Florida basketball score, takeaways: Gators destroy FAMU for biggest win since 2019-20

Basketball

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Image Credit: UAA

Florida Gators basketball bounced back from its worst loss since 1999 with its biggest win since the 2019-20 season. The Gators completely routed the Florida A&M Rattlers 102-62 on Wednesday night in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.

While destroying FAMU is not necessarily an accomplishment given the drastic talent disparity, Florida likely used this game as an opportunity to exorcise some demons it found at the 2022 Phil Knight Legacy in Portland, Oregon.

The Gators opened with a 19-2 run and led by 19 at the half. They added a 36-6 scoring stretch over 9:54 in the second half that put them up a game-high 49 points. Florida inserted backups and walk-ons from there, allowing its scoring margin to drop over the final few minutes.

Let’s take a look at what went down with a shortened Fastbreak Takeaways.

Exceptional efforts: Sophomore guard Kowacie Reeves returned for the Gators after missing most of the last three games amid a coach’s decision supposedly not related to discipline. He not only got back in the fold but started for Florida, scored the first basket of the game and posted 15 points in the first half. Reeves finished with 19 points on 3 of 7 shooting from beyond the arc with four rebounds and three assists.

Junior G Trey Bonham, who was in the midst of a breakout last week, fell silent against West Virginia in Florida’s last game. He similarly bounced back with a game-high 23 points (17 in the first half), draining all seven of his triples with four dimes and two boards. Sophomore forward Alex Fudge also had his best game yet with the Gators, registering a double double by making 6 of 12 shots for 16 points with 10 rebounds. He also delivered a spectacular alley-oop off a fastbreak in the second half. Though redshirt senior F Colin Castleton was not dominant in the game, he posted a complete effort with 11 points, six boards and five assists.

Odds and ends: Florida improved to 12-0 all-time against FAMU and 27-1 all-time against SWAC opponents … this marked the Gators’ largest win since Dec. 6, 2020 (vs. Stetson) and their first 100+ point game in regulation since Dec. 28, 2019 (vs. Long Beach State) … Florida dominated scoring margin off turnovers (29-9), off the bench (43-19), in the paint (54-18) and off the fastbreak (17-2) … the Gators had 18 assists on 41 made baskets and hit 59% of their 3-point attempts (13 of 22) … UF led for 39:34 of the 40-minute game

What it means: Florida took care of business and didn’t let the West Virginia debacle affect it beyond the weekend.

What’s next? The Gators will play their second of four straight games in the Sunshine State on Sunday when they host Stetson for a 2 p.m. ET tip off on SEC Network. One week from Wednesday, Florida will host UConn for a huge matchup in the O’Dome.