Props given where props are due: Florida good job; you humbled us; we probably needed it
In a physical game that Milwaukee was neither physical or close, Florida pulverized Panther fans' hopes and dreams of a ranked, non-con victory on the road in splendid fashion- for Gator fans.
Philandrous Fleming jam after Philandrous Fleming jam and Colin Castleton's best NBA scout demo drove home hard the point that this Milwaukee team is nowhere near operating a smooth running ship yet. Offense looked horribly out of sorts and the intense Florida press seemed to mystify a Panther team that just faced a 30-40 minute press from Eastern Kentucky.
A suffocating Gator defense had us suffering- bad- from the gate. Fortunately, Florida struggled themselves long enough in the opening 20 for Milwaukee to stem the hemorrhaging, and remain within striking distance down only 33-22 at halftime (can you believe it from the final score?).
Not one but two(!) near-3-pointers that had a Panther shooter foot on the line was a good metaphor for how unfocused we seemed to be last night in Gainesville.
A highlight worthy steal to transition around-the-back layup by PBJ couldn't conceal the harsh reality that our front court game, and back court game, in fact all of our game- was nowhere to be seen for the first 20 minutes. And the second 20 minutes.
An aside- do you miss Te'Jon Lucas' steady hand? Milwaukee badly needs a true PG who can protect the ball and also create plays and find open shooters. Jordan Lathon may need to play a few games consistently but he isn't there yet and neither is Donovan Newby. Here's hoping they dribble in their sleep and start seeing openings that will lead to better Milwaukee point guard marshalling of the troops. We need an effective PG asap.
We were spoiled with PGs for the longest time. In addition to our ball handling troubles, none of the big men were producing: minimal rebounds and clearing space for shots, offensive plays, getting open.
Nothing.
Florida's defense, specifically Brandon McKissic- made it a long, painful night with few open shots for Milwaukee. Only 4 Panther points were scored up to the 10:00 mark in the second half; we could not hit a shot tonight.
Nothing.
Several air balls were launched, which launched the Gator student section into a barrage of taunts and chants that kind of reinforced and magnified our futility. Nobody had a hot hand on the Panthers tonight.
Nobody.
This was a good Florida team, no doubt. but we played like garbage. In what I think most Milwaukee fans expected to be a loss in the 20pt range but a hard fought effort, there are few things to look to for optimism. Markeith Browning played fearless- there was that, which may develop into more minutes and effective play from him.
FG, 3pt, FT:
MKE 31.0% 16.7% 53.8%
FLA 47.1% 39.3% 75.0%
And so it was, down, down, down to defeat the Panthers would go. Final score Florida 81, Milwaukee 45.
We played like we are wafer thin; that must change.
At least- it literally can't get much worse than last night. Which, my friends, is at least some consolation, no? Nobody wants to see last night again. Let's get back to good basketball and go win some early season tournament games against Bowling Green and whomever else.
Tons of minutes of time to improve. Dramatically.
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