Franz Beard
8 hours ago
One punched blackboard later it's Florida 95, Norfolk State 69
RALEIGH, NC – Alijah Martin was being kind when he described the final four minutes of Florida’s first half as “complacent.” It was worse than that. Much worse. Not that the Gators (31-4) were in any danger of falling apart and losing to No. 16 seed Norfolk State, just that expectations are higher when you are one of four No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament.
The Gators were ahead 51-19 after a pair of Will Richard free throws with 4:17 to go. The offense was clicking. The defense was getting stops. The way the Gators were dominating, the game had the feel of a record-setting blowout, but that was when the Gators began playing like a bored team instead of one motivated to put the fear of God into whoever they play next.
In the final 2:45 of the half, Norfolk State (24-11) went on an 11-0 run that made the score a far more respectable 53-32 at the intermission.
“We kept looking at the scoreboard and when you do that and you see you’re up 20, you think like you could take a play off,” Martin said. “We can’t do this at this level. We can’t give no team no hope.”
The Gators gave Norfolk State a glimmer of hope. To put it mildly, Todd Golden wasn’t even slightly amused. There were words at halftime, but actions spoke louder.
Asked in the locker room about Golden’s halftime mood, Richard nodded toward a blackboard whose next home will be a Lenovo Center dumpster.
“You see the board over there?” he said. From the point of contact where Todd Golden’s first had delivered a TKO punch, the blackboard looked like it had a bad case of varicose veins.
“Coach definitely wasn’t happy, but I mean it was understandable,” Richard said.
As Tommy Haugh spoke about Golden’s halftime mood, his eyebrows raised and his brow furrowed.
“We don’t want to talk about it,” Tommy Haugh said. “We needed it, though. We really needed it.”
The Gators didn’t give up any 11-0 runs in the second half but they never regained the momentum of the first 16 minutes, either. It’s not like they needed it. Norfolk State never got closer than 18 points as the Gators carved out a 95-69 win. At this time of the year, you take a win any way you can get it. This is the lose and through part of the season. Win and you advance. Lose and the season is over.
Because the Gators won they move on to a 12 noon Sunday matchup with UConn (25-9), winner of the last two national championships. UConn advanced to the Sunday second round by scoring a 67-59 win over Oklahoma Friday night. Sunday’s winner punches a ticket to the Sweet 16 round in San Francisco.
With first team All-American Walter Clayton Jr. scoring 13 of Florida’s first 19 points, the Gators jumped out to a 14-point lead with 13:59 eft in the first half. It was 29-9 when Martin caught fire, scoring nine straight and 11 of 13 as the Gators stretched the lead to 28 (42-14). An 8-0 run with Haugh accounting for half the points, made it 49-19.
It was 53-21 with 3:15 left in the half when the air began leaking out of the Florida balloon.
“I think we played exceptionally well for the first 15 minutes and kind of exhaled,” Golden said. “Norfolk’s good. They’re quick. They’re really hard to keep in front and I thought our defensive intensity for the first 15 minutes of the game was elite. We did a great job of keeping them in front, guarding with physicality.
“Then when we took a little bit of a breath, we actually had some bad turnovers that led to transition run-outs that gave then a little juice, a little confidence.”
The first eight minutes of the second half were played evenly, but when the Spartans couldn’t chip into the Florida lead, they tried getting more physical, the result being a foul-a-thon the rest of the way. The Gators led, 72-50, when Norfolk State got slap-happy. Over the final 11:26 the Gators only made five shots from the field – 3-pointers by Martin and Richard, thunder dunks from Martin and Isaiah Brown, and a stick back by Micah Handlogten.
Otherwise, it was one trip to the foul line after another. The Gators went 17-23 from the foul line in the second, 10-10 in the first half. It made for boring basketball, but the Gators were more than happy to leave the arena with a boring win.
“Regardless of the final score, we just weren’t as sharp as we expect to be and what we feel like we need to be if we want to make a run in this tournament,” Golden said.
While the Gators played bored and inconsistent for much of the game, giving Golden plenty of teaching points for today’s practice ahead of Sunday’s matchup with UConn, one thing he couldn’t complain about was the Gators’ willingness to share the basketball. Florida finished the game with 20 assists on 29 made baskets.
“We’re elite that way,” Golden said. “Our team is really unselfish. We do a great job of sharing the basketball … It’s in our DNA, and it’s why we’ve been a good offensive team all year.”
Clayton led the Gators with 23 points to go with five rebounds, two assists and a steal. Martin followed with 17 while Haugh had 13 along with rebounds and four assists Condon had 12 points, five rebounds, three assists, two blocked shots and two steals. Both Rueben Chinyelu and Micah Handlogten each had eight rebounds. Richard tied a career-high with five assists.
As a team, the Gators were 29-60 from the field overall (48.4 percent), 10-32 from the 3-point line and 27-33 from the foul line. The Gators outrebounded Norfolk State 41-28 with 21 offensive rebounds.
There weren’t 40 minutes of pretty basketball played Friday night, but there is no requirement in the NCAA Tournament for the wins to be aesthetically pleasing. The ugly wins count every bit as much as the pretty ones. This one was a little bit of both – pretty for the first 16 minutes, dog’s butt ugly for the next 12 and about as boring as boring can get in the final 12 minutes.
8 hours ago
One punched blackboard later it's Florida 95, Norfolk State 69
RALEIGH, NC – Alijah Martin was being kind when he described the final four minutes of Florida’s first half as “complacent.” It was worse than that. Much worse. Not that the Gators (31-4) were in any danger of falling apart and losing to No. 16 seed Norfolk State, just that expectations are higher when you are one of four No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament.
The Gators were ahead 51-19 after a pair of Will Richard free throws with 4:17 to go. The offense was clicking. The defense was getting stops. The way the Gators were dominating, the game had the feel of a record-setting blowout, but that was when the Gators began playing like a bored team instead of one motivated to put the fear of God into whoever they play next.
In the final 2:45 of the half, Norfolk State (24-11) went on an 11-0 run that made the score a far more respectable 53-32 at the intermission.
“We kept looking at the scoreboard and when you do that and you see you’re up 20, you think like you could take a play off,” Martin said. “We can’t do this at this level. We can’t give no team no hope.”
The Gators gave Norfolk State a glimmer of hope. To put it mildly, Todd Golden wasn’t even slightly amused. There were words at halftime, but actions spoke louder.
Asked in the locker room about Golden’s halftime mood, Richard nodded toward a blackboard whose next home will be a Lenovo Center dumpster.
“You see the board over there?” he said. From the point of contact where Todd Golden’s first had delivered a TKO punch, the blackboard looked like it had a bad case of varicose veins.
“Coach definitely wasn’t happy, but I mean it was understandable,” Richard said.
As Tommy Haugh spoke about Golden’s halftime mood, his eyebrows raised and his brow furrowed.
“We don’t want to talk about it,” Tommy Haugh said. “We needed it, though. We really needed it.”
The Gators didn’t give up any 11-0 runs in the second half but they never regained the momentum of the first 16 minutes, either. It’s not like they needed it. Norfolk State never got closer than 18 points as the Gators carved out a 95-69 win. At this time of the year, you take a win any way you can get it. This is the lose and through part of the season. Win and you advance. Lose and the season is over.
Because the Gators won they move on to a 12 noon Sunday matchup with UConn (25-9), winner of the last two national championships. UConn advanced to the Sunday second round by scoring a 67-59 win over Oklahoma Friday night. Sunday’s winner punches a ticket to the Sweet 16 round in San Francisco.
With first team All-American Walter Clayton Jr. scoring 13 of Florida’s first 19 points, the Gators jumped out to a 14-point lead with 13:59 eft in the first half. It was 29-9 when Martin caught fire, scoring nine straight and 11 of 13 as the Gators stretched the lead to 28 (42-14). An 8-0 run with Haugh accounting for half the points, made it 49-19.
It was 53-21 with 3:15 left in the half when the air began leaking out of the Florida balloon.
“I think we played exceptionally well for the first 15 minutes and kind of exhaled,” Golden said. “Norfolk’s good. They’re quick. They’re really hard to keep in front and I thought our defensive intensity for the first 15 minutes of the game was elite. We did a great job of keeping them in front, guarding with physicality.
“Then when we took a little bit of a breath, we actually had some bad turnovers that led to transition run-outs that gave then a little juice, a little confidence.”
The first eight minutes of the second half were played evenly, but when the Spartans couldn’t chip into the Florida lead, they tried getting more physical, the result being a foul-a-thon the rest of the way. The Gators led, 72-50, when Norfolk State got slap-happy. Over the final 11:26 the Gators only made five shots from the field – 3-pointers by Martin and Richard, thunder dunks from Martin and Isaiah Brown, and a stick back by Micah Handlogten.
Otherwise, it was one trip to the foul line after another. The Gators went 17-23 from the foul line in the second, 10-10 in the first half. It made for boring basketball, but the Gators were more than happy to leave the arena with a boring win.
“Regardless of the final score, we just weren’t as sharp as we expect to be and what we feel like we need to be if we want to make a run in this tournament,” Golden said.
While the Gators played bored and inconsistent for much of the game, giving Golden plenty of teaching points for today’s practice ahead of Sunday’s matchup with UConn, one thing he couldn’t complain about was the Gators’ willingness to share the basketball. Florida finished the game with 20 assists on 29 made baskets.
“We’re elite that way,” Golden said. “Our team is really unselfish. We do a great job of sharing the basketball … It’s in our DNA, and it’s why we’ve been a good offensive team all year.”
Clayton led the Gators with 23 points to go with five rebounds, two assists and a steal. Martin followed with 17 while Haugh had 13 along with rebounds and four assists Condon had 12 points, five rebounds, three assists, two blocked shots and two steals. Both Rueben Chinyelu and Micah Handlogten each had eight rebounds. Richard tied a career-high with five assists.
As a team, the Gators were 29-60 from the field overall (48.4 percent), 10-32 from the 3-point line and 27-33 from the foul line. The Gators outrebounded Norfolk State 41-28 with 21 offensive rebounds.
There weren’t 40 minutes of pretty basketball played Friday night, but there is no requirement in the NCAA Tournament for the wins to be aesthetically pleasing. The ugly wins count every bit as much as the pretty ones. This one was a little bit of both – pretty for the first 16 minutes, dog’s butt ugly for the next 12 and about as boring as boring can get in the final 12 minutes.
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