Florida approaches the stretch run of SEC play in dominance mode.
The No. 12 Gators (20-6, 11-2 SEC) remain in sole possession of first place in the conference heading into their game against Ole Miss on Saturday in Oxford, Miss.
They have won 11 of their last 12 and their wins during their current six-game streak have come by an average of 22 points. But Florida head coach Todd Golden recognizes that some wins are going to be easier than others.
“Anytime you can win, that’s a huge step in the right direction,” Golden said. “And I tell these guys all the time when we’re preparing for games: I don’t care if it’s Alabama, I don’t care if it’s Tennessee, Kentucky, South Carolina — we’re treating that game like the national championship.”
The Gators, the defending national champion, began the winning streak with their most lopsided victory of the season, a 95-48 dismantling of host South Carolina on Jan. 28. But when they played host to the Gamecocks on Tuesday night, the margin was much smaller in a 76-62 outcome.
“I feel like there’s an expectation right now with our program that if we’re not up by 15 at halftime, if we don’t win by 25, (then) something isn’t going right,” Golden said. “But even when we’re not at our best, I think we’re really good.”
Golden acknowledged the Gators didn’t play their best the last time out, but they still enjoyed a comfortable lead virtually the entire game. Only a 92-83 victory against Kentucky last Saturday came by single digits during the winning streak.
“We’ve just got to attack it,” Gators forward Alex Condon said. “That’s what championship teams do every night — come out with the same mentality and keep rolling.”
Condon had 20 points and 10 rebounds Tuesday. Center Rueben Chinyelu had his 16th double-double of the season, finishing with 15 points and 17 rebounds to bring his average over the last five games to 16.2 rebounds.
The Gators’ size is of particular concern for Ole Miss, which got outrebounded 37-23 in an 80-77 road loss to Texas A&M on Wednesday night. The Rebels (11-15, 3-10) were beaten 16-4 on the offensive glass and gave up 18 second-chance points.
“The difference in the game is offensive rebounding for them,” Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard said. “The reason we’re not in a little bit better mood is we’re one or two blockouts away.”
Rebounding has been a consistent problem for Ole Miss, which has lost eight games in a row. The Rebels rank 15th in rebound margin (minus-2.3 per game).
Florida leads the conference in rebounds (46.0) and the nation in rebound margin (plus-14.6).
Despite the rebounding issues against the Aggies, the Rebels played better than they did four days earlier in a 90-78 home loss to Mississippi State. They led Texas A&M for most of the game but got outscored 12-2 down the stretch while going scoreless for the final 3:32.
“I thought in a lot of ways we outplayed the opponent,” Beard said. “(We were) probably deserving of winning the game.”
