No. 10 Florida Falls to TCU to Open Rady Children's Invitational

The Gators suffered its second loss of the season just six games into the year.

Florida Gators fell to TCU to open the Rady Children's Invitational. | Abe Arredondo-Imagn Images

SAN DIEGO-- The Florida Gators were upset by the TCU Horned Frogs on Thursday, 84-80, in the Rady Children’s Invitational. They now sit at 4-2 on the year. 

The main contributors for the Gators in this one were Thomas Haugh and Urban Klavzar. Haugh recorded 20 points, five rebounds and two assists in 36 minutes. Klavzar poured in 20 points off the bench, as well. 

TCU got things going on Thursday afternoon. After winning the tip, they eventually hit a running floater to take a two-point lead. Florida quickly responded with an 8-0 run within the first three minutes, thanks to Boogie Fland and Rueben Chinyelu adding four points each. 

However, TCU answered with a 12-3 run of their own to take a 14-11 lead at the 13-minute mark. During this stretch, Florida’s offense struggled to get into rhythm and create any quality looks.

It then became a back-and-forth affair from here. Neither team could string enough possessions together to create any separation. Any time one team started to grab the momentum, the other team responded. 

Luckily for Florida, they controlled the game just enough to end the first half with a 44-39 advantage. 

A big problem for Florida in the first half was its ability to play defense without fouling. In total, Florida racked up 14 fouls. Even more problematic was the fact that Fland had three fouls in the half. Other players in foul trouble were Xaivian Lee, Micah Handlogten and Thomas Haugh, all of whom had two going into the break. 

One reason this did not have as big an impact on the Gators' offense as it could have is because of Klavzar’s minutes off the bench. Klavzar poured in 12 points for the Gators in the first 20 minutes, connecting on two of his three 3-pointers. 

The other standout from the half was Haugh. He went into halftime with 12 points, three rebounds, a block and a steal.  

Florida’s start to the second half was similar to the first. They jumped out to a 10-point lead behind a flurry of buckets from several Gators. Chinyelu had a dunk, Lee had a triple, Fland had a layup and Condon nailed two free throws. 

Much like the first half, though, TCU crawled its way back into it. Over the next three minutes, the Horned Frogs went on a 13-4 run to bring it to within one point with under 13 to play. 

Nearly six minutes later, the Gators began generating some momentum, pushing out to a six-point lead with 5:29 left, but it only lasted for a little while. TCU rallied back over the next few minutes to take a 77-74 lead with 2:43 left. 

TCU handled its lead well, too. Despite Florida tying the game at 77 apiece, TCU scored the final points in the game to win 84-80. 

Up Next 

The Gators await the loser between Wisconsin and Providence for their opponent on Friday at 3 p.m.