Florida Gators take care of USF in Orange Bowl Classic
The Florida Gators took down the USF Bulls 66-55 on Saturday afternoon to improve to 8-3 on the season.
After a sluggish start, the Gators finished the first half on a 17-2 run. That kept the Bulls in the rearview for the final 20 minutes of action.
The win gives the Gators a 19-5 all-time record against the Bulls.
Gators handle the glass
Florida forward Colin Castleton and company helped the Gators outrebound the Bulls 45-27.
USF simply did not have to size to compete with Castleton.
He finished with his fifth double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds. He shot 3-of-9 from the field but found a way to get to the free throw line a few times. Castleton finished 6-of-8 from the line.
Florida forward Anthony Duruji had himself a game with 11 points and nine rebounds while shooting 50% from the field.
Florida guard Tyree Appleby made his way to the starting lineup. That put Florida guard Phlandrous Fleming Jr. in a great spot to make an impact off the bench. He finished with 12 points alongside Castleton.
Florida’s bench continues to come into its own as forward CJ Felder, center Jason Jitoboh, guards Elijah Kennedy and Kowacie Reeves continue to get meaningful minutes ahead of SEC play.
UF played disciplined basketball with just nine total fouls, and the Bulls had just seven free throw attempts compared to the Gators’ 15 free throw attempts.
Minor errors
The sluggish starts for the Gators have to come to an end if they expect to finish near or at the top of the SEC rankings. Of course, there’s time to change that, but the Gators come out with no energy far too often.
The Gators shot 8-26 (30.8%) from beyond the arc so make that of what you will, but the Gators wasted multiple possessions with desperation three-point attempts.
Florida gave up the ball far too many times as they had 17 turnovers, which the Bulls did a very good job of finishing in transition.
What’s next for the Gators?
It’s important that the Gators were able to go down early on in the game and rally back to a victory ahead of SEC play, which starts in just 11 days.
Florida will take on Stony Brook on Wednesday at 2 p.m. in the O’Connell Center before heading to Oxford on Dec. 29 to face Ole Miss to kick off conference play.
