Florida Gators

WHAT HAPPENED: Sophomore Tre Mann poured in a career-high 19 points, including five free throws inside the final 40 seconds, as the Gators erased an early 12-point deficit to rally from behind and defeat the Black Knights in the ESPN "Bubbleville" environment Wednesday at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn. Mann, the former McDonald's All-American making his career debut at point guard, went 6-for-13 from the floor, grabbed six rebounds and dished four assists to four turnovers in UF's week-delayed season opener. Fourth-year junior guard Tyree Appleby, who sat out last season after transferring from Cleveland State, came off the bench to score all 15 of his points after halftime and helped the Gators shake off a poor start before eventually taking their first lead of the game on an Appleby 3-pointer almost five minutes into the second period. The Gators saw the Knights score the game's first seven points, and 12 of the first 14, and eventually fell behind by a dozen before slowly working back. Appleby's 3 was part of a run of 12 straight early in the second half, but the Knights came back to six times retake the lead, the last time on a pair of free throws from sophomore guard Scottie Lewis with 1:40 to go for a 71-69 edge. The Knights, meanwhile, did not score over the final 2:45. Gators junior forward Keyontae Johnson had 16 points and three rebounds, while junior center Colin Castleton, the transfer from Michigan in his UF debut, had nine points and eight rebounds. Army was led by freshman guard Lonnie Grayson's 13 points, eight rebounds and a trio of 3s.  WHAT IT MEANS: The Gators began the day as one of eight Power Five conference programs ranked in the KenPom.com Top 100 (and 15 overall) yet to play a game. Yhey have one under their belts now, as well as a 29th win in the last 30 season openers, dating to the 1991-92 season, with the lone blemish an 81-60 loss at Florida State to tip off the '18-19 campaign. 

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Appleby hit four of his six field-goal attempts, one of his three 3-balls, six of seven free throws, and had three assists. On a team that was struggling to score and seemed anxious at times, he was a settling, veteran influence off the bench and maybe the reason they won the game. 

STAGGERING STATISTIC: The Gators, at one point, were 8-for-20 from the free-throw line, but nailed 15 of their last 16 to finish 24-for-36. And then there was Army freshman center Charlie Peterson, who missed two free throws with 40.3 seconds remaining that would have tied the game at 71. Peterson was 0-for-4 from the line in the game, and fell to 0-for-9 for the season. 

UP NEXT: Florida (1-0) must go into quick-turnaround mode with a 30-hour prep for Thursday night's game against Boston College (1-2), also in "Bubbleville." The Eagles, out of the Atlantic Coast Conference, have played a fairly ambitious schedule, given the pandemic challenges, with a pair of losses against Big East  teams (No. 3 Villanova and unranked St. John's) sandwiched around a win over a solid Atlantic 10 foe (Rhode Island). BC is a guard-oriented bunch that will be a decent second-game (and second-day) test for the Gators.