Florida 74, St. Joseph's 63 (Instant Analysis)
Sunday, November 22, 2015 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
AT THE BUZZER
FLORIDA 74, ST. JOSEPH'S 63
WHAT HAPPENED: Down by six with less than seven minutes to play, the Gators scored 21 of the game's final 25 points -- including 12 of the last 13 -- and raced to the finish to finish off the Hawks in the second game of the Hall of Fame Tipoff at Mohegan Sun Arena. Senior forward Dorian Finney-Smith scored 13 points and grabbed six rebounds, while sophomore forward Devin Robinson maintained his sensational play off the bench with 12 points and 10 rebounds, with five on the offensive glass, for the second double-double of his season and career. Finney-Smith and Robinson combined to score their team's final 10 points.
WHAT IT MEANS: After taking care of two severely overmatched opponents (Navy and North Carolina A&T) by a combined 68 points, UF's competition was upgraded significantly against the Hawks. The Gators answered Coach Mike White's challenge to continue their hard, relentless play, they did not flinch despite falling behind by nine early and slapped some terrific defense on St. Joe's and their star forward DeAndre' Bembry. The Hawks shot just 38 percent for the game and 25 percent from 3, while Bembry was held to 2-for-11 from the floor and just 10 points (seven below his average). A good win against a good team earned the Gators an even tougher game against an even better foe. See below.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: He only had seven points and four assists, but sophomore backup point guard Chris Chiozza was really, really solid down the stretch after starter Kasey Hill fouled out. He had the play of the night when he drove into the teeth of the Hawks defense, faked a couple defenders off their feet, then spun to find Finney-Smith for a 3 -- and seven-point -- lead with 1:17 remaining.
STAGGERING STATISTIC: After going 15-for-29 from the 3-point line Monday in crushing A&T, the Gators reverted back to their cockeyed shooting ways from deep (ala the Navy game). UF finished eight of 32 from out there (Brandone Francis-Ramirez and KeVaughn Allen were a combined 1-for-1), so just what kind of shooting this team is (good, bad, inconsistent) remains to be seen. Right now, it's the latter.
UP NEXT: The Gators (3-0) advanced to the tournament title game, where they'll face No. 21 Purdue (4-0), which easily handled Old Dominion 61-39 in the first game Saturday. The Boilermakers, who are expected to contend in the Big Ten, are montstrous up front, led by 7-2, 282-pound center Isacc Haas (15 ppg, 8 rpg, 3 bpg). He's flanked by 6-9, 250-pound Caleb Swanigan (11.7 ppg, 10 rpg) and 6-8, 225-pound Vince Edwards (12.7 ppg) at forward. Oh, and 7-foot, 250-pound A.J. Hammons (8 ppg, 6 rpg, 3 bpg) comes off the bench.
