To prepare for Sunday’s contest against Minnesota, Patric Young channeled his inner Will Muschamp.
The Florida football coach’s “nameless, faceless opponents” mantra was useful to the junior center.
“A lot of people tried to make this game me against (Golden Gophers forward Trevor) Mbakwe, two guys with similar games,” Young said. “I was like, ‘I don’t care about him. … I’m going to go out there and do my job to the best of my ability.’”
Young scored only five points but grabbed a team-high seven boards during No. 3 seed Florida’s 78-64 win against No. 11 seed Minnesota.
Mbakwe committed three turnovers and scored 11 points but made just 3 of his 7 attempts from the floor. Minnesota’s top big man struggled with foul trouble throughout the game.
Young also succeeded as a paint enforcer in UF’s 79-47 victory against 14th-seeded Northwestern State on Friday. He scored 16 points and pulled down a game-high nine rebounds as the Gators outscored the Demons 44-22 in the paint and won the rebounding battle 43-26.
Young’s 16 rebounds in UF’s first two rounds of the Big Dance are his most during a two-game stretch since early February.
“Not so much a shot blocker, but he’s been an anchor back there that he can see actions and things starting to develop before they happen,” coach Billy Donovan said.
Free throw improvement: After struggling with free-throw shooting throughout the season, the Gators enjoyed some success at the charity stripe on Sunday.
Florida made 11 of its 15 free-throw attempts in the final 6:45 against Minnesota. Overall, UF converted 26 of its 36 free-throw attempts.
Young, who shot 48.8 percent from the foul line prior to Sunday, went 5 of 6 in the Gators’ win against the Golden Gophers. Point guard Scottie Wilbekin went 7 of 10, while Will Yeguete — a 58.6 percent free-throw shooter — made 5 of his 9 attempts.
“It was really nice that me, Will — guys that normally aren’t the best free-throw shooters — were able to go and knock some down,” Young said.
UF planning for FGCU’s Comer: Florida Gulf Coast point guard Brett Comer is the engine behind the Eagles’ “Dunk City” reputation.
Comer tallied a combined 24 assists in No. 15 seed Florida Gulf Coast’s 10-point victories against No. 2 seed Georgetown and No. 7 seed San Diego State.
The 6-foot-3 Winter Park native leads the Eagles’ transition offense.
Comer has assisted on nine of Florida Gulf Coast’s 10 dunks in the NCAA Tournament. Five were lob passes.
“Their point guard, Comer, is a great assist guy,” Donovan said. “He reminds me a lot of (Missouri point guard) Phil Pressey. Not so much the way they are built so to speak, but the vision that he has. He is one of the best passers in the country. And when you’ve got a point guard that’s got that kind of vision and can make pinpoint passes like that, it takes their team to a different level.”
According to KenPom.com, Comer ranks second in the nation in assist rate — a stat that divides a player’s assists by the field goals made by his teammates while he is on the floor.
FGCU plays at the 39th-fastest tempo (69.2 possessions per game) in the NCAA. UF is 3-2 this season against squads with an adjusted tempo of at least 69. The Division I average is 65.9.
“In transition, where they do get a lot of those lobs, you’ve got to do a really good job of getting back in transition and taking care of the basketball,” Donovan said.
“If they get out and they space it with their speed and quickness, they are really, really good on the break, putting the ball on the rim. They’ve got athletic frontcourt guys and wing players that can go up there and get it and finish.”
Comer added: “That’s just our style of play. We want to push the ball down the court, and we want to attack, attack, attack.”
Junior center Patric Young holds up a fan’s sign following Florida’s 66-40 win against Vanderbilt on March 6 in the O’Connell Center. Young has pulled down 16 rebounds in two NCAA Tournament games this season. Young leads UF with an average of 6.3 boards per game.
