Fresh off what was probably their most dominating performance of the season, the Florida Gators took advantage of the Auburn Tigers' zone defense in the second half and ran away with things to the tune of a 63-47 victory. The late switch by the Tigers defense from zone to man proved futile as the Gators erased a three-point halftime deficit and outscored the Tigers 36-17 in the second half.
With the win the Gators improve to 22-6 overall on the year and 10-3 in the SEC.
Kenny Boynton led the way for the Gators with 20 points, while Bradley Beal and Erving Walker chipped in with 13 points apiece. As a team the Gators shot 52% from the field (including 54% from beyond the arc) and out-rebounded the Tigers by twelve.
Boynton and Walker combined to hit 9 of 16 three pointers in one of their best overall performances (read: shot selection) of the season.
Erik Murphy and Patric Young were largely ineffective during the course of the game, combining for 10 points and 11 rebounds between the two of them. The third and final star of the night for the Gators was freshman Bradley Beal who at the final whistle had amassed 13 points and 6 rebounds.
With the shot clock running down, Cody Larson threw up a lame imitation of a shot in the dying throes of Florida's 98-68 win over Arkansas on Saturday night, and all I could do was laugh. Yeah, sure, Larson's struggle to find any sort of rhythm for Florida is dark comedy at this point, but it's also a massive relief for me that the Gators were in a position to have Larson doing Cody Larson things in the final minute of a road game, especially after where they sat last Saturday at this time. (And Patric Young laughed, too.)
Then, Florida had just been blasted by Kentucky and taken to the woodshed by Tennessee for the second time this season, and had just lost Will Yeguete to a concussion. Now, after two impressive triumphs on the road against two of the best teams in what used to be the SEC West, it's fair to wonder if Florida just needed a bad week to wake up and restoke its flames. And with Erving Walker getting hot, it might have been the best thing possible for the Gators heading into their stretch run.
From the 1:34 mark of the first half against Alabama to the 14:57 mark of the second half, Florida went on a 19-0 run in Tuscaloosa that turned a 26-23 deficit into a massive 42-26 lead. And on this Valentine's Day, that was all the Gators needed to get back to their winning ways, as they held on in the second half for a 61-52 victory.
Florida got a lot of production from a weird "big three": Patric Young led all scorers with 19 points, Erik Murphy had 14 points, five rebounds, and four steals, and Bradley Beal had 14 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two blocks, two steals, and one thunderous dunk late in the game that, well, watch it after the jump via @GatorNicole.
I suffered through Florida's 75-70 loss to Tennessee — the clubhouse leader for deceiving final score of a Gators game in 2012 — with Nicole, who is about the best companion possible for a frustrating, dismal effort. We yelled during the game and, on the way out, discussed what we learned today. After the jump, what we came up with.
One of the teams on the floor at Rupp Arena tonight looked destined to win a national title in April. It wasn't Florida.
The Gators were thoroughly outclassed by Kentucky on Tuesday, falling 78-58 on the road to a Wildcats squad that looked more athletic, more poised, and more ready to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament.
Florida vs Kentucky: Tonight, February 7, at 7 p.m., on ESPN. Be there or, I dunno, tweet square.
It's not fair to Davis to call him anything but the best player who will see the floor for either team on Tuesday night. At 6'10" and 220, he's built more like a mantis than a manchild, but he's got superb instincts on the defensive end and doesn't try to do too much on the offense, sticking with a repertoire of deep low post moves and dunks that has made him the nation's most efficient offensive player. He doesn't turn the ball over, passes acceptably, and hits almost 70 percent of his free throws, too, meaning his only glaring weakness is his inability to look at himself in mirrors. Good luck with that, Patric.
Kenny Boynton's cooled off considerably from the white-hot shooting that marked the first 15 or so games of his year, when he was making nearly half of his threes, but is still shooting a fantastic 43.8 percent on his threes, and plays admirable defense on all manner of wing players despite giving up a few inches to virtually every one of his assignments. Boynton also drives better than any other Florida player and typically avoids turnovers. If he has a big game, the Gators could well pull the upset on the Wildcats.
The Florida Gators are now on an eight-game win streak, courtesy of their 73-65 victory over the Vanderbilt Commodores. Bradley Beal, Kenny Boynton and Erving Walker led the way for the Gators, while Mike Rosario and Will Yeguete also came up big throughout the game. Boynton had a team-high 18 points, including two late free throws and a late three-pointer to seal the victory.
The victory is also the Gators' 19th consecutive win at home, which is the seventh longest streak in the country.
Coming into the game both teams ranked in the top 10 nationally in effective field goal percentage. As is seemingly common in those situations, both teams struggled shooting the ball. The Gators, who were fourth in the country, shot 37 percent from the field, while Vanderbilt, ranked eighth, shot 41 percent.
Beal filled up the score sheet with 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists, finishing as the Gators' second leading scorer on the day. Walker chipped in with 11 points, five rebounds and five assists, while Rosario -- whose defense played a big part in the victory -- had 10 points, two rebounds and two assists off the bench to finish up the four Gators who scored in double figures.
Patric Young, who got his first start since coming off the bench the last five games, was largely ineffective due to foul trouble. Young played only 14 minutes and had just two points and four rebounds while picking up the four personal fouls that kept him on the bench for large portions of the game.
The Gators as a whole shot 16 of 17 from the free throw line, which, according to CBS RapidReports, is their best performance in a victory this season. The Gators also out-rebounded the Commodores, 31 to 29; considering that Young and Erik Murphy were in foul trouble for stretches, that is quite an accomplishment.
Jeffery Taylor led the Commodores with 25 points, while star players Festus Ezeli and John Jenkins were held in check by the Gators defense, scoring 11 and 15 points, respectively.
Florida next plays at Kentucky on Tuesday night.
South Carolina led for just 20 seconds of Florida's 74-66 win over the Gamecocks at the O'Dome on Thursday night, got outrebounded 39-28, and allowed Kenny Boynton to score 24 points. So why did it feel like the Gators were always on the verge of collapse and the Gamecocks on the brink of a huge comeback?
I think it's because Florida fans were familiar with the script.
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