The Gators stepped on the court in the second half poised to score a signature early-season win.
Twenty minutes later, they walked away with doubts lingering about whether they could compete with the nation’s elite.
Having outscored No. 4 Ohio State 41-38 in the first half, No. 9 Florida was dominated after the intermission en route to a 93-75 defeat Tuesday in the O’Connell Center.
The Gators (1-1) led 57-56 with 12:29 to go, but the Buckeyes closed the game on a 37-18 run by breaking UF’s press and generating a plethora of open looks.
Ohio State capitalized on those opportunities, shooting 70.6 percent in the second half and 62.9 percent for the game in what Ohio State coach Thad Matta called an “ungodly” shooting performance.
The Gators nearly matched the Buckeyes’ shooting with a 61.2-percent effort. But they were unable to overcome 18 turnovers, which Ohio State (2-0) turned into a 13-shot advantage.
“Both teams were not very good defensively,” coach Billy Donovan said. “They’re not pressing and we turned it over 18 times. Our discipline and our decision making has got to get way, way better.”
Florida dominated the interior in the first half, scoring 24 points in the paint and taking a 19-8 rebounding edge into the break.
But Ohio State came out with new life and added physicality in the second half, outrebounding UF 12-9 and scoring 26 points in the paint.
“They just came out hungrier,” sophomore Erik Murphy said. “They came out more physical than they were in the first half.”
Part of OSU’s interior success was due to the struggles of UF’s press, which forced just eight turnovers in the game.
Buckeyes point guards Aaron Craft and William Buford were unfazed by the Gators’ aggressive defense, combining for 13 assists and just four turnovers in the contest.
Their effort also led to a bunch of easy baskets for Ohio State, which was able to capitalize on its numbers advantage once it thwarted Florida’s initial defensive effort.
“A lot of times it was 2-on-1 with the big in the back and we had to make a decision,” Murphy said. “Whatever decision we made, the other option was open.”
Ohio State’s primary presence in the post was freshman Jared Sullinger, who scored 26 points on 13 of 17 shooting and also grabbed 10 rebounds.
Even when the Gators were able to record a block, Sullinger was often there to grab his own rebound and score the put-back.
“He’s a great player,” center Vernon Macklin said. “He’s wide and it’s tough for me and it’s tough for my guys around me because they have to try to help me, and they also have to guard shooters.”
With Sullinger drawing attention inside, the Buckeyes saw a number of open looks from behind the arc, where they shot 9 of 21.
Many of those chances came after OSU broke the press and then used its numbers advantage to find the open shooter.
“Once they got past the front line they were knocking down shots because we weren’t rotating well enough,” forward Chandler Parsons said.
Kenny Boynton led the Gators in scoring, as he recorded 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting, including 5 of 8 from beyond the arc. That effort made him the game’s third leading scorer behind Sullinger and OSU senior David Lighty, who had 26 points on 9 of 11 shooting.
