Wednesday, January 25, 2023 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
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By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
WHAT HAPPENED: Fifth-year senior forward Colin Castleton scored 18 points to lead five Florida players into double-figure scoring, as the Gators blew out visiting South Carolina 81-60 for their most lopsided Southeastern Conference victory of the season Wednesday night at Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center. In what was their best all-around offensive performance to date, the Gators also got a career-best 14 points from freshman guard Riley Kugel, 15 from wing Kowacie Reeves and 10 each from guards Will RichardandKyle Lofton, but it was fifth-year senior Myreon Jones, who did not hit double figures, who posted far and away the best stat line of the evening. Jones had nine points and career highs of 10 rebounds and eight assists without a turnover, falling shy of becoming just the fourth player in UF history to tally a triple-double. The win was UF's fifth in the last six games and was much-needed given the brutal paddlewheel of games that lie immediately ahead (read on). Unlike previous home games, the Gators didn't start slow, but it was still anybody's game early in the second half, with UF ahead by just six. The Gators, though, used an 12-2 run early in the period to take the lead out to 16 before the first media timeout, then jumped ahead by 20 after another run of nine straight points a few minutes later, coasting home from there. Castleton overpowered the Gamecocks up front, hitting seven of his 10 field-goal attempts and got to the free-throw line to make four of five. He also carded three rebounds, three assists and four blocks. Florida shot 47 percent for the game (with a season-high 21 assists) and was well over 60 percent in the second half -- and coasting by 30 -- when the Gators began emptying their bench. The Gamecocks were limited to 36.7 percent for the night, making for a seventh game in eight SEC outings that UF has held an opponent under 40 percent, though they did win the battle of the boards 45-36. USC was led by freshman forward Gregory "GG" Jackson II, the projected NBA lottery pick, who tallied game highs of 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Fifth-year forward Colin Castleton throws down a dunk to start Wednesday night's game against the Gamecocks.
WHAT IT MEANS: The Gators were sitting at No. 44 before Wednesday's tip-off and thus had the sixth-best NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rating in the SEC, which figures to improve a bit. They remain in a tie for fifth place in the league standings with Kentucky, but are about to embark on one of the most difficult stretches of games in program history, with three of the next four against opponents ranked in the Associated Press Top 5. The next two weeks, with three of four on the road against some true powerhouses, will have a significant hand in determining where this season (and postseason) ends up.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: We'll get back to Jones shortly. In the interim, let's give a shoutout to senior center Jason Jitoboh, who got called on for extended playing time since sophomore forward Alex Fudge left Saturday's win at Mississippi State eight seconds into the second half after a nasty collision trying to draw a charge. This time, Jitoboh had to spell Castleton, who was in first-half foul trouble, and played nine first-half minutes to give his team a bridge to the second period. The 6-foot-11, 300-pounder finished with five points and two rebounds in 15 minutes before fouling out long after the game had been decided.
STAGGERING STATISTIC: Jones came awfully close to joining Corey Brewer, Nick Calathes and Chris Chiozza as the only players in Florida basketball history to record triple doubles. Jones has 25 assists and just three turnovers in SEC play and is now plus-55 in on-court ratio over the last six games.
UP NEXT: Florida (12-8, 5-3) joins nine other league teams in stepping out of conference play Saturday for the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. The Gators, of course, will dispatched to Manhattan, Kan., to take on fifth-ranked Kansas State (17-3, 6-2) in what figures to be an emotional reunion with former standout forwardKeyontae Johnson, whose plight at UF has been well documented and will be yet again in the run-up to this one.
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