GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The home team scored the first 13 points of the first half Sunday, as well as the last 13 of the period. In between, it was a fairly competitive game, if that matters.
The end result, given those sizable brackets, was a Florida blowout.
Another one.
Guard
Myreon Jones and Thanksgiving Eve point guard hero
Tyree Appleby scored a dozen points each to lead a half-dozen Gators into double-figure scoring in No. 23 UF's 84-45 flogging of Troy at Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center. Fifth-year forwards
Anthony Duruji and
Phlandrous Fleming Jr., each had 11 points, while senior forward
Colin Castleton had 10 points and eight boards, with grad-guard
Brandon McKissic scoring all 10 of his points in the first half off the bench.
"We knew coming into the season this was going to be a different team, with a different leading scorer every game. That makes us hard to scout," said Jones, who nailed all four of his 3-pointers during an opening half when the Gators rushed to a 29-point advantage. "It's cool to see everybody have their night because we work so hard for these moments."
When it was done — which was early, for all intents and purposes — the Gators (6-0) were off to their best start of Coach
Mike White's seven seasons, as well as the program's best through six games since the 2012-13 campaign that featured a trio of seniors in Kenny Boynton, Erik Murphy and Mike Rosario. It's just the ninth time in UF history the team has opened with six victories.
And of UF's six wins, five have been by double digits; four by 20 or more, and now two by 36 or more.
"I was really pleased with the mental approach, from practice, shoot-around, pre-game and the start we got off to," White said. "I anticipated this game being closer."
A sore hamstring kept Brandon McKissic (23) out of the starting lineup, but the fiery grad-transfer guard still managed 10 points (including a couple 3s), three rebounds and a pair of steals in 17 minutes off the bench.
Troy (4-3), out of the Sun Belt Conference, had not been blown out in any of its games this season and came in with a defense allowing opponents just 39.7 percent from the floor and 27.6 from the 3-point line, while forcing 20 turnovers a game. UF, though, was aggressor from the tip on the way to forcing 21 giveaways that converted to 32 points and limiting the Trojans to 32.1-percent shooting overall and just two of 16 from the 3-point line (.125).
Conversely, the Gators hit 44.3 percent for the game, including 35.1 from distance (13 of 37), with Jones, the senior transfer from Penn State, nailing a pair of 3s in the first 73 seconds, followed by another from Fleming three minutes in. When Castleton knocked down two free throws at the 15:46 mark, UF led 13-0. And no sooner did forward Khaly Waters' driving layup get Troy finally on the scoreboard did Appleby cancel it out with his first 3-pointer of the game.
So much for any concern of a prosperity hangover following the team thrilling victory Wednesday night — and Appleby's buzzer-beating 3-pointer — to defeat Ohio State in the championship game of the Fort Myers Tip-Off.
"It was a very businesslike approach," White said. "We didn't have any letdown."
Florida was up 36-20 when Appleby hit another three to kick in a 13-point blitz to end the first half, a spree that included two more 3s from McKissic, who did not start due to a hamstring tweak suffered against OSU. Freshman wing
Kowacie Reeves (8 points) threw in a turn-around jumper at the buzzer to send the Gators to the locker room rolling 49-20.
Freshman swingman Kowacie Reeves (14) had a career-high eight points, including a pair of 3s.
"We have a lot of pieces who can go get a bucket," said Fleming, the grad-transfer from Charleston Southern, who in replacing McKissic for a first start of the season also added six rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block. "They were really focused on Colin. He's our leading scorer. So we spread the ball, everybody got touches, everybody got a piece, and we got the win together."
UF's lead ballooned to as many as many as 41 in the second half, with White giving his backups plenty of reps in the closing few minutes.
In addition to Jones' 12 points, he also had four assists, three rebounds and a steal. Duruji made four of his five field-goal attempts, including another two thundering dunks.
But the Gators, once again, weren't gushing about their offense. This group talks about the other end.
"It's the defense that connects us," Jones said. "We get our highlights from playing defense."
