Florida Men’s Basketball Completes Undefeated December

With the 97-72 win Saturday against Quinnipiac at the O’Connell Center, Florida completed an undefeated December, going 6-0.

ending the year with a DUB.#GoGators | @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/rcRtct3JTb

— Florida Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) December 30, 2023

First-Half Action

After Quinnipiac (9-4) won the tip, the Bobcats looked to be energetic and ready to fight with a pick-and-pop offense run by the guards and big men down low. Florida’s man defense has proved successful all season and the Gators  (10-3) were able to find a defensive groove minutes in. 

Florida shot many 3s early and they were falling. Within the first four minutes, the Gators were 3-5 from beyond the arc, contributing to Florida’s 9-0 run early. 

Florida was able to find success under the basket and was firing on all cylinders. Quinnipiac, however, was able to secure many offensive rebounds and second-chance shots. Quinnipiac had 11 offensive rebounds in the first half compared to Florida’s 6. This helped close the gap slightly, however, the Bobcats had trouble shooting throughout the game.

Despite a short shooting drought, Florida caught fire again from deep late in the first half, with Will Richard and Zyon Pullin combining for 31 of the Gator’s 52 first-half points.

fancy with it 🥶 pic.twitter.com/f9sIMLW8h9

— Florida Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) December 30, 2023

The Gators led 52-29 at the half after an 11-1 run.

Gators Continue to Dominate

Quinnipiac seemed to have a new energy at the beginning of the second half. The Bobcats drove to the basket aggressively, earning a couple of and-1’s early on. The Bobcats quickly lost momentum and ended up only shooting 33% from the field. 

Will Richard received a technical foul with 17 minutes remaining and this gave Florida a huge momentum push immediately after. 

that block.
THAT SLAM. #GoGators | 📺ESPNU pic.twitter.com/84NY9Y666j

— Florida Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) December 30, 2023

Most of the energy Florida gathered was from leading scorer Will Richard and the dunk fest the Gators exhibited. Florida executed 9-of-11 dunks. Richard totaled 22 points in 20 minutes of play.

Fittingly, Tyrese Samuel surpassed 1,000 career points on a dunk late in the second half.

1K point club 💥

Congratulations to @Tyrese5G for hitting his 1000 point milestone 🧡💙 pic.twitter.com/3EaaVv6xVJ

— Florida Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) December 30, 2023

Back in the O’Dome

Florida will be back in action on Jan. 6 against Kentucky at home. Tip-off is set for 12:30 p.m. to open the SEC schedule.