BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The offensive numbers on the Providence side didn't jump out of the box score, but rather screamed in angst after Florida's utter beatdown Tuesday night. The Gators annihilated the Friars, 83-51, in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Invitational at Barclays Center, but UF coach Mike White wasn't basking in his team's numbing defensive numbers after watching the opposition shoot just 26 percent from the floor and 5.6 percent (as in 1-for-18) from the 3-point line. 

"They're better than that," White said of the Friars. "It was just one of those games." 

Maybe so, but it was the kind of game White's 2019-20 team had not enjoyed in the rough and tumble start to this young season. 

The Gators (7-3), now winners of five of the previous six, never trailed, got 19 points and 10 rebounds from sophomore Keyontae Johnson and another 23 between backup guards Tre Mann and Ques Glover. They shot 51 percent for the game, hit eight of 18 from the 3-point line (44.4 percent), led by double digits from the 9:52 mark of the first period on, and had enough of a hand in helping the Friars (6-6) look borderline inept on the offensive end on the way to a season-high in points scored.

"We played as a team," sophomore point guard Andrew Nembhard said. "On both ends of the floor."  Let's start with the offensive side, where Nembhard took the lead. Though he scored just nine points, Nembhard dished seven assists to just three turnovers over 26 minutes and left the floor with a plus-minus score of 26, the highest by a UF player this season. As the engineer of an offense that has undergone a system overhaul the last several weeks, Nembhard played with his usual patient pace, but his teammates seemed to have a better grasp of where they were going and what they wanted to do once they got there. 

Nobody demonstrated that as much as Mann, the McDonald's All-American from Gainesville who followed one of his best practices of the season earlier this week with the finest game of his brief collegiate career. Over 22 minutes, Mann hit four of eight shots (one of two from 3), plus four of five free throws for a career-best 13 points. He was on the attack, when warranted, and looked to finish plays, including one hard drive into the paint that he banked in through contact and another old-fashioned "and-one" that required some hang time and nifty spin off his fingertips. 

He looked more like the practice version of Mann than at any time this season. 

"In a couple of the games we lost, I thought if I'd just had a few more points — if I had shot or dished the ball better — we'd have had a better chance of winning," said Mann, the most gifted all-around scorer on the team, yet who began the night shooting just 33 percent from the floor, 21 from deep and 55 from the free-throw line. "I came to practice last week just ready to compete hard and I came here trying to play my game."

It worked. 

"He was great," Nembhard said. "We need that from him every game. He and Ques." 

The spark Glover provided wasn't his first this season. He showed nicely last month during UF's three wins on the way to claiming the Charleston (S.C.) Classic. Against PC, he had 10 points in 20 minutes, with a couple 3s, two rebounds, one assist and no turnovers.  Johnson's double-double was his second of the season and came on 7-for-13 shooting and 4-for-4 from the free-throw line. He also had four steals. Sophomore guard Noah Locke had 11 points, with a trio of 3s. Freshman wing Scottie Lewis had seven points, five rebounds and three steals. Grad-transfer forward Kerry Blackshear Jr. was limited to seven points and four rebounds over just 17 minutes due to foul trouble that plagued the Gators through the first half when officials called 27 fouls, 15 on UF. 

Three-pointers by Nembhard and Glover bracketed a run of 10 straight points in the first half that took a 12-10 Florida lead to 22-10 just inside 10 minutes. When Glover hit his second 3 at the 7:28 mark, the Gators led by 15, which was the margin when the teams went to the locker room at halftime. At that point, Providence had hit just five of 28 shots (17.9 percent) and none of its nine 3-ball tries. Things didn't get much better. PC didn't get that first 3-pointer until its 13th attempt.

"That was a long game," Friars coach Ed Cooley said.

UF shot nearly 45 percent in the first half, then increased that to 57 percent after the break, including 5-for-10 from deep. In dealing with their foul issues (six players had two at halftime), the Gators mixed in a variety of zones in the second half, all of which were effective enough to give PC problems. Once that 15-point halftime cushion spread to 20, the Friars got it to 17 a couple times, but never threatened.

The second half was basically drama-free for Florida, but the coach kept things in perspective.

"We executed a little better, but not a ton better," said White, whose team had 15 assists, its most in four games. "We played with more confidence, though, played more downhill and with more aggression — and made shots. That can be contagious and can also contribute to the overall energy level."

Interesting.It was just last week, during his press briefing with the locals, that White mentioned something about the game of basketball, sometimes, being as simple as whether or not the ball goes in the basket. It hasn't gone in with much consistency this season, but it went in Tuesday and a bunch of opportunities remain. 

The Gators would like to think this was a preview of things to come, but they're not taking anything for granted. They can't and shouldn't. 

"When shots go down, it makes things easier, a whole lot easier," he said. "It's just a natural thing that when the offense is flowing you play better defense. We just have to be consistent. To do that, though, we have to make shots."

Or in this case, keep making them.