At the Buzzer: Florida 70, Florida Gulf Coast 50 (Instant Analysis)
Saturday, November 28, 2015 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
AT THE BUZZER
FLORIDA 70, FLORIDA GULF COAST 50
WHAT HAPPENED: Senior forward Dorian Finney-Smith scored 23 points (two shy of his career high) and grabbed eight rebounds Friday night, while sophomore center John Egbunu tallied 17 points and 11 boards for his first double-double as in a UF uniform to lead the Gators past an Eagles team that not only stuck around a while but had the lead at halftime. UF shot a woeful 29.7 percent in the first half and trailed by two, but opened the second period on a 13-2 run to seize control. Though UF struggled to just 38.8 percent for the game, Finney-Smith and Egbunu combined to put in 14 of their 27 shots, helping the Gators outscore the Eagles in the paint 38-28. UF also turned 18 turnovers into 26 points, while commiting a season-low turnovers.
WHAT IT MEANS: That FGCU doesn't have a new seminal moment -- to pair with that magical 2013 NCAA Tournament run -- to point to at Florida's expense. That's good for the Gators.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Bring up Egbunu's name to UF coach Mike White and the words "He's just scratching the surface" are likely to come up. Big things were expected of him defensively this season, but now he's starting to show some offense. Over the last three games, he's averaged 16.3 points to go with 8.3 rebounds. He's only going to get better because, well, he's just scratching the surface.
STAGGERING STATISTIC: Junior point guard Kasey Hill went 2-for-9 from the floor, making both his field goals in the game's final 2:25. His starting backcourt mate, freshman KeVaughn Allen, was 3-for-12 from the floor (after going 0-for-5 in Wednesday's win over Vermont). That's a combined 5-for-21 for the Friday's game (28.6 percent). It's OK to be front-court heavy, but the Gators need to get more consistent production shooting the ball from the backcourt.
UP NEXT: The Gators (5-1) have the weekend off, but return to the floor Tuesday night against Richmond (3-2) at the O'Dome. The Spiders lost Thursday night to West Virginia in opening-round play of the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational, with the second game set for later Friday against California.
