A total team effort: Florida blows out Mississippi State, 82-47

(8) Florida 82 - Mississippi State 47

Top Performers

Florida Gators (16-2, 6-0 SEC)
Erik Murphy: 18 points (6/8 fg, 4/6 3pt), 6 rebounds
Kenny Boynton: 18 points (7/11 fg, 4/8 3pt), 4 rebounds
Scottie Wilbekin: 13 points (5/9 fg, 3/5 3pt), 9 assists (one assist shy of his second consecutive double-double)
Patric Young: 13 points (6/6 fg), 6 rebounds, 2 blocks
Will Yeguete and Michael Frazier (8 rebounds each)

Mississippi State Bulldogs (7-11, 2-4 SEC)
Fred Thomas: 19 points (5/14 fg, 8/9 ft), 7 steals
Craig Sword: 5 steals

First Half Notes

• Senior forward Erik Murphy began the game with seven points and four rebounds before the first media timeout (13:14).
• It was disappointing that Murphy finished with six boards, after having four in the first six and a half minutes.
• After getting into early foul trouble against Georgia, junior forward Patric Young needed to do a better job of managing his aggressive play and not picking up cheap fouls.  He did just that, picking up only one foul in the first half (2 fouls for the game).
• Senior guard Mike Rosario needed to have a bounce-back game on the offensive end after going 3/13 vs. Georgia.  Unfortunately, Rosario struggled against on Saturday.  He shot 1/8 from the field and 1/5 from 3-point range (5 points).  He was taking good shots, but they weren't falling.  He just needs to continue shooting because he's too good of a shooter to make only one shot when he played 27 minutes.
• Senior guard Kenny Boynton's been on a tear recently shooting the ball.  That continued at Mississippi State, where he began the game with eight points (two three's) at the first media timeout).
• The Gators equalled their first half point total from the Georgia game (24 points) at the 11:31-mark in the first half.  The Gators needed to get off to a quick start and they certainly did that.
• Freshman guard Michael Frazier hit a much-needed three-pointer in the first half.  He didn't make one versus Georgia.
• Young grabbed four offensive boards for the game.
• UF attempted 11 three's at the 8:43-mark!
• Boynton and Murphy (20 points total) outscored the Bulldogs (19 points) in the first half alone.
• Rosario passed up a few shots over the course of the game, possibly as a result of a lack of confidence.
• Seldom-used freshman forward DeVon Walker entered the game at the 0:39-mark.
• UF had a 23-8 rebound margin at the end of the half.
• The Gators had 12 assists in Saturday's game, one more than they had in all of Wednesday's game.
• Young had nine points and six rebounds at the end of the half.
• Murphy had nine points and five rebounds after the first 20 minutes.
• Boynton scored 11 points after the first intermission.
• Halftime score: Florida 41 - Mississippi State 19

Second Half Notes

• There was a highlight reel play at the 18:18-mark from freshman guard Scottie Wilbekin to Young for an alley oop, which drew praise from the Gator bench and "ooohs" from the Bulldog crowd.
• Murphy had two three's in the first four minutes of the half.
• Coach Donovan, as the game was getting out of hand, probably just wanted crisp possessions, no turnovers, and no bad shots.
• Since the 18:08-mark in the first half (Bulldogs led 4-3), the Gators never trailed.
• Young made an excellent hustle play when he dove out of bounds after a loose ball.  Even though the Gators were up by a considerable margin, Young was still giving all-out effort.
• UF committed turnovers on back-to-back possessions that forced Donovan to call a time out.
• The Gator defense forced plenty of deep, contested three's with the shot clock winding down.
• I began to wonder why Donovan continued to play three of the starters even though the game's outcome was certain.
• Freshman guard Braxton Ogbueze entered the game at the 5:04-mark.  He did not dress last game due to a knee injury suffered in practice.  Ogbueze finished with three points, on a driving layup and a free-throw.
• Young actually made a jump shot!! He acknowledged after the game that he's been working on stepping away from the basket, but that was the first jump shot that he looked comfortable taking.
• Freshman guard Dillon Graham had another in-and-out 3-pointer, but dove on the floor after a loose ball, which drew praise from Donovan.
• Sophomore walk-on Jacob Jurtz and Graham hooked up on a nice give-and-go pass for a Graham layup.
• Kurtz had three rebounds.
• The Gators had a season-high 23 assists.
• UF has given up exactly 47 points in three of four games (four times this season).
• The Gators hit a season-high 14 three's.
• Kevin Brockway: "Florida's 82-47 win over Miss State was Miss State's second-worst home loss in school history.  MSU's worst home loss by 41 to Vandy in 93."
• Final score: Florida 82 - Mississippi State 47

Selected stats (all Florida stats unless noted)

Field goals made/attempted= 31/56 (55.4%)
Three-pointers made/attempted= 14/31 (45.2%)
Free throws made/attempted= 6/9 (66.7%)
Rebounds/offensive= 44 rebounds/12 offensive
Fouls= 12
Assists= 23
Turnovers= 14
Steals= 6
Mississippi State turnovers= 10
Blocks= 4
Points off turnovers= 17
Points in the paint= 32
Second-chance points= 9
Fastbreak points= 6
Bench points= 15
Guard rebounds= 17
Mississippi State offensive rebounds= 6
Second half points= Florida (41), Georgia (28)

Officials= Mike Thibodeaux, James Barker, and John Heatly
Attendance= 7,696

What's Up Next

The Gators return home to face South Carolina on Wednesday (1/30).  The Gamecocks come in with a record of 12-7 and are 2-4 in the SEC.  The tip is set for 8:00.  The game will be televised on the SEC Network and broadcast on the radio on WRUF/Gator IMG Sports Network.  The pregame radio show begins at 7:25.