Three takeaways from Florida basketball’s blowout win over UNF Ospreys

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Dec 21, 2024; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators guard Will Richard (5) and guard Urban Klavzar (7) battle for a rebound over North Florida Ospreys guard Jasai Miles (0) during the first half at Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

Florida basketball broke out with a 10-0 run against North Florida on Saturday and never looked back. The Gators led for all 40 minutes, held a 37-point lead at the half and won 99-45 at the final buzzer.

Complete dominance.

Will Richard led all scorers with 26 points on 9 of 12 shooting, including six three-pointers. He outscored UNF in the first half, 18-5. Sam Alexis, Alex Condon and Thomas Haugh also reached double figures, including a double-double from Alexis.

Florida dominated every statistical category, beating UNF by 40 rebounds, 38 points in the paint, 27 points off the bench, 19 second-chance points and 11 assists.

Not a trap game

After a pair of tough Quadrant 1 wins, the fear becomes falling into a so-called trap game. Not for these Florida Gators, though. The Orange and Blue were happy to get back to O’Connell Center and treated the fans to a near-perfect win.

Florida has won plenty of games by 20-plus and even has a 30-point win on its resume, but a 40-point win is uncharted territory for the Gators. Todd Golden has his squad playing complementary basketball and winning in different ways each time out. Sometimes it’s the guards, sometimes it’s the bigs. In both cases, Florida finds a way to dominate its opponent.

The Gators have one more non-conference matchup on the schedule, a home game against Stetson on Dec. 29. Assuming another dominant win, Florida will be 13-0 entering SEC play, and they have to feel like they can compete with some of the best teams in the country moving forward.

Teams such as Auburn, Kentucky and Tennessee may be ranked ahead of Florida right now, but that can change in a hurry if Golden gets this group to play the same way in January.

Will Richard…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/three-takeaways-florida-basketballs-blowout-191241430.html

Author : Gators Wire

Publish date : 2024-12-21 19:12:00

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