Florida vs. North Carolina score, takeaways: Resilient No. 7 Gators rally, move to 11-0 for second time

Basketball

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Image Credit: UAA

No. 7 Florida Gators basketball had not been tested this season. Despite playing some talented opponents, Florida had won each of its first 10 games by double digits entering Tuesday night leading many to wonder what would happen when the Gators finally face legitimate adversity. Consider those murmurs at least temporarily silenced after Florida flexed might and resiliency in a come-from-behind 90-84 win over the North Carolina Tar Heels at the 2024 Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte.

Playing a de facto road game given the proximity of Charlotte to Raleigh, North Carolina, it was the Gators who found themselves on their heels in the second half. Despite leading by as many as 17 points with 2:21 until halftime, Florida found itself down four with 4:03 to play.

As it has all season, though, UF put together its best basketball when it mattered the most — winning on both ends of the court to improve to 11-0 for the second time in program history and first time since the 2005-06 national championship-winning season. Florida’s 11-game win streak is its longest of any kind since the 2013-14 team that advanced to the Final Four.

Let’s take a look at what went down Tuesday night.

It was over when … senior guard Will Richard made two free throws to put the Gators ahead six points with 3 seconds to play. Richard grabbed an offensive rebound for a second-chance layup that gave UF a lead with 54 seconds to play — its first after trailing for 5:19 late in the second half — and it appeared as if Florida would ice the game moments later when sophomore forward Thomas Haugh drained two gimmies of his own. However, a bone-headed foul by junior G Denzel Aberdeen gave UNC a free look at the line that it missed, which necessitated Richard’s last-second points to put the game away.

A 15-0 run spanning halftime — aided by three Florida turnovers in the first 1:53 of the second half — saw a 16-point margin cut to a single point before UF could even blink coming out of the locker rooms. The Gators quickly retook a 7-point lead, but after some jockeying back and forth, turnover woes returned with the Heels using an 11-3 stretch to flip the advantage and go up four. This as senior G Walter Clayton Jr. did not make his first basket out of the break until there was 6:13 left in the game.

The back-and-forth battle continued over a 3-minute period before Florida finally found its momentum again. UF outscored UNC 13-3 over the final 3:42 going 8 of 8 from the charity stripe during that stretch with a 9-0 run to end the game. Redshirt senior G Alijah Martin, who started 0 of 6 from 3-point range in the second half, drained a key triple with 2:29 to play and scored five straight points to tie the game during the closing stretch.

First half focus: Florida pushed ahead by 16 points midway through the period on the back of 10-0 and 12-2 runs boosted by 5 of 8 shooting from beyond the arc. While shots were not falling early for North Carolina, a significant foul disparity had them in the bonus with 9 minutes left in the half. The Gators used a 6-0 response to take a 17-point lead, but the Heels responded with a 9-2 stretch to end the period, cutting their deficit to 12 at the break. UNC scored nearly a third of its points from the charity stripe with UF hitting 7 of 17 triples in the period.

Exceptional efforts: Richard flashed in the first half and took over when it mattered most late in the game posting a team-high 22 points while hitting 8 of 10 shots and 3 of 5 treys with 6 rebounds. Sophomore center Alex Condon did not do much scoring, but he hit a pair of clutch 3-pointers to score 9 crucial points grabbing 10 boards and dishing 5 assists. Though Aberdeen made a huge mistake late and struggled defensively at times, his 12 points kept Florida in the game. Martin’s second-half struggles nearly crushed the Gators, but his electric shooting in the first half and timely triple in the final minutes were enough for his 19 points to overcome his 2 of 12 shooting from downtown.

Missing in action: Posting 12 points and 6 rebounds makes it appear as if Clayton was a notable contributor in the game, but he secured his worst performance of the season to the point that he mentally checked himself out of the game for the majority of the second half. Florida’s best player went 4 of 15 from the field and 1 of 7 from downtown with 4 turnovers and 3 fouls. His inability to score or distribute the ball while giving North Carolina far too many additional opportunities nearly cost UF the game, though Clayton did with two And1s inside a 2-minute span that prevented the Gators from seeing their deficit balloon.

Odds & ends: Florida improved to 3-4 all-time against North Carolina with a 2-1 mark at neutral sites … the Gators won despite committing 17 turnovers, their second-most in a game this season, that led to 24 points for the Heels … Florida dominated the paint defensively with a 46-36 rebounding margin but got outscored 48-38 down low by UNC … UF had 23 second-chance points off 16 offensive rebounds … the Gators improved to 41-9 under Golden when leading at halftime and won for just the fourth time (4-24) when tied or trailing with 5 minutes left … Florida under Golden is 46-6 when shooting the same or better than an opponent from the field, 35-6 when shooting 45% or better from the field, 40-8 when outshooting an opponent from 3-point range and 35-7 when winning the rebounding battle

What it means: The Gators’ 10-0 start was met with a some legitimate skepticism given even the best teams it beat were in the midst of failing to live up to preseason expectations. Coupled with its dominance of those opponents — winning each game by double digits, most in blowout fashion — it was fair to wonder how Florida would play with its back up against the wall against a quality opponent (particularly away from home). The Gators answered all of those questions and then some.

The Tar Heels were their best opponent in nonconference play and the top team Florida will face until Jan. 4, 2025, when it opens the SEC schedule against Kentucky. In fact, UF will play two top-five teams and John Calipari in its first three league games. But you can only beat the opponents on your schedule, and given the flow of Tuesday’s game, many teams — many prior Florida teams, especially — would have drowned in their sorrows and packed it in. These Gators showed legitimate resilience and locked down both ends of the court even as shots were not falling. The Heels only took two shots over the final 2:13 and missed both of them.

Florida had a significant free throw disparity in the second half (20-6) because it purposefully worked itself to the line when baskets were not going down. To end the game with nine of your last 14 points (five of 10 before UNC started fouling) coming from the charity stripe was an example of pulling victory from the jaws of defeat.

What’s next? Florida has a real chance to end nonconference play undefeated as it next hosts North Florida on Saturday at noon. The game will air live nationally on SEC Network. It will then wrap up its opening slate the following Sunday against Stetson.