GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Florida’s biggest problem last season was inconsistent defense. It’s coach Billy Donovan’s biggest concern right now, too.
Nick Calathes had 16 points, five rebounds and seven assists, Chandler Parsons added 15 points and the 23rd-ranked Gators beat Florida A&M 73-58 on Tuesday night despite some struggles on the defensive end.
“We had some guys really falling asleep,” said Donovan, who benched upperclassmen Dan Werner and Walter Hodge late in the game.
Werner, who was 1-of-5 from the field, sat for the final 4 minutes. Hodge was on the bench for the last 8 minutes after going 1-of-3.
“Two of our older guys can provide more for our team,” Donovan said. “We’ve got to find a way to get them to provide more.”
The Gators (6-1) improved to 10-0 all time against the Rattlers, to 18-0 against teams from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and to 20-2 in December over the last three years.
The latest victory was much closer than anyone expected.
The Rattlers (1-6), coming off a 25-point defeat at Arkansas and having been outmatched in every loss this season, played the Gators tight most of the way.
After trailing 37-22 at halftime, FAMU opened the second half with a 12-4 run that made it a seven-point game. Florida looked like it would pull away, building a 17-point lead thanks to some easy baskets inside and a few trips to the free throw line, but the Rattlers kept coming back.
Dale Hughes hit a 3-pointer and Brandon Bryant followed with consecutive shots from behind the arc. Joe Ballard’s free throw made it a 10-point game with about 7 minutes to play, but the Gators regrouped during a timeout and pulled away for good.
Lamar Twitty led FAMU with 20 points and six rebounds, while Bryant added 16 points. Twitty and Bryant were a combined 8-of-16 from 3-point range.
“I was proud of our guys for the way they played,” FAMU coach Eugene Harris said.
Parsons had two free throws and consecutive dunks that put Florida ahead 66-51. The Gators cruised from there as the Rattlers tried to slice into the lead from long range.
Florida A&M finished 11-of-24 from 3-point range—making eight of them in the second half. It was the kind of defense that plagued the Gators most of last season.
“Our defense has to get a lot better,” Calathes said. “We gave up too many shots, too many 3s. We’ve got to play better defense. We have to want it as a team. It has to be us. I think we can be a good defensive team. We’re athletic enough. We’ve got to want it more. I think it will happen. It has to happen for us to try to win championships.”
Florida allowed 175 points in games against Syracuse and Washington last week in Kansas City, giving up too many 3-pointers, too many putbacks and too many layups.
It was more of the same against FAMU, an undersized team that finished with eight offensive rebounds and just three rebounds less than the Gators.
“We’re just not playing with energy,” Parsons said. “We’re going through the motions and not really fired up about anything. We want to play for the University of Florida, and that starts on the defensive end because that’s what you have to do to win championships.”
Donovan said he has seen progress: from better defense in practice to stretches of solid defense in games. But he’s still waiting to see it consistently.
“Just because you’re giving great effort and you work hard doesn’t mean you’re committed to something,” Donovan said. “We’ve got to find a way to get some guys committed to doing some of those things. There has to be a commitment level.
“I’ve seen some strides. The next step in their development is to get to a commitment level. There’s a difference between commitment and effort to me.”
