At the Buzzer: Florida 80, Ole Miss 71 (Instant Analysis)

AT THE BUZZER
FLORIDA 80, OLE MISS 71

WHAT HAPPENED: The Gators jumped on the Rebels from the opening tip Saturday night, scoring the game's first eight points on the way to rolling to 19-point halftime lead, thanks to an uncharacteristically sizzling shooting performance and a welcome-back eruption from freshman guard KeVaughn Allen at the sold-out Pavilion at Ole Miss. After going scoreless in his previous game, Allen poured in 27 points on 9-for-11 shooting from the floor and 6-for-7 from the 3-point line. UF led by as many as 21 in the second half and each time the Rebels made a run, the Gators had an answer. Senior forward Dorian Finney-Smith had 17 points and 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season. Sophomore point guard Chris Chiozza had a career-high nine assists. The win made for a happy homecoming for Florida coach Mike White, who starred as a point guard for four years the Rebels during the 1990s.

WHAT IT MEANS: Florida needed a road win badly, with its lone true road victory coming in the season opener at Navy. This one was a big confidence booster -- gorgeous new arena hosting just its third men's game -- and comes on the heels of Tuesday night's three-point loss at No. 21 Texas A&M, which is still unbeaten in SEC play and early on looks like the team to beat in the league.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Allen, obviously. After averaging 18 points over a five-game stretch, including a career-high 32 points in a loss to Florida State, Allen went just 4-for-18 from the floor and 0-for-7 from deep previous two games, including that goose egg in a 3-point loss at A&M four nights earlier. A more aggressive and confident Allen is a very dangerous one.

STAGGERING STATISTIC: UF, which entered the game ranked last in the SEC in field-goal percentage (.415) and 3-point percentage (.290), shot a ridiculous 62.1 percent from the floor and made eight of 14 from deep (57.1 percent) in the first half as built its 49-30 lead at the break. That was easily the hottest the Gators had been in the first 20 minutes of a game, eclipsing the previous high mark of 57.6 set in the season's second game against North Carolina A&T. Ole Miss is better than A&T.

UP NEXT: After back-to-back road games -- and three of the last four away from home -- the Gators (11-6, 3-2) are back in the O'Connell Center on Tuesday to face Mississippi State (7-9, 0-4), which fell Saturday at home against Tennessee. It'll be the first of two home games for UF and start a run of six of the next eight at the O'Dome.

Gators Calendar

At the Buzzer: Florida 80, Ole Miss 71 (Instant Analysis)

Players Mentioned

KeVaughn Allen

Chris Chiozza

Dorian Finney-Smith

Footer

Upcoming Events