEC Center Colin Castleton, Jason Jitoboh, and CJ Felder for the game, the Gators still managed to keep up with the Cowboys’ offensive attack.
This can mainly be attributed to Senior Guard Tyree Appleby, who had a season-high 21 points, along with three rebounds and four assists in 32 minutes. Appleby wasn’t alone, as three other Gators had double-digit points. Phlandrous Fleming Jr. posted 14 points and six rebounds, Kowacie Reeves had 11 points, and Anthony Duriji notched 10 points and five rebounds.
Appleby and the Gators outscored Oklahoma State 49-27 in the second half while shooting 9-18 (50%) from the floor and making five three-pointers. Florida’s defense also gave Oklahoma State problems, as the Gators forced the Cowboys into 12 turnovers and six blocks after halftime, where the Cowboys held a 45-32 halftime lead.
Due to the Gators possessing a severely undermanned frontcourt, they needed to rely heavily on their perimeter and free-throw shooting. Florida did just that, going 19-47 (40.4%) from the field and 10-31 (32.2%) from three-point range. Entering the game, Florida had their immense struggles from the free-throw line, but fixed those problems on Saturday. The Gators finished the game 33-41 (80.4%) from the free-throw line, and saw six of their eight players shoot better than 66.7% from the charity stripe.
The second-half collapse is certainly disappointing for the Cowboys, who have lost three of their last four games after beating the then-No. 1 ranked Baylor Bears 61-54 on January 15th. Isiah Likekele led the Cowboys with 14 points, three rebounds, and three assists, while Bryce Thompson pitched in 12 points on 4-8 (50.0%) from downtown. The Cowboys’ big-men were able to exploit the paint, with Moussa Cisse pitching five points and seven rebounds and Matthew Moncrieffe having nine points and seven rebounds.
While Oklahoma State did go 48.1% from the field and 44.4% from three-point range, turnovers and floor issues hindered the Cowboys. Oklahoma State committed 28 personal fouls and had 14 turnovers in the game, compared to Florida’s 17 fouls and 11 turnovers.
Tip-Ins
- With this win, Florida is now 4-0 against Oklahoma State since 1993 and 6-3 in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
- The SEC officially won the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, wining six/seven of the 10 games.
- Saturday marked the 15th time in the last 20 games that the Cowboys outscored their opponents in the paint, as they out-gained the Gators 32-12.
- Florida ended their two-game losing streak, and aims for their second straight win when they travel to Missouri (8-12, 2-5 SEC) on Wednesday.
- Oklahoma State looks to end their three-game losing streak as they face Kansas State (10-10, 2-6 Big 12) on Wednesday.
(Featured image by Matt Pendleton-USA TODAY Sports)