Devin Robinson missed an open shot, picked up his second foul and took a seat on the bench.
Seven minutes into their matchup with Oklahoma, Florida had made just two shots and let Oklahoma take the lead.
“We couldn’t get a stop,” UF coach Mike White said. “And even when they weren't scoring, we were fouling. They had half our bench in foul trouble.”
And when UF had the ball, the Sooners flooded the perimeter, cut off three-point shooting and challenged Florida to outmuscle them in the paint.
Kevarrius Hayes accepted the challenge.
He dunked. He rebounded. He attacked the rim and spent time at the free-throw line.
Florida’s 6-foot-9 forward exploded for a career-high 20 points and a career-best nine rebounds in UF’s 84-52 win at Oklahoma (8-12) in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
After a two-game losing streak, Florida (16-5) has won back-to-back road games by more than 30 points.
Hayes came into the game shooting more than 60 percent from the field but was taking just over three shots per game.
“You know, I’m not sure we called a play for him all year,” White said. “Kevarrius just does his job.”
Hayes said UF’s guards did a good job of getting him the ball. Point guard Kasey Hill logged eight assists and one turnover — his best assist-to-turnover ratio of the year.
“I thought Hayes was really good in transition offense, feeding off of Kasey,” White said.
Gators guard Canyon Barry returned after missing UF’s last game at LSU with a sprained ankle.
Barry delivered 15 points off the bench and drilled the three-pointer that gave Florida a 23-20 lead — the game’s final lead change.
“Canyon Barry, it's nice to have him back. He's hit a couple hard ones,” White said. He added that the staff didn’t know if Barry would even be able to play until right before tip-off.
Field goals and free throws by Hayes and Barry fueled a 14-2 UF run to close the first half, putting the contest out of reach.
Florida’s defense also suffocated Oklahoma, holding OU 25 points under their season-scoring average. The Sooners shot just 27.7 percent from the field and only 1-for-7 from three-point range. In addition, the Gators won the rebound battle, 37-28, and converted 20 second-chance points.
“The defensive effort, the rebounding effort, the way we’re shooting the ball, I wish we could bottle it up,” White said.
“Our guys, they’ve become more and more bought into playing together and not holding it, not having ball-stoppers, just executing.”
A radio broadcast contributed to this report.
Contact Matt Brannon at mbrannon@alligator.org or follow him on Twitter @MattB_727
Florida forward Kevarrius Hayes (13) defends as Oklahoma guard Kameron McGusty (20) shoots in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Norman, Okla., Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017. Florida won 84-52. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
