Gainesville, FL – After an ugly first half struggle the Florida Gators turned it on and finished beating Kent State 65-52. While the Gators had an ugly first half, Vernon Macklin did not. Macklin lead the Gators scoring in double figures and dominating the paint and kept Florida in the game until a late first half run. Then in the second half Alex Tyus went on a tear with several thunderous dunks and finishing with twenty points and five rebounds.

While Florida dominated the paint they continued to struggle from the outside going 3-16 (18%). Kenny Boynton as well struggled, just going 3-12 from the field and only seven points and missing some very wide open shots. One bright spot was the play of Scottie Wilbekin’s play throughout the game. When in the game Wilbekin directed the offense very well and showed a great deal of hustle going after loose balls.

Billy Donovan over the last week and a half has preached sharing the basketball more and improving the team’s assist-turnover ratio. The Gators definitely showed a great amount of effort in that department and better overall offensive execution. Florida finished with 11 assists and seemed much more focused on getting better shots. While the assist numbers improved the Gators had 11 turnovers and wasted quite a few offensive possessions and fast break opportunities.

With Florida traveling down to Sunrise, FL to play #5 Kansas State this Saturday, it was nice to see some offensive improvement. That being said, it appears this basketball team must continue to focus if they want to upset K-State this weekend.