Florida led by 32 points at halftime, made nearly 70 percent of its three-point shots and defended at an elite level.
Coach Mike White didn’t know whether to be elated or furious.
"As happy as I was at the half, I was a little bit angry," he said after UF’s 97-68 win over North Florida on Tuesday. "You know, where was that (all season)? Where was that fellas?"
This season, the Gators have not been a good three-point shooting team.
Inexplicably, against UNF, they were.
UF (20-14) tied a program record for most three-pointers in a first half with 12, finishing with a 50.0-percent mark from behind the arc, its highest since Jan. 30.
"It was just one of those games," said redshirt senior forward Dorian Finney-Smith, who finished with a team-high 15 points. "We caught fire."
The performance advanced UF into a second-round National Invitation Tournament matchup with No. 3-seed Ohio State (21-13) in Columbus, Ohio, at noon on Sunday.
There, the No. 2-seed Gators will face a defensive-minded Buckeyes team that ranks second in the Big 10 in blocked shots (5.3 per game) and fourth in field-goal percentage allowed (40.2 percent).
UF has never defeated Ohio State on the road.
Even so, Florida has just one thing on its mind heading into practice today and Saturday: Do whatever it takes to keep playing.
"This isn’t what we signed up for. This wasn’t the ultimate goal," White said of playing in the NIT.
"But we all started playing, staff included, as young kids because we love the game and we love to compete. Whoever is next, we should embrace that, otherwise something is wrong with us. Why would you want it to end? Let’s prolong it as long as possible."
After UF’s loss to Texas A&M in the Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinals on March 11, White said Florida’s practice the next day was "horrific."
There was no energy, no desire and no competitiveness. The day before, Florida found out it hadn’t made the NCAA Tournament, and its players and coaches were disappointed.
After the practice, the coaching staff showed the team a video of New York City and Madison Square Garden, the site of the NIT Championship game.
"We came back here (after the practice) and we were a different team," White said. "It was like something had changed with us."
Led by Finney-Smith and junior Kasey Hill, Florida had one of its best practices all year.
And then Florida won on Tuesday, recording its largest margin of victory since its 32-point win against Auburn on Jan. 23.
The Gators will look to begin a winning streak on Sunday, while also sustaining the offensive success they saw against UNF.
"You want to grow as men, you want to grow with character, you want to continue to improve over the course of a long marathon basketball season," White said.
"And in that regard I think we have."
Contact Ian Cohen at icohen@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @icohenb.
Texas A&M's Tyler Davis (34) and Florida's Dorian Finney-Smith (10) battle for a rebound during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the Southeastern Conference tournament in Nashville, Tenn., Friday, March 11, 2016. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
