We keyed on, among other things, the idea of putting together a complete wire-to-wire performance against Florida as the key to this game for Xavier. The Muskies had dominated in spurts so far this season, but the lapses forgiven by Missouri and UConn would likely be punished by the Gators, who came out of the preseason at #6 in the polls.
That ended up a portentous sentiment, as Xavier showed its mettle early and late to give Florida all it could handle. It was the disastrous middle portion of the game that hamstrung the Muskies.
After being up 21-19 with 7 minutes left in the first half behind a lot of magic from Paul Scruggs (24/3/1), Xavier stumbled through the next 11 minutes of play.