Once again, defense, especially from the 3-point line, betrayed Texas A&M in a fourth-consecutive Southeastern Conference basketball defeat.
No. 3 Florida (25-4, 12-4) hit 14 times from 3-point range to deal the No. 12 Aggies (20-9, 9-7) an embarrassing 89-70 loss in Gainesville.
The 19-point deficit was A&M’s most lopsided loss of the year.
In the previous three losses, A&M allowed nine treys to Mississippi State, 13 to Tennessee and 10 to Vanderbilt. A&M’s opponents have hit 42.2 percent from behind the arc during the four-game skid.
Zhuric Phelps scored 16 points to lead the Aggies. This was closely followed by 14 from Pharrel Payne, 11 from Wade Taylor IV and 10 from Solomon Washington.
But the Maroon & White could not compensate for the defensive failure. They allowed their second-highest point total of the season, with the first being the Aggies’ 94-88 loss to Alabama on Jan. 11.
The Gators were led by guard Will Richard, who hit a half dozen treys on the way to 25 points. 6-foot-9 forward Thomas Haugh finished with 17 points, six of which were off 3-pointers. Guard Alijah Martin hit four 3-pointers en route to 14 points.
Adding to the frustration, A&M committed 15 turnovers that Florida parlayed into 16 points.
Also, Florida out-rebounded the Aggies, 42-37. That included 14 offensive boards that led to 18 second-chance points.
“I think the thing that hurt us the most was the job they did on the offensive glass,” A&M coach Buzz Williams said. “I think they average 27 3-pointers per game in SEC play.
“I think how we play defensively somewhat encourages 3-pointers. So, teams that have as many shooters as they have and are as comfortable with the ball … it will probably lead to high assists and high 3-pointers.”
A&M actually got off to a fast start. The Aggies hit three of their five triples in the first three-and-a-half minutes to grab an early 14-8 lead.
But Florida quickly answered and took control. A 12-2 run put A&M in a 25-19 deficit with 9:44 left in the half.
The Gators later hit a trio of 3-pointers in the final four minutes to take a 45-34 halftime lead.
Consecutive 3-pointers by Richard to start the second half increased the deficit to 51-34.
However, the Aggies stubbornly fought back to pull within 65-59 on a Taylor 3-pointer with 8:09 to play.
That’s as close as A&M would get.
Florida hit its next four shots — including 3-pointers from Richard and guard Walter Clayton Jr. — and the Gators pulled away.
"I think the run we were on, I think, we were getting consecutive stops,” Williams said. “In some of that, we were scoring. But I think the separation was (that) we weren’t getting consecutive stops in that last six-and-a-half, seven-and-a-half minutes.
“That wasn’t exclusively first-shot defense. Most of it was we couldn’t finish with a rebound, which led to a second shot where the floor is somewhat broken.”
