In many other weeks, a victory at home over Rhode Island might be just a run-of-the-mill occurrence.
But Monday’s 25-point thumping of the Rams was something more not just because of its dominance, but also its timing.
For the first time this season the Gators consolidated one big win with another, as they followed Friday’s triumph over Xavier with a second impressive performance by defeating URI 84-59 in the O’Connell Center.
“For us to play the way we did as a team tonight really says something,” senior Chandler Parsons said after Monday’s game. “We’ve been struggling coming off of big wins playing the next game, and we understand that they have a really good team and are really explosive offensively, so we didn’t want to let down.”
In snapping Xavier’s 30-game home winning streak on New Year’s Eve, the Gators created a new challenge for themselves: stay focused and get ready to play Rhode Island in just three days.
After duds against Central Florida and Jacksonville that were only two days removed from gigantic wins over Florida State and Kansas State, another letdown appeared to be in the cards against the Rams based on the team’s track record.
But instead, the Gators responded with a performance that many of the players have ranked among the season’s best outings.
“I think we learned from earlier,” Parsons said. “We had a different mindset coming in here.”
So, what kept the Gators from repeating their mistakes?
“The biggest thing is we just can’t be satisfied,” Parsons said. “I think it showed the maturity of our team that we had the mindset going in that we had to shut them down.”
That shift in approach started the moment the Xavier game ended.
Instead of taking time to relish what they had accomplished, the Gators immediately set their sights on the next obstacle.
“On the bus coming from the Xavier game, [coach Billy Donovan] was like, ‘We’ve had two slip-ups against UCF and Jacksonville after two big wins,’” freshman Patric Young said. “He’s like, ‘We’re not going to let that happen again.’ The day after that game, of course we had a hard practice, just to let us have a mindset that we’re not going to take these guys lightly.”
In getting the win over Rhode Island, the Gators built up an even greater level of success that now needs to be dealt with.
But, if the team’s post-game comments are any indication, staying hungry and focused will not be an issue this time around.
“Now, you go back to the lab,” Parsons said. “You go back, practice tomorrow, watch the film of what you have to do, clean up some things and look forward to Ole Miss. It’s a crazy season, it’s long, and in the SEC, you can’t take any games off.”
INJURY UPDATE: Florida’s preparation for Rhode Island was hampered by injuries to Parsons’ ankle, Erving Walker’s hip pointer, Vernon Macklin’s strained shoulder, Casey Prather’s bruised knee and Erik Murphy’s foot sprain. While the first four all played Monday and are expected to be fine for Saturday’s game, Murphy remains doubtful.
Freshman Will Yeguete added his name to the injury list Monday when he took a knee to the midsection while attempting to draw a charge.
“We tried to put him back in, and he was having pain in his hip flexor/groin area,” Donovan said. “I don’t know to what extent or what degree the injury is or how long he’ll be out, but he was in enough pain that he didn’t feel like he could go.”
