JACKSONVILLE — Florida Gulf Coast flew out of the starting tunnel like a team that felt confident about its chances of beating Florida. And through the start of the second half, the Eagles looked primed to do so, outshooting Florida from the field and from beyond the arc.
“They were on fire,” Gators forward Devin Robinson said. “They were feeling themselves.”
And then, in the second half, Florida switched the momentum.
Following a 32-8 scoring run fueled by FGCU turnovers, UF defeated the Eagles 80-59 Friday night, earning UF coach Mike White his second season-opening win in two years.
“We had that run where a lot of turnovers led to transition layups,” Florida guard Canyon Barry said. “I think that’s when we kind of blew the game open.”
Everyone in the stadium felt the momentum shift in the second half. Devin Robinson intercepted an attempted alley-oop and tossed it down court to a teammate for an and-one. Point guard Kasey Hill jumped a passing lane and tipped the ball into transition where he launched for a one-handed dunk. Before the Eagles knew it, they were down 15 points with a Florida-heavy crowd against them.
“(I) felt everyone’s energy going up,” Robinson said. “Everyone’s rotating around, flying around. We felt more passionate out there. We felt real comfortable. I guess everyone got their jitters out and knew that we could really take this game over.”
It didn’t seem as if Robinson himself ever felt the jitters. He led Florida in scoring with 14 points and was a perfect 2-2 from three-point land and 4-4 at the free throw line.
Barry and Egbunu finished with 13 points. But it was the defense that put the lid on FGCU late.
Florida forced 19 turnovers to the Eagles’ seven, and sophomore forward Kevarrius Hayes had five of the team’s nine blocks in only 14 minutes of playing time.
Florida kept up the defense throughout the second half, forcing the Eagles into taking difficult shots. After the game, FGCU coach Joe Dooley said calling his team’s shot selection “questionable would be very generous."
Despite UF’s 21-point victory, Robinson wasn’t disillusioned with the win. He knows UF can not afford another low-energy start.
“That’s the second time we came out terrible in the first half and then picked it up,” Robinson said, alluding to UF’s exhibition against Eckerd College. “If we want to beat a top-10 team in the nation, we can’t do that cause we’ll be down by 20 at half and there’s no coming back.”
Contact Matt Brannon at mbrannon@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @MattB_727.
Florida forward Devin Robinson fights for a shot against Florida Gulf Coast forward Antravious Simmons during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Friday Nov. 11, 2016, in Jacksonville, Fla. (Bob Mack/The Florida Times-Union via AP)
