For about 25 minutes of Florida’s season-opening game against Florida Gulf Coast on Friday night, the 2016-17 Gators looked so much like the last two iterations of this team: Somnambulent on defense, soporific on offense, and suspect overall.
Then Florida unspooled on a 35-9 run over the final 16:04 of play to finish the game.
That ain’t the best way to get to a victory like the 80-58 win the Gators earned in Jackonsville against the Eagles, but it sure was effective on this night.
Florida won in ways old and new alike. The defense went from sleepy to suffocating, as the Gators allowed just two makes over that closing run, permitted the Eagles to hit just 15 of 35 two-pointers, and forced 19 turnovers — including a healthy 11 steals — that they turned into 24 points.