'At the Buzzer' - Florida 72, Mississippi State 47 (Instant Analysis)
Sunday, January 11, 2015 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
AT THE BUZZER
FLORIDA 72, MISSISSIPPI STATE 47
WHAT HAPPENED: At Gainesville, junior forward Dorian Finney-Smith continued his roll of impressive and reliable play, scoring 16 points and grabbing six rebounds, while junior guard Eli Carter came off the bench to score a game-high 20, including a half-dozen 3-pointers, to help pace the Gators to their second Southeastern Conference victory in as many outings. UF took a lead just 90 seconds into the game and never trailed after that, opening a 20-point margin at halftime and shooting 53.8 percent for the game.
WHAT IT MEANS: Being undefeated in the league, even this early, is never a bad thing. No one in the UF locker room was thinking they have this all figured out, but after that nice win Wednesday night at South Carolina to open SEC play, the Gators followed it up with a solid, start-to-finish effort against an opponent they should have handled easily at home ... and did. Oh, and make that 23 straight conference wins for Florida, which has not lost a league game since the 2013 SEC Tournament championship game against Ole Miss.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Considering the run of bad luck Carter has had since he transferred to UF in the summer of 2013 (a broken leg at Rutgers that did not heal properly; a sprained foot after going 8-for-9 from the floor in the second game of the season; strep throat after he came back from that foot injury), what the fourth-year combo guard has shown the last two game -- finally healthy -- makes a difference for the Gators offense in the halfcourt. Not only can he break down defenders for one-one-one for drives, but he can make 3-point shots. Free throws, too.
STAGGERING STATISTIC: In the first half, the Gators forced 10 turnovers and took advantage of them, scoring 19 points off those giveaways. Conversely, UF took care of the ball, with only a trio of turnovers in the period, none of which led to MSU points. So 19-0 in that statistical box through the first 20 minutes. That's playing good defense and capitalizing on the other team's miscuse.
UP NEXT: Florida (9-6, 2-0) continues on in SEC play with a home date against Auburn (9-6, 1-1), which won at home Saturday night against Missouri. The game will mark the return of Bruce Pearl to the O'Dome. Pearl had tremendous success as Tennessee coach against the Gators, including three wins in four meetings during UF's run of back-to-back NCAA titles.
