At the Buzzer: Florida 76, Richmond 56 (Instant Analysis)
Wednesday, December 2, 2015 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
AT THE BUZZER
FLORIDA 76, RICHMOND 56
WHAT HAPPENED: Florida's defense smothered the high-scoring Spiders, who came into the game averaging 86 points per game (26th in the nation) and only reached half that with four minutes left in the game. UF held UR to just 34 percent shooting from the floor and just 17 first-half points as the Gators raced to a 23-point lead at the break. Sophomore center John Egbunu carded the second double-double of his UF career with 17 points and 14 rebounds, while sophomore forward Devin Robinson had his third double-double of the season (12 points, career-high 13 rebounds), while surviving a scary ankle injury in the second half. Senior forward Dorian Finney-Smith had nine points and 13 rebounds, giving UF three players in double-figures on the boards, leading to a 57-36 edge as a team. Freshman guard KeVaughn Allen, mired in a shooting slump to start his collegiate career, scored 10 points on 4-for-8 shooting.
WHAT IT MEANS: Don't let this game fool you. The Spiders, who beat Wake Forest and ranked California last month, will be a player in the Atlantic 10 Conference. This was a really good win and should pay RPI dividends down the line. The Gators were challenged by Coach Mike White to pick it up heading into this very difficult non-conference run coming up, with road games at No. 21 Miami and No. 3 Michigan State next week. This one demonstrated what Florida is capable of defensively. The Gators need this kind of defensive effort and energy each time out to make White's system work.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: The big guys stuffed the box score, but it had to please White and his staff to see Allen, who came in 15-for-50 from the floor (30 percent) 4-for-22 from the 3-point line (18 percent) have some shots fall. He went 2-for-4 from deep against UR. Still, the Gators have to get more (a lot more) from their perimeter game -- of which Allen will be paramount this season -- for White's stuff to start coming together. As it was, the Gators were just six of 22 from deep (27.3 percent) against the Spiders and have only been better than 34 percent from deep in one game this season.
STAGGERING STATISTIC: Richmond came into the game having scored at least 31 points and having shot no worse than 42.3 percent in each first half through its first six games. Against the UF defense, the Spiders went 5-for-24 through the first 20 minutes (20.8 percent) and finished with just those 17 points. They trailed 40-17 at intermission.
UP NEXT: After playing five games in 11 days, Florida (6-1) is off for a week before facing No. 21 Miami (5-1 heading into Tuesday night's game at Nebraska) on Dec. 8 at Coral Gables. The Gators and Hurricanes renewed their series last year, the first of a two-year home-and-home contract, with UM beating UF 69-67 on an Angel Rodriguez 3-pointer with 16 seconds left after the Canes trailed by 15 in the second half. The loss snapped the Gators' school-record 33-game home winning streak.
