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RALEIGH, N.C. ― For the first 15 minutes of its first NCAA Tournament game against Norfolk State, No. 1 seed Florida basketball looked every bit the national championship contender it was propped up to be entering March Madness.
The Florida Gators (31-4) raced to leads of 24-5 and 42-14, scoring on deep 3-pointers from Walter Clayton Jr. and fast breaks in which the ball rarely touched the floor.
It was 53-21 when Florida center Rueben Chinyelu sank a pair of free throws with 3:15 left in the first half.
"Then," Florida senior guard Alijah Martin said. "we got complacent."
Norfolk State (24-11) went on an 11-0 run to close the half and cut UF's lead to 52-31 at halftime. In the second half, Florida never let Norfolk State cut its lead below 18 points, but UF wasn't able to stretch the lead either, trading baskets until winding up with a 95-69 win over the scrappy Spartans. It was a moral victory of sorts for Norfolk State coach Robert Jones, who complained about his squad being a 28.5-point underdog heading into the game. The Spartans covered.
"For some reason we let off the gas a little bit, it affected the way we played for the rest for the game," Florida junior center Micah Handlogten said. "So, I can't say I'm happy with the way we played the entire game, but I'd say I'm happy with the first 15 minutes we played. I think we're gonna knock off the rust and come back on Sunday ready to play the full 40."
Norfolk State's quickness put the Florida defense in some binds in the second half. The Spartans shot 50% from the field in the second half and 45.2% from the field in the game.
"They're quick," Florida basketball coach Todd Golden said. "They're really hard to keep in front, and I thought our defensive intensity for the first 15 minutes of the game was elite. We did a great job of staying in front, guarding with physicality.
"Then when we took a little bit of a breath, we actually had some bad turnovers that led to transition run-outs that gave them a little juice, a little confidence. And they're very well coached. Coach Jones does a great job continuing to motivate and keeping them engaged in the game. They got a little life. They had an 11-0 run, and I thought they did a good job of taking advantage of that.
"I'm not necessarily concerned moving forward, but at the same time, no, I did not want the challenge. I would have preferred to continue to keep our foot on the gas and not give them any life."
Martin, UF's most experienced NCAA Tournament player based on being part of Florida Atlantic's Final Four run two years ago, sensed the dip in the urgency creep in late in the first half.
"We kept looking at the scoreboard, and when you do that and you see you're up 20, you think like you could take a play off," Martin said. "We can't do that at this level. We can't give no team no hope. Just got to be better going forward."
Clayton suppiled the offense with 23 points, going 4-of-9 from 3-point range, but also turned it over four times. Florida held a 41-28 edge on the glass and outscored Norfolk State 24-12 in second chance points, but while grabbing 21 offensive rebounds, also surrendered 14 offensive boards to the Spartans.
"We were fantastic on the offensive glass," Golden said. "About as good as you could be. We got 66 percent of our misses back, which is an outrageous number.
"But I thought on the defensive glass we were not very good. I thought we coasted a little bit. I didn't think we were very physical on the defensive glass. I thought we were trying to win 50-50 jumping battles as opposed to putting bodies on guys and blocking them off and keeping them away from the rim."
Golden wasn't able to completely empty his bench until late, but managed UF's minutes well enough to keep the Gators fresh for their Sunday matchup. None of UF's five starters played more than 30 minutes. Sophomore forward Thomas Haugh (13 points), junior guard Denzel Aberdeen (8 points) and Handlogten (6 points, 8 rebounds) all provided solid bench production.
"Getting back quickly on the floor on Sunday, we should be good that way," Golden said. "I thought our bench, Micah was great again, just dominating the glass. Created so many second chance opportunities for us, does a great job keeping us in our offense,"
Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun's Florida beat writer. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Florida basketball shakes off rust in NCAA Tournament win over Norfolk State
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The Florida Gators (31-4) raced to leads of 24-5 and 42-14, scoring on deep 3-pointers from Walter Clayton Jr. and fast breaks in which the ball rarely touched the floor.
It was 53-21 when Florida center Rueben Chinyelu sank a pair of free throws with 3:15 left in the first half.
"Then," Florida senior guard Alijah Martin said. "we got complacent."
Norfolk State (24-11) went on an 11-0 run to close the half and cut UF's lead to 52-31 at halftime. In the second half, Florida never let Norfolk State cut its lead below 18 points, but UF wasn't able to stretch the lead either, trading baskets until winding up with a 95-69 win over the scrappy Spartans. It was a moral victory of sorts for Norfolk State coach Robert Jones, who complained about his squad being a 28.5-point underdog heading into the game. The Spartans covered.
"For some reason we let off the gas a little bit, it affected the way we played for the rest for the game," Florida junior center Micah Handlogten said. "So, I can't say I'm happy with the way we played the entire game, but I'd say I'm happy with the first 15 minutes we played. I think we're gonna knock off the rust and come back on Sunday ready to play the full 40."
Florida basketball looks to tighten up on defense in Round of 32 matchup
Norfolk State's quickness put the Florida defense in some binds in the second half. The Spartans shot 50% from the field in the second half and 45.2% from the field in the game.
"They're quick," Florida basketball coach Todd Golden said. "They're really hard to keep in front, and I thought our defensive intensity for the first 15 minutes of the game was elite. We did a great job of staying in front, guarding with physicality.
"Then when we took a little bit of a breath, we actually had some bad turnovers that led to transition run-outs that gave them a little juice, a little confidence. And they're very well coached. Coach Jones does a great job continuing to motivate and keeping them engaged in the game. They got a little life. They had an 11-0 run, and I thought they did a good job of taking advantage of that.
"I'm not necessarily concerned moving forward, but at the same time, no, I did not want the challenge. I would have preferred to continue to keep our foot on the gas and not give them any life."
Martin, UF's most experienced NCAA Tournament player based on being part of Florida Atlantic's Final Four run two years ago, sensed the dip in the urgency creep in late in the first half.
"We kept looking at the scoreboard, and when you do that and you see you're up 20, you think like you could take a play off," Martin said. "We can't do that at this level. We can't give no team no hope. Just got to be better going forward."
Clayton suppiled the offense with 23 points, going 4-of-9 from 3-point range, but also turned it over four times. Florida held a 41-28 edge on the glass and outscored Norfolk State 24-12 in second chance points, but while grabbing 21 offensive rebounds, also surrendered 14 offensive boards to the Spartans.
"We were fantastic on the offensive glass," Golden said. "About as good as you could be. We got 66 percent of our misses back, which is an outrageous number.
"But I thought on the defensive glass we were not very good. I thought we coasted a little bit. I didn't think we were very physical on the defensive glass. I thought we were trying to win 50-50 jumping battles as opposed to putting bodies on guys and blocking them off and keeping them away from the rim."
Golden wasn't able to completely empty his bench until late, but managed UF's minutes well enough to keep the Gators fresh for their Sunday matchup. None of UF's five starters played more than 30 minutes. Sophomore forward Thomas Haugh (13 points), junior guard Denzel Aberdeen (8 points) and Handlogten (6 points, 8 rebounds) all provided solid bench production.
"Getting back quickly on the floor on Sunday, we should be good that way," Golden said. "I thought our bench, Micah was great again, just dominating the glass. Created so many second chance opportunities for us, does a great job keeping us in our offense,"
Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun's Florida beat writer. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Florida basketball shakes off rust in NCAA Tournament win over Norfolk State
Continue reading...
