Riley Kugel joins elite company with season-opening performance
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — It took over three months and 28 games for Riley Kugel to score 20 points during his freshman year at Florida. The sophomore guard eclipsed that mark in the season opener on Monday night.
The preseason first-team All-SEC selection led the Gators with 23 points in their 93-73 win over Loyola Maryland, marking his fourth career 20-point game. Kugel also showed his prowess on defense, recording a career-high six steals and a block.
“I’m definitely more than just a scorer, I think,” Kugel said. “I feel like last year, you saw a glimpse, a tiny bit of my game. Now, this year, I can show y’all everything I can bring to the table.”
Kugel finished one point shy of his career high. He went for 24 at Kentucky last season, which was his first 20-point game. He averaged 21.0 points in the last four regular season games.
Kugel made some history with his stat line against the Greyhounds. He became the first UF player and the fourth SEC player this century to post 23 points, six steals & a blocked shot in a game.
“I would say I get better each year just by the confidence I get every year,” Kugel said. “It really just starts with the guys around me and just being able to mesh well with them.”
Kugel made some impressive plays at the rim against Loyola Maryland, including an alley-oop dunk in transition (see here). He shot 10-for-12 from 2-point range.
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Kugel’s career-high six steals were twice as many as his previous best and marked the most by a Gator since Kevarrius Hayes had six in the 2017 NCAA Tournament.
Kugel also joins Nick Calathes, Corey Brewer and Michael Frazier II as the only Gators with a 20-point, six-steal game since 1996.
“I’m glad he played really well. He did a great job at attacking downhill and he did a really good job putting the ball in the basket,” UF coach Todd Golden said of Kugel. “Overall, 10-of-15, and just a fantastic — he does a great job reading an opportunity to go make a play on the ball. You know, to get six steals is really impressive.
“That team is generally a really good ball-handling team. You know, they’re pretty savvy, their frontcourt handles it really well, and it wasn’t like he was taking advantage or picking on anybody. He was just being in the right place at the right time. But that’s an area that he excels in.”
