Playing the final game of the non-conference season after coming home from the holiday break can be a challenge but you wouldn’t have known it with how the Gators came out against Quinnipiac, dominating from early in the first half and coming away with a 97-72 win. A balanced attack that saw 10 different Gators score had the point total steadily rising while an improved defensive effort saw the Bobcats unable to get on any runs to fight their way back into the game. Florida will finish their non-conference season with a 10-3 record and will begin SEC play on January 6th against Kentucky.
Leading The Way
While it was a fairly balanced attack for Florida there was a clear leader in the points category with Will Richard posting 22, many of which came in the first half while the Gators were building a lead that became insurmountable. Richard, known for his consistency on both ends of the floor, has been stacking bigger and bigger offensive outputs in recent games and the holiday break did nothing to slow down his upward trajectory. Beyond the arc was where Richard did most of his work going 5-9 from three but he also had a thunderous alley-oop dunk and a physical and-1 layup to complete what was a productive offensive day.
New Look Starting Lineup
With Riley Kugel in a bit of a dry spell he was put in a bench position with Zyon Pullin inserted into the starting lineup. When it came to the opening group–things worked perfectly. Pullin finished the game with 16 points and 3 assists, and most encouragingly he went 3-4 from three after a start to the season that saw him a bit cold from deep. A muscular guard with excellent offensive instincts, Pullin made the offense work efficiently when he was in both scoring and passing mode and it made for a potent start for the Gators. Unfortunately for the Gators, the attempt to get Kugel going with a different look off the bench wasn’t nearly as successful. He was able to finish with a respectable 10 points and 4 rebounds, but his first couple of shifts saw him continue to struggle to make shots or finish at the rim, as indicated by his 2-8 shooting from the field. After going 0-3 from three, Kugel is now 0-18 from deep in his last four games. If this game was any indication, look for Zyon Pullin to once again be in the starting lineup when the Gators kick off SEC play.
Milestone
Finishing the game with 11 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals, Tyrese Samuel hit a personal milestone of 1000 points in his college basketball career. This is a big accomplishment for any college player, and it is made particularly impressive by the fact that Samuel has spent his entire career at the high-major level playing in competitive leagues. Most of his production came at Seton Hall in a Big East Conference that’s loaded with quality big men and his ability to score productively should not go unnoticed. Samuel has been a massive piece for the Gators this season and he’ll be putting a lot more points on the board before his college career is finished.
Final Thoughts
Again and again we have seen that the Gators are built to dominate mid-major opponents with their size, athleticism, and offensive rebounding. Across the college basketball landscape we are seeing high-major teams get upset with regularity but the Gators haven’t been close to being scared due to the way the roster is built and and their style of play. What will this mean in SEC play? Time will tell–but for now, the Gators have once again taken care of business and won a buy-game with zero drama, and they’ll now have to show they can win against top-level competition in the SEC.