Florida had a slow start but quickly kicked things into gear and never relented, ultimately rolling over the Pittsburgh Panthers by a score of 86-71. Pittsburgh’s offense went in waves of hot and cold shooting but the Gators were consistent throughout, steadily building their lead to what was ultimately a rather dominant win. Played in Brooklyn as part of the NIT Season Tip-Off, Florida enjoyed a rather pro-Gators crowd speaking to the number of fans all over the country and they put on a show that had those fans fired up for forty minutes. By winning on Wednesday night the Gators will now take on Baylor who is currently ranked 13th in the country.
Leading The Way
With 28 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists Walter Clayton had himself a tremendous night leading the way for the Gators with his smooth shooting stroke and athletic bursts from the perimeter. Finishing 6-8 from the three-point line he was a threat the moment he passed center court and as he continued to heat up it seemed like his range kept increasing–and he was still hitting just about everything that left his fingertips. Florida was up by 5 at the half but right away in the second Clayton completely took control hitting huge threes off the catch and a smooth mid-range jumper that extended Florida’s lead to multiple possessions and they never relented. After a slow start to the season from a shooting standpoint Clayton has completely found his form once again and that shooting was the engine behind Florida’s win.
Next Man Up
Early in the first half Micah Handlogten went down to an ankle injury on an awkward play that saw him rolled up on the court with a Pittsburgh player. After heading to the locker room he returned to the bench for the rest of the game but wasn’t able to play, and an official diagnosis hasn’t yet been announced. In his absence it was Alex Condon to step up as he has a number of times this season, finishing with 11 points, 6 assists, 1 block, and 1 steal as he looked like a player with much more experience than a freshman in his 5th collegiate game. Thomas Haugh also got a bit more run and he took advantage with 7 points and 5 rebounds. Condon, who presents as more of a shooter than Handlogten, also allowed for more space on the inside for Tyrese Samuel who had another excellent game with 20 points and 10 rebounds, and it seems like every game you can trust in him to be a factor on the inside.
Still Searching
After not playing his best basketball against Florida A&M and Florida State, Riley Kugel was hoping to get on track in Brooklyn against Pittsburgh but he was frustrated once again with 5 points on 2-9 shooting. While Florida was getting into a rhythm offensively as a team it didn’t seem like Kugel was as comfortable as everyone around him and he seemed to struggle with knowing when to keep moving the ball and when to use his excellent isolation abilities to try to get a bucket. Perhaps most frustrating to Kugel will be his 1-6 from behind the arc as these were all good looks–all of which just couldn’t fall for him. On the positive side, the Gators have been an efficient offensive team without the scoring they expected from Kugel, and that means they still have another level they could get to.
Final Thoughts
So far this season the Gators have largely won games on the back of offensive rebounding–until Wednesday night. With Handlogten out the Gators only got 7 offensive rebounds, giving them way less possessions than they have expected recently. The best part? It didn’t even matter. Florida was able to be efficient offensively and put up 86 points within the flow of their offense and with quality shooting, and their ability to do that without needing 20+ offensive rebounds is a huge step forward. It seems like the Gators are improving after every ball game, and you can’t ask for much more in the non-conference portion of the season. They’ll now have what is quite easily their biggest test so far, going up against a Baylor team that is much more talented than anyone they have seen so far. That game will be Friday, November 24th at 5:30 ET.