On a night where Billy Donovan’s contributions to the Florida basketball program were honored and his name was immortalized by becoming a permanent fixture of the court it was only right that the Gators put on show and they did just that, completely dismantling the Vanderbilt Commodores in the first half and getting a lead they needed to simply nurse on their way to a 84-66 final score. Garbage time came early in this one as Florida swarmed Vanderbilt on the defensive end not allowing anything easy and allowing the enter they got from turnovers to fuel their offensive attack. It was 48-19 at the break for Florida and when they returned for a halftime where Donovan addressed the crowd it was almost like playing the second frame was nothing more than a formality. In front of Donovan as well as a great number of his former players, assistant coaches, and managers it was fitting that the team would play their best basketball and the aesthetically pleasing brand of basketball the Gators played perfectly fitted the “Billy Donovan Court” decals that are now seen on both sides of the floor. Playing in front of Donovan and seeing his accomplishments acknowledged again was almost certainly inspiring for the current Gators and the big win tonight could really help their momentum moving forward in the SEC season as they have now climbed to 8-4 in the SEC.
Staying Hot
Noah Locke has been on an absolute tear of late when it comes to shooting the basketball and he took it to another level going 6-8 from three against the Commodores. It didn’t matter where he was behind the arc, if he caught it with his feet settled he let the ball fly with confidence and the satisfying “swish” of the mesh made you more and more certain everything he would let fly was going to fall. He led the way with 19 points for the Gators and if he keeps shooting like this Florida’s offense could be tough to stop.
Bench Minutes
With the Gators jumping out to such a big lead they were able to get their bench players out for a lot of extra run. Tre Mann (23 minutes), Ques Glover (22 minutes), Omar Payne (18 minutes) and Jason Jitoboh (8 minutes) all had the opportunity to get more time than normal and those reps could be extremely valuable later in the season when they are even more comfortable than they are now. Even Dontay Bassett who had missed the last 7 games due to injury was able to get in for 2 minutes, and to the delight of the home crowd former manager and current walk-on Christopher Sutherland got into the game and even got on the board. After missing a layup after a skilled pro hop got him a chance at the rim he hustled back to the other end, securing a defensive rebound and getting fouled. Though he wasn’t able to find the mesh with his first attempt his second fell and the roar of the student section was the second loudest exclamation of the night, of course following the thunderous applause given to Billy Donovan.
Donovan’s Legacy
Billy Donovan’s address to the crowd at halftime was incredibly emotional as he thanked his players, his assistant coaches, the fans (particularly the student section) and the administration and you couldn’t not be fired up after hearing his passion for Florida basketball. In addition to his inspirational word, seeing NBA players like Joakim Noah, Al Horford, Bradley Beal, Marreese Speights, Dorian Finney-Smith, and others that came through Gainesville had to have been uplifting to the current team that has seen some serious ups and downs this season. Hopefully this was an encouraging night for them and they can remember it every time they take the court that now bares Billy’s name.
Final Thoughts
Florida came out playing passionate basketball in the first half, and I’m not totally sure passionate would be a word you would use to describe Florida basketball over the last couple of weeks so that was an extremely good attribute to see. Playing with that fire they pounded Vanderbilt on the glass, hounded them on defense, and trusted the offensive system to get the ball moving to generate open shots. The second half might have gotten a bit sloppy and the Gators did give up a lot of points but it really had a “garbage time” feel as the game was over, plus Florida was experimenting with some wacky lineups that featured some of their bench players getting more time than normal. The team that came out in the first half was one of the best iterations of Florida basketball we have seen this season and we can hope that they continue to play like that moving forward.