Gators go undefeated in December with 97-72 win over Quinnipiac
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — After back-to-back losses to close out November, the Gators made a goal as a team to go undefeated in December. Mission accomplished.
Florida finished the month 6-0 on Saturday with a 97-72 blowout win over Quinnipiac, the final non-conference opponent on its 2023-24 schedule.
“Offensively, I thought we played really, really well,” UF coach Todd Golden said. “Really purposeful, really unselfish, and I feel like we’re growing and getting better that way.”
Florida unleashed a barrage from 3-point range in the first half, hitting 9 of 18 attempts beyond the arc over the first 20 minutes.
Five Gators scored in double figures, led by junior guard Will Richard with a season-high 22 points on 8-for-13 shooting, including five 3-pointers. It marked his third 20-point performance of the season.
“Will was struggling early in the year, in terms of finding where his three-point shot would come from. But as you’ve seen over the last month, he definitely looks comfortable out there now,” Golden said.
UF built a double-digit lead at the 8:24 mark of the first half but went four minutes without a field goal (10:29 to 6:29). After Richard ended the scoring drought, Florida closed out the half on a 19-4 run to take a 52-29 lead into the locker room.
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The Gators led by 20-plus points for the majority of the second half and as many as 33. Graduate transfer guard Zyon Pullin made his fourth start of the year and had 16 points on 6-for-9 shooting (3-for-4 from 3).
Graduate transfer forward Tyrese Samuel posted his sixth double-double with 10 points and scored 11 points, surpassing 1,000 for his career. Junior guard Walter Clayton Jr. and sophomore guard Riley Kugel finished with 12 and 10 points, respectively, as Kugel returned to the lineup after missing the last game with a bruised foot.
Following losses in late November against No. 13 Baylor and at Wake Forest, the Gators have won six games in a row this month. They picked up wins against Merrimack (77-57), Richmond (87-76) and East Carolina (70-65) before a 106-101 double overtime victory over Michigan in the Jumpman Invitational and beating Grambling State last week (96-57).
“We gutted out some tough games in December,” Golden said. “First undefeated month since 2021, and that’s the only other time since the 2014 team that rallied 30 in a row or something like that. So, big time for us to kind of hit that milestone and our guys are coming together. I feel like there’s a lot of joy in that locker room right now, guys happy for each other’s success, and I know they are excited for conference play to start.”
Florida (10-3) opens SEC play next Saturday against rival Kentucky (10-2) at 12:30 p.m. UF announced on Wednesday there will be a sellout crowd for the matchup with the Wildcats.
