At the Buzzer: Florida 97, North Florida 68 (Instant Analysis)
Tuesday, March 15, 2016 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
AT THE BUZZER
FLORIDA 97, NORTH FLORIDA 68
WHAT HAPPENED: The Gators were not only the aggressors in the Ospreys' gym, they were the mad-bombers, striking for a season-high 16 3-pointers, including a dizzying dozen in the first half on the way to wiping out UNF and wiping away early any notion of a mega-upset of the state's flagship school. Florida never trailed in the game, opening the scoring on a 3-pointer by freshman guard KeVaughn Allen less than a minute in. Up just one after five minutes, the Gators began taking the lead out with a rainstorm of 3s -- at one point hitting four on four straight possessions to open an overwhelming 32-point halftime lead. All five UF starters finished in double figures, led by fifth-year senior forward Dorian Finney-Smith's 18 points and nine rebounds. Sophomore center John Egbunu, playing with that braced right hand due to a torn thumb ligament, had a double-double with 13 points and 11 boards, while point guard Kasey Hill, back in the starting lineup after a very good Southeastern Conference Tournament, had 14 points and five steals. Sophomore point guard Chris Chiozza had 11 points and seven assists off the bench.
WHAT IT MEANS: The Gators move on in the NIT field (see below), while Mike White joins Tommy Bartlett as the only coaches in UF history to win 20 games in their first season. Bartlett went 21-4 in his debut 1966-67 season.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Can we go with everybody? Even fifth-year senior walk-on Lexx Edwards scored, with the first field goal of his career -- of course -- a 3-pointer in the final two minutes.
STAGGERING STATISTIC: How about 57 points at the half on 54.1 percent shooting from the floor and 66.7 from the 3-point line -- and that's 66.7 on 19 attempts, as in 12 makes. Allen went 4-for-5 from deep in the first 20 minutes. Those 16 treys were a whopping seven more than the nine hit by UNF, which led the nation with 402 for the season.
UP NEXT: The Gators (20-14) will advance to the NIT round of 16 and face Ohio State (21-13) in Columbus, Ohio
FLORIDA 97, NORTH FLORIDA 68
WHAT HAPPENED: The Gators were not only the aggressors in the Ospreys' gym, they were the mad-bombers, striking for a season-high 16 3-pointers, including a dizzying dozen in the first half on the way to wiping out UNF and wiping away early any notion of a mega-upset of the state's flagship school. Florida never trailed in the game, opening the scoring on a 3-pointer by freshman guard KeVaughn Allen less than a minute in. Up just one after five minutes, the Gators began taking the lead out with a rainstorm of 3s -- at one point hitting four on four straight possessions to open an overwhelming 32-point halftime lead. All five UF starters finished in double figures, led by fifth-year senior forward Dorian Finney-Smith's 18 points and nine rebounds. Sophomore center John Egbunu, playing with that braced right hand due to a torn thumb ligament, had a double-double with 13 points and 11 boards, while point guard Kasey Hill, back in the starting lineup after a very good Southeastern Conference Tournament, had 14 points and five steals. Sophomore point guard Chris Chiozza had 11 points and seven assists off the bench.
WHAT IT MEANS: The Gators move on in the NIT field (see below), while Mike White joins Tommy Bartlett as the only coaches in UF history to win 20 games in their first season. Bartlett went 21-4 in his debut 1966-67 season.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Can we go with everybody? Even fifth-year senior walk-on Lexx Edwards scored, with the first field goal of his career -- of course -- a 3-pointer in the final two minutes.
STAGGERING STATISTIC: How about 57 points at the half on 54.1 percent shooting from the floor and 66.7 from the 3-point line -- and that's 66.7 on 19 attempts, as in 12 makes. Allen went 4-for-5 from deep in the first 20 minutes. Those 16 treys were a whopping seven more than the nine hit by UNF, which led the nation with 402 for the season.
UP NEXT: The Gators (20-14) will advance to the NIT round of 16 and face Ohio State (21-13) in Columbus, Ohio
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