'Next-Day Takeaway' -- UF 70, Florida Gulf Coast 50
Saturday, November 28, 2015 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
Freshman guard KeVaughn Allen drives the baseline in Friday's win against Florida Gulf Coast.
'THE NEXT-DAY TAKEAWAY
FLORIDA 70, FLORIDA GULF COAST 50
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Three follow-up observations from Florida's victory Friday night against FGCU at the O'Connell Center.
1) After Wednesday night's win over Vermont, when the Gators led by just five at halftime then amped things up in the second period, UF coach Mike White said that second half was the team's “most mature” performance of the young season on both ends of the floor. And after erasing a one-point deficit Friday against FGCU at the break and limiting the Eagles to just 17 points on 26-percent shooting, White said it was his team's best half of defensive basketball to date. Two games, two good halves. That's fine against Vermont and Florida Gulf Coast, but the ante is about to be upped with games against -- in succession -- Richmond, which beat No. 14 California Friday night, at home; at No. 15 Miami; at No. 3 Michigan State; and vs. Oklahoma State on a neutral court in Sunrise, Fla. Maybe it's the fact the Gators played four games in seven days and were just heavy-legged; maybe it was the name on the other jerseys. That's human nature. Still, I got to think some of the talking points this week -- among coaches and players -- will be about starting the game with a sense of urgency, as opposed to summoning it 20 minutes in because the score is close.
2) In last Sunday's 85-70 loss to a really, really good Purdue team, sophomore center John Egbunu had 19 points and seven rebounds, but the coaching staff used film review to show their big man how many points he gave up while failing to execute his duties on ball-screen defense in the halfcourt. Granted, Vermont and Florida Gulf Coast pale in comparison to Purdue, but Egbunu's last two outings -- playing traffic cop in the paint and constantly talking -- are reflected in the Gators holding the Catamounts and Eagles to just 40-for-112 from the floor (35.7 percent).
3) As long as UF keeps shooting like this from the outside -- 5-for-23 from the 3-point line Friday (21.7 percent) -- it's going to be a topic of conversation. Note: As a team, the Gators are making just 30.8 percent, thanks mostly to Dorian Finney-Smith, who has 14 of their 45 treys from the “stretch 4” spot. Freshman shooting guard KeVaughn Allen, encouraged to shoot when open (and rightfully so, given his talent and proficiency in hitting long balls in practice) made one of his six shots from deep. He's now 4-for-22 from out there (18 percent). It's critical, though, that Allen not become gun shy. The two-time Arkansas Player of the Year was a high-volume scorer in high school (25 per game). Did you see that between-the-legs-dribble and step-back 3 from the corner that did go in? He's going to be a star. The coaches believe it's only a matter of time until he breaks through.
