Some observations following UF’s 86-62 win over Vermont at the O’Connell Center:
— Credit Florida coach Mike White for moving Devin Robinson into the starting lineup. While DeVon Walker is a nice defender, he’s better suited as an energy and hustle guy off the bench. With Robinson, forward Dorian Finney-Smith and senior center John Egbunu, the Gators now boast a versatile starting frontline with size, length and athleticism. The trio combined to score 48 of UF’s 86 points and grab 21 of UF’s 43 rebounds. “He came up with only two offensive rebounds, but it took a lot of effort for them to keep him off the glass,” White said of Robinson. “He was flying at the rim on every play. He was doing his job in that sense.”
— Though the Gators were tentative and at times stagnant offensively in the first half, Florida wound up with a positive assist-to-turnover ratio (13-8) against Vermont. The Gators continue to value the ball better. After turning the ball over 32 times in its first two games, Florida has just 28 in its last three contests.
— Because of his size and strength, the 6-foot-11, 249-pound Egbunu is simply going to need to be more careful with his elbows when making post moves. The flagrant foul whistled against him with 1:52 left in the first half resulted in a four-point play that cut UF’s lead to 31-26 late in the first half. Egbunu has drawn two first half fouls in three of his five games this season, but remains a post offensive threat the Gators have lacked in recent seasons. He’s averaging 16 points over his last two games and is 10 of his last 12 from the free-throw line.
