AUBURN, Ala. — Florida senior Mike Rosario has learned this season to take what opposing defenses are giving him.
“I
don't want to take challenged 2(-point shots) or challenged 3(-point
shots),” Rosario said. “I just try to stay aggressive on the offensive
end.”
Behind a season-high 22 points from Rosario, No. 7 Florida
avoided any kind of letdown Saturday. The Gators (21-3, 11-1 SEC)
pummeled the Tigers 83-52 at Auburn Arena, handing Auburn its worst home
loss since an 88-48 loss to Kentucky on Jan. 30, 1952.
Former
Auburn president Jim Martin was the starting center on that 1952 team,
while former Georgia football coach Vince Dooley was Auburn's starting
shooting guard. But even a team with fabled Auburn alums Charles Barkley
and Chuck Person would have been hard-pressed to beat the Gators on
Saturday, considering how well Florida shot and moved the ball. Florida
shot 50 percent from 3-point range while making a season-high 15
3-pointers (15-of-30). The Gators also finished with an
assist-to-turnover ratio of 25 to 9.
“We had good ball movement,
good player movement, and at times I thought we did a really, really
good job defensively,” Florida coach Billy Donovan said.
Rosario
was terrific early, scoring 18 of his 22 points in the first half. His
prettiest basket was a hanging reverse layup on a bounce-pass from Casey
Prather, and he followed it up with a steal and breakaway layup that
resulted in a three-point play to extend UF's early lead to 25-10.
“He
was very good,” Donovan said. “I thought he took great shots. I thought
he could have had the same kind of second half. We were just a little
bit too loose.”
It was a big day for all of UF's guards. Freshman
Michael Frazier II added 18 points off the bench, going 6-of-7 from
3-point range. Kenny Boynton had 16 points and four assists, and
starting point guard Scottie Wilbekin had six points and 10 assists.
Auburn's
game plan was to collapse on Patric Young and Erik Murphy early.
Florida stayed patient, moving the ball around the perimeter like a hot
potato until finding an open shooter.
“They did a really good job
converging in on the post, and it's really hard to get the ball inside
with the way they play,” Donovan said. “What was open in the game was
the perimeter and the ball movement, and we did a really good job of
making the extra pass.”
Playing its first road game since an 80-69
loss at Arkansas, Florida started the game with better intensity. The
Gators jumped to an early 13-3 lead.
“We did a great job setting
the tone,” Boynton said. “Every loose ball we tried to get. We did a
great job at attacking them. I think defensively we had a good day.”
Rosario scored nine of UF's first 16 points, making his first two 3-point attempts.
“Once I started getting in a rhythm and I was getting open looks, I was taking them and they were falling for me,” Rosario said.
About
the only highlight for Auburn in the first half was its student
section's performance of the “Harlem Shake” during a TV timeout. After
Auburn senior Noel Johnson's 3-pointer cut Florida's lead to 37-22, the
Gators closed the half with a 10-0 run. Boynton and Frazier hit
back-to-back 3-pointers during the flurry. Rosario followed with a
16-footer, and Wilbekin hit a jumper in the lane to put Florida up 47-22
at halftime.
Florida scored more points in the first half (47)
than it did in its last meeting two years ago at Auburn, a 45-40 UF win.
Florida's guards scored 38 of its 47 points in the first half.
“Some
nights are going to be different guys' nights,” Rosario said. “I felt
Murph and Pat gave a really big presence in the frontcourt down low so
that opened up shots outside for the guards, and I felt we took
advantage of that and took good ones.”
Defensively, Florida scored
16 points off turnovers in the first half, 18 for the game. Auburn had
10 of its 14 turnovers in the first half.
“They make you look
bad,” Auburn coach Tony Barbee said. “They are a very good team. They
have great guard play. They have two big guys who know their roles and
do their job. It's obvious why they are one of the best teams in the
country and in our conference.”
The Gators held Auburn to 35.2 percent from the floor and held an opponent under 60 points for the 18th time this season.
“Our
press was really good,” Donovan said. “I thought when we came in with
Casey (Prather) the press was really good and then when Casey picked up
the second foul, we were fortunate enough to get through the half with
Patric and Erik having just one.”
