Gators Top Ospreys 74-59 in Season Opener

Florida tipped off its season Tuesday night against UNF. Here’s what happened.

UNF built an early 6-3 lead before the 15-minute mark. The Gators were getting better shots, they just weren't falling. Then, at about the 13-minute mark,a Noah Locke free throw put the Gators up a few minute later 9-8. 

Then, a rare sighting from a Florida center: a three pointer. Kerry Blackshear Jr. pulled up from beyond the arc and got UF its first multiple-point lead of the game, 12-8. 

Florida was also speeding UNF up defensively. The Gators forced two turnovers in a row that resulted in fast break dunks. One was an Andrew Nembhard lob to Omar Payne for an alley oop and the other was bounce pass from Nembhard to Blackshear for another throw down.

Suddenly, it was a 10-point lead for UF. A team that was trailing just minutes before had a snug lead and all of the momentum with 7:35 left to play in the first half.  By the 3:16 mark, UF had doubled the Osprey's score at 30-15. 

The main production had come from Florida's front court. It looked totally different from last year's team right away with the production of the big men. Eighteen of the 30 points for the Gators came from three guys: Blackshear (9), Payne (6), and Jitoboh (3). 

The second half was a rapid start for Florida. Blackshear, Tre Mann and Noah Locke all got a bucket within the first minute and 15 seconds. The lead had exploded to 45-22. Perhaps the biggest takeaway from this game as a whole, is UF did not shoot from behind the three-point line well at all (percent). But even still, they dominated. 

Last season, games where the three didn't fall were games that UF either lost or barely won, regardless of opponent. Now, the front court is too good to allow that happen. Even on poor shooting nights, the Florida should be competitive enough this year to win thanks to rebounding, rim-protecting and inside buckets. 

As the second half continued, the three-ball continued to be a struggle. Noah Locke finished at 28.5% from three, and Nembhard sat at 0. Through the course of the season, that could be a problem for UF. Both those players were extremely streaky last season, they need to at least approach 30 percent to beat top teams in the nation. 

But, on this night, it didn't matter. It mostly didn't matter because Blackshear was sensational. The big man finished with 20 points and was undoubtedly the player of the night. 

When the buzzer sounded, UF was victorious 74-59 in a game that featured terrible shooting, but exceptional front court play from coach Mike White’s team.