DALLAS – The Florida Gators easily survived the first day of the NCAA Tournament with no drama, eliminating St Bonaventure 77-62 in the Thursday late-night game at American Airlines Center.
Earlier in the day, on the same floor, the sixth-seeded Miami Hurricanes were bounced out of the tournament by No. 11 seed Loyola-Chicago. The sixth-seeded Gators made sure to avoid the same fate, pulling away from St. Bonaventure in the second half and never looking back.
Florida advances to a Saturday second-round game against Texas Tech, which held off a pesky Stephen F. Austin team 70-60.
Here are five takeaways from the UF game as the Gators look forward to the next round.