Florida’s four-game winning streak came to an embarrassing end on Wednesday night in a 72-66 Quadrant 3 loss at home to South Carolina. Coming off a gritty win over then-No. 11 West Virginia in Morgantown on Saturday, the No. 22 Gators found themselves back in the top 25.
But from the beginning, it was clear that whatever had sparked UF’s recent play was absent against the Gamecocks. USC (5-6, 3-4 SEC) started off hot offensively, and the Gators (10-5, 6-4 SEC) had no answer. It took a 24-14 lead in the middle of the first half.
Florida fought back, though, and with a near-50% shooting percentage, it closed the gap and took a five-point lead to the locker room. But that lead evaporated in a fateful second half. UF’s shooting nosedived and its defensive fidelity followed suit.
The Gators have a tough stretch of games coming up, starting with a road matchup against LSU, a team Florida beat in Gainesville last month. If it wants to avoid a February spiral, it can’t have a repeat performance in its next outing.
Here are three takeaways from the setback loss.