Gators suffer first SEC loss, upset in Fayetteville 80-69

Arkansas 80 - (2) Florida 69

Top Performers

Florida Gators (18-3, 8-1 SEC)
Mike Rosario: 15 points (5/10 fg, 2/5 3pt, 3/3 ft)
Scottie Wilbekin: 14 points (5/15 fg, 2/5 3pt), 7 rebounds, 4 assists
Michael Frazier: 11 points (3/5 fg, 3/4 3pt), 9 rebounds

Arkansas Razorbacks (14-8, 5-4 SEC)
BJ Young: 13 points (3/8 fg, 2/4 3pt, 5/6 ft), 5 assists, 4 rebounds
Marshawn Powell: 11 point (5/12 fg, 1/1 3pt), 6 rebounds
Michael Qualls: 11 points (5/9 fg, 1/2 3pt), 4 rebounds

First Half Notes

• Arkansas was 13-1 at home prior to Tuesday's game.  They're only loss was against Syracuse.
• Junior guard Scottie Wilbekin missed the first two shots for the Gators, while Arkansas hit their first two shots, both three's.
• Senior guard Kenny Boynton's shot was off the entire night and it started with an open missed three. 
• Senior forward Erik Murphy was even more surprising, shooting 2/7 overall from the field (1/6 3pt).  Murphy came into the game shooting 51% from 3-point range, 1st in the SEC.
• Junior forward Will Yeguete hadn't practiced in the last two weeks due to tendinitis in his knee.  Unfortunately, he left the game and was ruled out.  On Wednesday, Coach Donovan announced that Yeguete would be undergoing knee surgery and will miss the rest of the regular season.
• Junior guard/forward Casey Prather checked into the game at the 15:02 mark.  Prather, however, didn't contribute much stat-wise: 0 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 fouls.  However, he gets somewhat of a pass because this is only his third game back since recovering from a high ankle sprain.  He still needs more practice time, which will help with his conditioning (which led to his four fouls).
• Donovan wanted to see if his older players (Boynton, Murphy, Rosario, Wilbekin, and Young) could fight their way back from the large deficit.  He didn't call a timeout and it may have proved costly because Arkansas continued to increase their lead.
• I realize that Murphy's bulked up to 238 pounds, but he needs to be stronger with the ball inside the three-point line.  He did have seven rebounds, but had four turnovers.
• ESPN analyst Jimmy Dykes made a good point when he said that Tuesday's game was the first time all season where Florida's opponent was playing harder than them.
• Florida's largest deficit of the first half was 23 points, their largest of the season.
• At the 7:46 mark, the Gators were down 37-15.  Florida had given up fewer points to Alabama State and South Carolina in full games.
• UF had only given up 40 or more points in the first half once this season (vs. UCF, when they gave up 42 points). 
• Freshman guard Michael Frazier was one of the few bright spots, scoring 11 points off the bench, while grabbing 9 rebounds in 25 minutes.  He has made 18/19 free throws this season.
• Florida had a 26.5 point winning margin in their first eight SEC games (all wins).
• The Razorbacks came into the game shooting 29.7% from 3-point range.  They made 8/18 on Tuesday.
• Arkansas scored 39 points in the first 13 minutes.
• Donovan only called one timeout during the half.
• Halftime score: Arkansas 43 - Florida 26

Second Half Notes

• •The Gators trailed only twice at the half prior to Tuesday's game.
• Senior forward Patric Young was in foul trouble the entire game, eventually fouling out at the 3:41 mark.  Considering that fact, he played a credible game with nine points and four rebounds, and did well to play 26 minutes.
• Donovan was clearly frustrated throughout the game with the officiating, once calling a timeout just to speak with each official individually about the way that the game was being called.
• After the previously mentioned timeout, senior guard Mike Rosario scored five points to cut the deficit to 49-31.  The Gators would go on a 7-0 run after that timeout.
• Florida assistant coach John Pelphrey was back in Fayetteville, which was his home for four years when he was the head coach of the Razorbacks from 2007-2011.
• The loudest roar of the night came when fan favorite Kikko Haydar nailed a 3-pointer.  Haydar, a former walk-on from Fayetteville, is part of the rotation and is a solid backup at the guard positions.
• Two missed fastbreak layups by Prather and Wilbekin were momentum-killers.
• Coty Clarke's acrobatic dunk was the nail in the coffin for the Gators.
• The largest deficit of the game was 27 points.
• Donovan had no choice to insert Young with four fouls due to Yeguete's injury and their lack of frontcourt depth.  Young played much better in the second half.
• Wilbekin had two very uncharacteristic fouls, possibly out of frustration.
• Arkansas played 12 players, 11 of which scored.  That's the definition of balanced scoring.
• UF was able to cut the lead down to 13, the closest the game had been since it was 21-8.
• The Razorbacks came out ready to play and left the Gators in the dust after the tip.
• The Gators never led and their were no ties.  Arkansas opened the game with two three's and never looked back.
• The most points that Florida had previously given up was 67 points in the loss to Kansas State.
• #8 Miami (FL) is the only Power-Six conference team to remain undefeated.
• Final score: Arkansas 80 - Florida 69

Coach's Quotes

Florida Coach Billy Donovan

Talking about dealing with Yeguete injury and foul trouble...
"You gotta be resilient."

Talking about how loss may benefit team going forward...
"Getting humbled is a good thing."

Talking about the inefficiency of the Gators in the loss...
"We didn't give ourselves a chance to win the game."

Talking about how Arkansas is a good team but...
"They're not [26 or 28] points better than us."

Selected stats (all Florida stats unless noted)

Field goals made/attempted= 23/56 (41.1%)
Three-pointers made/attempted= 10/27 (37.0%)
Free throws made/attempted= 13/19 (68.4%)
Rebounds/offensive= 33 rebounds/9 offensive
Fouls= 19
Assists= 15
Turnovers= 16
Steals= 5
Arkansas turnovers= 9
Blocks= 1
Points off turnovers= n/a
Points in the paint= 22
Second-chance points= 12
Fastbreak points= n/a
Bench points= 12
Guard rebounds= 18
Arkansas offensive rebounds= 7
Second half points= Florida (43), Arkansas (37)

Officials= Doug Shows, Mike Nance, and Mark Whitehead
Attendance= 13,816
What's Up Next

The Gators return home to try to rebound from Tuesday's loss when they face Mississippi State, whom the Gators beat 82-47 in Starkville on January 26.  The Bulldogs come in with a record of 7-14 and are 2-7 in the SEC.  The tip is set for 5:00.  The game will be televised on Fox Sports Florida and broadcast on the radio on WRUF/Gator IMG Sports Network.  The pregame radio show begins at 4:25.