It began as Brandone Francis-Ramirez drove into the paint, left his feet to spin in mid-air, and dropped a no-look, behind-the-back pass into John Egbunu’s lap.
The 6-foot-11 center slammed the ball into the net, sparking an 11-3 Florida run to end the first half that left Richmond playing catch-up.
The Gators led for the remainder of their 76-56 rout of the Spiders in the O’Connell Center on Tuesday night, shooting 41.2 percent from the field and holding the Spiders to their lowest point total of the season.
"I haven’t been a part of a team like this that’s as talented on the glass as we are," UF coach Mike White said.
"And we showed signs of that tonight."
Florida (6-1) dominated the glass, outrebounding Richmond 57-36 and tallying 23 second-chance points to the Spiders’ six.
"When you get blocked out, when you get an elbow in your hip, when you get 245 pounds of muscle and it hits you as you guys collide," White said.
"It’s dirty work. It’s fighting for your team to get an extra possession. I think our guys have really embraced that."
Two Gators finished with double-doubles: Egbunu led the Gators with 17 points and 14 rebounds while sophomore Devin Robinson collected 12 points and 13 rebounds.
And with Dorian Finney-Smith adding 13 rebounds, the Gators became the third major-conference team in the last 20 seasons to have three players with at least 13 rebounds.
"That was our primary focus," Egbunu said of UF’s rebounding.
The Spiders (4-3) entered Tuesday night’s game averaging 86 points per contest and shooting 50.1 percent from the field.
On Tuesday, UF held them to 33.9 percent shooting from the field, Richmond’s lowest average of the season, and 35 percent from three.
UF started the game with an 8-0 lead after two three-pointers from KeVaughn Allen and Dorian Finney-Smith followed by a pair of free throws from Finney-Smith.
"It was just us making an adjustment," Egbunu said.
"We recognized that, in the first half, we usually came out a little slow. And we came out this first half ready."
Finney-Smith finished with nine points and seven assists, while Allen had 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting.
"They’re a great offensive team, so we knew we had to come out and turn up the intensity because you can’t let them get going," Finney-Smith said of Richmond.
"They get going, and they’re a hard team to stop."
The Spiders rallied to come within 10-8 early in the first half, but were unable to take a lead for the remainder of the game.
Florida took a 40-17 lead into the half and built on it during the second, at one point leading by as many as 28 points.
Next, the Gators will travel to face No. 21 Miami at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, with the game being broadcast on ESPN2.
"We’re going to have to bring our own energy and our own effort," Kasey Hill said.
"It’s just going to get way tougher."
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UF's John Egbunu dunks during Florida's 76-56 win against Richmond on Dec. 1, 2015, in the O'Connell Center.
