After looking shaky at times in its home opener against North Dakota State, the UF men's basketball team scored early and often Sunday afternoon to dominate Tennessee Tech 93-65.
The Gators shot an efficient 57 percent from the field, including a 9-for-17 performance from behind the 3-point line.
UF (2-0) led throughout, and led by as much as 37 during the second half.
The young squad - which features seven freshmen on its roster - showed flashes of the signature unselfish nature of the past two championship teams by totaling 21 assists on 33 field goals.
"I think they had the focus and the passion today," UF coach Billy Donovan said. "They played the game the right way - unselfishly. They passed the basketball, and I'm happy with the way they played."
After being called out by Donovan after Friday's game, center Marreese Speights responded with 16 points.
Speights brought the crowd to its feet with an electrifying dunk early in the first half.
But Donovan expressed doubts about Speights' play after the game, noting his three rebounds and poor defense as areas of concern.
"He's turned the ball over an enormous amount of times," Donovan said. "Marresse does a lot of things that show up in the stat sheet, but he also did a lot of things that hurt our team."
After leading the Gators with 21 points on Friday, guard Nick Calathes added 15 points and eight assists. Calathes, however, was just 4 for 13 on the day.
"I wanted to make a point to fill the stat sheet up," Calathes said. "I need to get rebounds and get more assists to help our team win."
Freshmen forwards Adam Allen and Chandler Parsons also contributed, adding 15 points each off the bench.
"I just play hard," said Allen, who was 6 for 9 from the field. "If you play hard, there's nothing to be nervous about. I don't think about anything when I'm out there. I'm just giving it my all."
Struggling sophomore Dan Werner turned in his best performance so far, scoring 5 points and grabbing seven rebounds.
"People have been asking what's wrong, what's the problem," Donovan said. "But you know what? Dan Werner has been as valuable and significant as any guy on our roster because he does so much to help our team that doesn't show up on the stat sheet."
For now, it seems fellow sophomore Jonathan Mitchell has worked his way out of the lineup. After playing only four minutes in Friday's game, Mitchell saw just 12 minutes of action on Sunday and didn't attempt a shot from the field.
Donovan continued to churn the roster, using 14 different lineups in the first half alone.
With the victory, the Gators extended their home winning streak to 21 games, setting a new school record. The streak began against Georgia on March 1, 2006.
UF is now tied with UCLA for the sixth-longest home streak in the nation. Memphis tops the list with 34 straight victories.
The Gators will face North Carolina Central Wednesday at 7.
