Next up: vs. #8 UConn, Wednesday, 9 p.m., ESPN2
Notable
* Will Richard came off the bench and shot 5-for-5, including 4-for-4 from 3-point range, to lead five Gators in double figures with 14 points.
* Richard is shooting .607 from the field and .586 from 3-point range, with a team-best 17 made 3-pointers this season.
* Richard has scored at least 13 points in seven of his eight appearances this season.
* Alex Fudge made his first start as a Gator (second career), becoming the eighth different Gator to start a game this season. Fudge scored 11 points, shooting 7-for-7 from the free throw line, and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
* Five Gators tallied double figures for the second straight game. In addition to Richard and Fudge, Kowacie Reeves (12), Colin Castleton (11) and Trey Bonham (10) also did so.
* Stetson entered the game shooting .400 from 3-point range and hitting 10.7 3-point field goals per game, and the Gators limited the Hatters to 40for-17 (.235) from beyond the arc.
* Will Richard (knee) returned after missing one game, while Kyle Lofton (back spasms) missed his second straight game.
Head Coach Todd Golden
On today’s win…
“Very pleased. I just told our team, I felt like this was the first time all year out there where I felt like this is what our team should really look like in the sense of our guys did an incredible job executing today what we wanted them to, specifically on the defensive end. This team, Stetson, really concerned me coming into the game. They were a top 10 offensive efficiency team in the country to this point. Now, their defense hasn’t been great. It’s one of the lower teams defensive efficiency-wise, but offensively, they’ve been fantastic. Similar to FAU, the way they play undersized and try to spread you out. If you compare the efforts in that game compared to what we did today, we did a much better job of dictating what they did offensively. We did a great job making them operate in that middle pick and roll, sticking to their shooters. I feel like all perimeter players did a great job of understanding with [Wheza] Panzo number one, he’s a key cover to this team, because he shoots the ball so well. A lot of times teams forget about him, or they lose him because they’re guarding him with their bigs. Our wings and guards did a great job switching in the action he was involved with, and I think he only got one or two shots up all game. 1-for-1 in 16 minutes, that was a huge cover for us. I’m very happy because I feel like we’re learning how to execute for 40 minutes. I thought we did a really good job with that tonight.”
On raising the intensity in practice recently…
“Absolutely, because if you don’t raise to the moment, you really sink to the level of your preparation. I thought that showed. We guarded well against FAMU, our energy was good against FAMU, but this team was much better offensively, so it took a little more to get back in transition, to be dialed into their actions in the halfcourt. They had multiple guys that could really poke it. We did a fantastic job limiting them to 33% from the field. They only went 4-for-17 from three and one the things we talked about with our team was we wanted to limit their attempts from three basically between 15 and 18. We felt like if we could do that, we’d be in good shape. I referenced the FAU game that we lost, we gave up 24 attempts in that game to make 13, against tonight we only gave up 17. That was a big difference.”
On Alex Fudge moving into the starting lineup for CJ Felder…
“I just think [Alex Fudge] has been a little more productive over the past week or two. He gives us a good lift. To CJ [Felder]’s credit, I thought he played really well in his minutes tonight. He was 3-for-3, provided a good spark offensively for us in the first half when we were having a little trouble scoring. But Alex, he’s gotten on the glass. Eight more rebounds tonight, three on the offensive end. He’s kind of earned the opportunity, 7-for-7 from the line is huge. If we can have both those guys playing well, we’re going to be a really good team.”
Sophomore G Will Richard
On the defensive performance today…
“We just executed the scout. We knew they were a good three-point shooting team, so just running them off the line and getting them to try to finish over us in the middle.”
On how is knee felt and his performance returning from injury…
“It felt really good, I didn’t feel it at all while playing, so just going to keep doing treatment and keep it strong.”
On scouting Stetson and whether they watched Stetson’s win vs. FSU…
“Some of the players watched it, we didn’t watch it as a team. We knew if they got hot from three, it was going to be another game like FAU.”
On what they can take from the past two games into Wednesday night against UCONN…
“Just keeping the energy. I feel like we came out and were aggressive tonight, so just coming out, being aggressive, and executing the scout like (Alex) Fudge said.”
On the transition defense…
“It’s a little different for me, because I’m used to crashing the boards. But as a team, it’s a little different, but I think it’s in the best interest for sure.”
Sophomore F Alex Fudge
On the potential this team has on the defensive end…
“We can be a very, very good team and make it far in March Madness. First thing we have to do is execute, so tonight was the first night and we have to keep it up consistently and bring it the next game and the game after that.”
On making his first start of the season…
“(Coach Golden) trusts me, and he hit me up and told me I would be starting and told me to bring the energy, so that’s what I’m going to continue to do every day, is bring the energy and effort to the court.”
On what they can take from the past two games into Wednesday night against UCONN…
“Defensively, from this game, I feel if we carry this over to UCONN and play the same way all 40 minutes, I feel like it shouldn’t be a problem at all. We were just flying around, knowing our spots, knowing our scout, and like we said running them off the three-point line and held them to 51, and that’s because we stuck to the scout.”
On the intensity being carried over day by day…
“We came with the intensity, and we know we wanted this, so we just going to keep carrying it and like I said, consistently. You got to tell yourself you want it every game, and if you don’t that’s a bad look, but we want it.”
