For the month of February, the No. 17 Florida Gators (24-7, 14-4 SEC) posted an incredible 7-1 record with their lone loss coming at the end of the month to the then No. 11 ranked Kentucky Wildcats (26-5, 16-2 SEC).
Chiozza's Triple Double
It was a very exciting month for the Gators that was full of various milestones and accomplishments. Let's start with the February 2nd contest against the Missouri Tigers (7-23, 2-16 SEC). In this game, junior backup point guard Chris Chiozza made history as he posted Gator basketball's fourth ever triple double.
Coming off the bench, Chiozza posted a stat line of 12 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists to accomplish the feat. As for the game itself, Florida easily won 95-53. The 42-point victory margin was their largest of the season.
Chiozza's Triple Double
It was a very exciting month for the Gators that was full of various milestones and accomplishments. Let's start with the February 2nd contest against the Missouri Tigers (7-23, 2-16 SEC). In this game, junior backup point guard Chris Chiozza made history as he posted Gator basketball's fourth ever triple double.
Coming off the bench, Chiozza posted a stat line of 12 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists to accomplish the feat. As for the game itself, Florida easily won 95-53. The 42-point victory margin was their largest of the season.
Canyon Barry's Free Throw Streak
After the Missouri blowout, more Gator history would be made in the February 11th contest against the Texas A&M Aggies (16-14, 8-10 SEC). In this game, graduate transfer Canyon Barry eclipsed the all-time Gator mark for consecutive free throws made as he sank his 39th straight charity bucket. Of course I have to mention that he is the son of Rick Barry and that, like his father, he shoots his free throws underhanded.
The Kentucky Games
Between both these accolades, a primetime matchup made its way to Gainesville as the No. 8 Kentucky Wildcats came into the O-Dome to do battle with the then No. 24 ranked Gators on February 4th.
The result was one even I didn't expect. Florida not only won, but they won big. In the largest victory margin for the Gators in the series, Florida smoked Kentucky by a score of 88-66 to end a five-game losing streak to the Wildcats.
It was the most satisfying victory of the year, and Florida rode that momentum onto five more SEC wins before meeting up with Kentucky again at Rupp Arena. It would be different this time around as the Gators had lost redshirt junior center John Egbunu to a knee injury against Auburn on Valentine's Day.
In addition to Egbunu's absence, the Gators got no calls in their favor from the refs in the Kentucky rematch. On top of all that, future NBA lottery pick Malik Monk caught fire and dropped 33 points to propel the Cats to a 76-66 victory over the Gators.
As the Gators prepare for the SEC Tournament now, let's take a look at the regular season stat leaders for the Orange and Blue:
Offense
Points: KeVaughn Allen (430) (Sophomore)
Assists: Kasey Hill (144) (Senior)
Rebounds: John Egbunu (59) (Redshirt Junior)
Shooting Percentage (100 attempts min.): Devin Robinson (47%) (Junior)
Three-Pointers: KeVaughn Allen (67)
Three-Point Percentage (50 attempts min.): KeVaugn Allen (40%)
Free Throws: Canyon Barry (101) (Graduate Transfer)
Free Throw Percentage (50 attempts min.): Canyon Barry (88%)
Defense
Rebounds: Devin Robinson (130)
Blocks: Kevarrius Hayes (50) (Sophomore)
Steals: Kasey Hill (53)
Miscellaneous
Personal Fouls: Kevarrius Hayes (88)
Minutes: Kasey Hill (610)
Turnovers: Kasey Hill (97)
Final Takeaway
Before addressing the SEC and NCAA Tournaments, I need to highlight the Gators who received all-conference honors. They are as follows:
- 2016-2017 SEC Coach of the Year
- Mike White (2nd year at Florida)
- First Team All-SEC
- KeVaughn Allen - Shooting Guard
- Second Team All-SEC
- Kasey Hill - Point Guard
- SEC All-Defensive Team
- Kasey Hill - Point Guard
- SEC Sixth-Man of the Year
- Canyon Barry - Shooting Guard
Congrats to both Coach White and his players on their hard-earned accomplishments! Looking ahead now, No. 17 Florida will prepare for the SEC Tournament in Nashville after losing their game to Vanderbilt (17-14, 10-8 SEC) there on March 4th.
The Gators have received a double-bye and will need just three wins to be crowned SEC Tournament Champions. They will play either Vanderbilt or Texas A&M and the game will take place on Friday at 7 p.m. The game can be seen on the SEC Network and heard on the Gator IMG Sports Network.
Depending on how Florida fares in Nashville, they will most likely receive between a No. 3 and No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament. March Madness is upon us, and hopefully Florida can muster up enough mojo to get to the Sweet Sixteen.
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