GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Nick Calathes broke out of a shooting slump with 19 points, Chandler Parsons added 17 points and 14 rebounds, and Florida beat Jacksonville 84-62 Wednesday night in the opening round of the NIT.
The Gators, who lost four of their last six and missed the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive year, played one of their best first halves of the season. They shot 63 percent from the field, were 6-of-9 from 3-point range and had a 21-point lead at the break.
Florida (24-10) extended it to 25 early in the second half on Ray Shipman’s dunk, then coasted the rest of the way. The Gators will host Miami in the second round Friday.
Lehmon Colbert led Jacksonville (18-14) with 11 points and six rebounds.
Calathes struggled from the field the last six games as Florida became the first program since Michigan State in 1980 to miss the NCAA tournament two straight years after winning a national title.
It was not the way these Gators wanted to make history. But they vowed to get back on track in the NIT, and maybe bring home a championship.
They knew they needed more from Calathes.
The 6-foot-6 point guard averaged 11 points the last six games, about seven points lower than his season average. Some thought it was fatigue from playing more than 34 minutes a game this season. Others figured it was lingering effects of an illness that sapped his strength a few weeks ago.
Either way, he looked just fine against the Dolphins. He was 8-of-10 shooting and added six rebounds and six assists.
He got plenty of help, too.
Parsons, who started 28 of the previous 33 games, came off the bench for the first time since early December. It might have been a much-needed change after scoring just nine points in the last four games and misfiring from just about everywhere.
He hit five of his first six shots and had 13 points and nine rebounds at the break. He finished with his second double-double of the season. Parsons also brought some enthusiasm to the court, getting into a couple low-post tussles early in the game.
Alex Tyus scored Florida’s first seven points and finished with 13. Erving Walker, who replaced Parsons in the starting lineup, added 11. Even walk-ons Kyle McClanahan and Hudson Fricke made baskets.
Florida shot 56 percent for the game and was 9-of-19 from behind the arc. Jacksonville shot 37 percent and missed 17 of 23 from behind the arc.
The Dolphins’ biggest problem was the slow start. They missed six of their first seven shots, got behind by double digits midway through the first half and never recovered.
The team’s leading scorer, Ben Smith, finished with seven points on 2-of-13 shooting.
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Comments » 23
Layla_Kiffin_is_hott writes:
Florida will go down against Miami
VAvolfanRON writes:
as much as i've heard about him...i thought he was awesome.....but....that it pretty darn good......
what sign if over Billy D's door?
sorry, i get so pissed at these gator fans........
going for #66?...go Fla
VAvolfanRON writes:
DC..after your comment on dante stallworth....you lost all credibility!!!....
you are a ________________
VAvolfanRON writes:
wooooohoo....beat up on the losers.......hope you get to the final 4
VAvolfanRON writes:
no....you asked what about the INNOCENT GUY.......
also...there is a huge difference between current players and former players.........
DroopyDrawers writes:
Who cares about the Gators?
VAvolfanRON writes:
O.K...i respect the fact that you retract...but, why would you make the fricking comment anyhow?.....now your creditability has lost more value.......
seriously...why would you do that?
VOLKING writes:
Good time for Calathes to get hot, huh! Was this game even televised? I still pull for the SEC anytime, anywhere...even if it is the Gators. Being from TN, I pull for all TN teams in the tourney. But, I will have a hard time rooting for Memphis because of their classless fans.
VAvolfanRON writes:
i joined this site 3 months ago...and 3 monthns ago...i'd root for UF in the NIT........sorry, but........i want them to lose so bad now!!!!.....horrible fans......and the funny thing is...we have 3 of the 66,000....or are they all like that??
VAvolfanRON writes:
Volking...hang around alittle more.....you'll hate UF...speaking of classless
hoosier_vol_fan writes:
Jacksonville had a basketball team?
JMP_Vols writes:
The NIT.....the Nobody's Interested Tournament.
Where winning is like getting the highest grade in remedial math. Congrats!!
chrisw2967 writes:
fla has done found some team they can actually beat, Jacksonville ? arent they like tenn temple or something? when I first read this , I thought maybe the team drove through Jacksonville to get to sewerville.I didnt know there was an actual college there. but anyways looks like fla will play for second place in the state.miami wins by 20 if that is who they will play next.
rocky_topper writes:
Put some REAL defense on him, and he won't break out of a slump! He suxks
Triton1 writes:
NIT, you must be so proud.
volwalk writes:
In all seriousness, I hope the SEC teams do well in the NIT...It would be cool to see them all in the NIT final four. I am tired of hearing about how terrible our conference is. Its down but we still have alot of teams with talent that can beat folks. GO SEC both in the NIT and NCAA Tourneys.
givehim6 writes:
Ok, i posted on the Aunurn wins site there are still some good SEC teams out there, I assume I should add UF.. but I can't.. will do your best ok.
huntined#565710 writes:
Gators should beat Miami at home.. only had 4,350 at that game last night most Gator fans rather not go to a NIT game..But they are still playing and maybe meet Penn ST.
That Miami game should be a good game as their Guards hit the 3's real good especally McClinton.
99gator writes:
dc
i cheer for the gators and hope they win every game they compete in.
but, i'll be damned if i am going to brag about wins in the NIT.
hope florida wins, but if they win the NIT championship, i am not running out to the local gift shop and buying a t-shirt.
at best, pdhuff and i can each lift a pint. i'll lift a glass for pdhuff's "10 years of no ring ring" if he'll lift a glass to my NIT tournament bracket.
but, that's the closest i'll get to being excited about anything having to do with the NIT.
illinoisvolfan writes:
If Tennessee were in the NIT, I'd probably take the same stand as 99 is. Yes, I'd watch the games and cheer like mad, but would I brag about the victories or a potential title? Probably not, because the all attention (not to mention the revenue) is with the Big Dance. Is that fair, probably not...but is life fair?
illinoisvolfan writes:
Apparently my mind is operating separate from my fingers on the keyboard. Of course, I meant to say "all the attention is with the Big Dance."
Giving up beer for Lent is starting to mess with my mind, LOL. :p
GerryOP writes:
So...which of the 6000 make-believe wiki-worlds are you living in today?
GerryOP writes:
Listen closely and you can hear the chant rolling across the swamps of Florida -- "We are #66! ... We are #66! ... We are #66! ..."
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