Gators Pull Away From Razorbacks

By JC De La Torre

The Florida Gators remained undefeated in Southeastern Conference play, rallying from an early 1st half deficit and pulling away in the 2nd half for an 80-65 win over the Arkansas Razorbacks.
Florida phenom Nick Calathes led all scorers with 28 points.

Midway through the first half, Florida trailed by 7 points, 20-13 to a tough and determined Razorbacks squad before Calathes led a 9-3 Gator run to shave the lead to 1 and Kenny Kadji's jumper gave Florida the lead. The Gators would hold a 3 point advantage at halftime, 37-34.

After shooting a miserable 3 of 17 from three point range in the first half, Florida heated up from downtown in the second, drilling 8 of 13 in the second half that essentially buried the Razorbacks. The Gators opened up the second half with a 9-0 run and Arkansas fell behind by as many as 17, never getting closer than 9 the rest of the way.

"Our 3-point shooting is definitely our main offense," Calathes told the St. Petersburg Times, "We can hit 14 threes in a game, we can hit two 3s in a game. When they fall, it's tough to beat us."

Florida improved to 3-0 in SEC play and 16-2 overall.

Gators win Conference Tuneup Over ACC Contender NC State

By JC De La Torre

The University of Florida Gator basketball team was in desperate need of a measuring stick. After feasting on a schedule of cupcakes and losing to the only two teams that would be considered candidates for the big dance (Florida State and Syracuse), the Gators needed a "quality win". They got it in dramatic fashion against a solid NC State sqaud, rallying from an 11 point deficit to win 68-66.

Florida's Super Sophomore Nick Calathes led the Florida charge with a career high 32 points, 24 of which came in the second half of the Gators thrilling come back. The two teams began by feeling each other out, neither team getting more than a two point lead until the Wolfpack's Julian Mays drilled a three pointer with 6:08 left in the first half to give NC State a 20-15 lead, triggering a 13-9 run at the end of the first half that gave the Wolfpack a 33-23 half time lead.

With 16:13 left in the game and trailing 39-30, Florida began to increase the heat defensively, causing multiple Wolfpack turnovers that sparked an 11-4 rally that cut the lead to 43-41 with 12:45 left. The teams would exchange blows, with the Wolfpack getting no larger than a five point lead until finally, with 3:59 left in the game, Calathes's arching three pointer put the Gators up for the first time since midway through the first half, 59-58. Calathes took the game over in the final four minutes, scoring the last eight Gator points as the teams exchanged the lead eight times in the closing minutes. Calathes put the Gators up to stay with eleven seconds left with an incredible jumper that clanked around the rim before dropping and giving Florida a 67-66 lead. NC State would fumble the ball away on their ensuing trip down the floor and Calathes would add a free throw for the final margin.

The Gators improved to 12-2 on the season and have one last cupcake, Longwood (trying...to...avoid...being...crude...), before embarking on the tough SEC schedule that should decide whether they will be part of the madness in March.

Gator Basketball Update - Wk of Nov. 26th

By JC De La Torre

Until the football season comes to an end, the Florida Gators basketball team is typically on the backburner in the minds of Gator fans and this blogger. That will change in January-March, when Florida basketball gets into their SEC schedule and really start to get going.

In the meantime, I'll give you these quick hit Gator Basketball updates every week to let you know how they're doing. I'll of course focus on some of the bigger matchups like the Florida State game on December 7th (I'm a little disappointed its not this weekend, I had begun to enjoy the basketball-football doubleheaders) but for now, let's just get caught up to where we are.

Florida has already played 5 games this season, mostly against Wimama Tech type teams -

Florida 80, Toledo 58
The Gators beat up on the overmatched Rockets getting 19 pts from Dan Werner and shooting 52% from the floor. Nick Calathes led with 7 assists and 3 steals. Florida won their season opener for the 18th consecutive season.

Florida 81, Bradley 58
Walter Hodge scored 17 points and the Gators actually shot better from the 3pt line (43%) than from the field overall (41%) as they pounded Bradley. Chandler Parsons led with 10 rebounds while Nick Calathes led in assists (6) and steals (4). Bradley snapped a seven-game win streak vs. teams from the state of Florida.

Florida 64, Southern Utah 50
The Gators essentially sleptwalked through this one. The Gators struggled to find the bottom of the net, going 1-for-16 from three point land, missing ten free throws and shooting only 46% overall. Southern Utah's Davis Baker led all scorers with 23 points, while the Gators Nick Calathes led the way for Florida in points (18), rebounds (7), and assists (4).



CBE Classic Semi-Finals: Syracuse 89, Florida 83
In the Gators first major test of the season, they failed as the fell in the CBE Classic to the Syracuse Orange of the Big East, 89-83. Paul Harris had 18 pts and 11 rebounds, while Johnny Flynn tossed another 18 in for the Orange. Syracuse pretty much led throughout, get ahead by as much as 12 points at one point. The Gators stayed within 6 the majority of the way but never seemed to be able to get that big stop on defense or key field goal to bridge the divide. Florida was outrebounded 53-42. Florida's young sophomore Alex Tyus scored 24 points in a losing effort.

"We scored 64 points against Southern Utah, but we held them to 50," Florida coach Billy Donovan told the Associated Press, "I know Southern Utah talent level isn't at where Syracuse is, but I think when you start to start playing the type of teams like Syracuse, it's very difficult to expect to try to win giving up 89 points."

CBE Consolation Game: Florida 86, Washington 84
The Gators withstood a furious Huskie rally in the final five minutes to hold on and beat Washington by 2. Florida led by 10 points with less than 5 minutes left in the game, but held on as Washington's Jon Brockman's rebound tip clanked off the rim as time expired. The Gators played a pretty good ball game, shooting 52% from the floor and hitting 11-of-22 from the three point line. Nick Calathes led the way for Florida with 21 points and 8 assists, while Brockman scored 22 and had 11 rebounds for the Huskies.

Up Next Week -
Florida returns to the creampuff circuit facing UMCK (University of Missouri-Kansas City) Roos on November 30th.