Florida’s Height Shines in Suffocating Win Over Oklahoma
No. 19 Florida dominated Oklahoma 96-79 in its first visit to Norman since the Sooners joined the SEC.
The Gators have won their third straight game in SEC play. Tuesday marked the first game of the season where Florida relied on the post, winning the points in the paint battle 60-22 as the Gators gained more momentum after starting SEC play losing to unranked Missouri.
For a team that came entered the game shooting only 27% from beyond the arc, abandoning the 3-point shot for the post was a welcome sight for the Gators.
“Regardless of this specific game, that’s an area [points in the paint] that we strive to win every night. But this game, specifically, yes, absolutely,” coach Todd Golden said. “We feel like we had a little more depth on the front line, and that’s where a lot of our better players are and that we would have to come in here and they would have to produce for us to have a good game.”
Thomas Haugh continued his campaign as a top-10 pick in the NBA draft with 21 points and 7 rebounds. He shot the 3 at a 60% clip (3-5), while also being a threat driving to the rim against smaller Oklahoma forwards.
Rueben Chinyelu followed up the best performance of his Florida career Saturday against Tennessee with another attention-demanding performance. His strength and physicality on both sides of the floor is cementing himself as one of the best centers in the conference. He finished this contest with 19 points and 12 rebounds, his ninth triple-double.
“He’s (Chinyelu) just playing fantastically well. He’s always impacted winning in a huge way, but you didn’t always see it in the box score, and now you’re starting to see it in the box score, as well,” Golden said. “His offensive production and efficiency has been through the roof. Seventeen (points) and 16 (rebounds) against Tennessee and t hen 19 (points) and 12 (rebounds) today, and he’s just done a great job of playing with poise in the paint, being strong off two feet, going through defenders, making his free throws, doing a little bit of everything. His play has given us a big lift.”
Florida stayed true to its identity as the best rebounding team and seventh best defensive team, according to kenpom. Florida outrebounded Oklahoma 43-31, and held the Sooner’s leading scorer Nijel Pack (16.4 ppg) to 5 points.
Boogie Fland continued to shine as an on-ball defender, shutting down Pack after taking Tennessee’s Jakobi Gillespie (18.7 ppg) out of the picture in a 91-67 win Saturday. His confidence offensively is also picking up, finishing with 15 points and 7 assists.
“(Boogie) made a big 3 in the first half, and other than that didn’t shoot the 3 great, but I thought he’d play a really good floor game inside the three,” Golden said. “Seven assists, one turnover, two steals, just a lot of winning plays out there. And he’s definitely playing freer, playing with more confidence, and taking advantage of what the defense gives him.”
Frontcourt Heating Up
Haugh, Chinyelu and Alex Condon combined for 50 points. Micah Handlogten also contributed with 6 points and 8 rebounds in only 11 minutes of play. The four returning big men anchored down on defense, making Oklahoma bigs Tae Davis and Derrion Reid fight for every basket.
Florida outscored Oklahama 30-8 in points in the paint in the first half, ending the first 20 minutes with a 46-24 lead. There are very few teams in the country that compare to the Gators’ height.
Up Next
Florida will need to utilize its height in its toughest test in SEC play against undefeated No. 10 Vanderbilt (16-0, 3-0) on Saturday afternoon.
Category: Feature Sports News, Gators Men's Basketball
