Colin Castleton drops 33 as Gators pick up second win of Golden era
The Gators are 2-0 to start the Todd Golden era following an 88-78 win over the Kennesaw State Owls Friday night.
Center Colin Castleton was the story of the night, leading all scorers with a career-high 33 points. After the game, Castleton admitted that the game plan was to exert use his physical advantage over smaller defenders, and things worked out perfectly. Castleton still has a long frame that could stand to add some weight, but he looked like one of the best big men in the country against an opposing center that was four inches shorter than him.
While most of the night belonged to Castleton, Will Richard and Kowacie Reeves also hit double digits before the night ended.
It wasn’t all fun and games, though. The Gators struggled to shut down the Owls the same way they did against the Stony Brook Seawolves, and opposing SEC teams will take advantage of the sloppy defense. Still, “there’s no such thing as a bad win,” at least for a team that’s shooting to make the NCAA Tournament at the end of the year. Every little bit counts and the start of the Golden era has been fun for the Florida faithful.
It’s a bit too early to make any bold assumptions about this team, but there is certainly a feeling of optimism based on the early returns under Golden.
Colin Castleton might be on a mission this year
Matt Pendleton-USA TODAY Sports
Colin Castleton was a beast in this one.
The Gators went to the big man every time they needed a bucket, and he did not disappoint. Castleton finished the night with 33 points on 12 of 18 shooting (9 of 13 from the foul line), and nearly recorded a double-double, missing the mark by one board.
Castleton had a chance to go pro last year and chose to return to boost his draft stock and take advantage of Florida’s NIL opportunities. So far, it’s safe to say that decision paid off. If Castelton can stay healthy, he may end up being one of the top names out of the SEC this season.
Florida's still working through the sloppy bits
Matt Pendleton-USA TODAY Sports
The Gators may have won, but Kennesaw State stayed in this game much longer than most expected. Perhaps the 36-point blowout of Stony Brook set some unrealistic expectations, but UF is far from polished. The Owls out-rebounded the Gators 11-6 on the offensive glass, and [autotag]Kyle Lofton[/autotag] ran into foul trouble early, which ended up knocking him out of the game with over 12 minutes remaining on the clock.
The rebounds will come with more practice. Castleton hasn’t recorded a double-double yet, but he was consistent in that department last year. [autotag]CJ Felder[/autotag] has good size too and backups [autotag]Jason Jitoboh[/autotag] and [autotag]Alex Fudge[/autotag] are also built to grab boards.
On the injury problems, it was hard not to notice how quick the refs were to the whistle, but Lofton managed to foul out on a technical. He should have recognized the tight whistle early and controlled his emotions, but instead, Florida had to play without a starter for more than a quarter of the game.
Finally, the defense was questionable in the first half and in the final five minutes of the game. Florida should have won this one by at least 15 points and that’s generous considering the obvious talent gap on the court.
Kowacie Reeves is picking up steam
Matt Pendleton-USA TODAY Sports
[autotag]Kowacie Reeves[/autotag] didn’t get too much attention following the season opener, but his presence was felt on Friday. He did a little bit of everything, scoring 11 points on 3-of-6 shooting, including a pair of three-pointers, and racking up five boards, two assists and a block.
That’s as full of a stat line as Todd Golden can ask for, and those numbers should only improve over the course of the season. The new-look roster gives Florida more scoring options than it had last season, but Reeves really blossomed down the stretch and doesn’t seem to be at that level just yet. Give him some time to build on a decent start and he should be a force in this conference.
Riley Kugel might be him
Matt Pendleton-USA TODAY Sports
This is a repeat item from the season-opener, but [autotag]Riley Kugel[/autotag] continues to show a ton of promise even while playing limited minutes as a true freshman.
Kugel finished…. but his jam in the first half was worth mentioning. With effortless ups, he exploded to the rim and lit the O’Connell Center on fire. Once he gets a step, it’s over for the defense. The best Kennesaw State could do is foul him, and Kugel shot 3-for-4 from the stripe.
There’s plenty of optimism surrounding this kid. The only question is when he’ll get a chance to break out big.
Let's not get too excited, though
Matt Pendleton/The Gainesville Sun
Starting off the year with two solid wins is nice, but Gators fans have seen this before. We cautioned fans not to get too excited until at least the Florida State game, but that timeline might need to be pushed back after the Seminoles fell to Stetson to start the season.
Florida plays in the Phil Knight Legacy Tournament on Nov. 24 and has a chance to face the likes of Duke and Gonzaga if they can advance past Xavier in the first round (that’s also assuming Duke and Gonzaga take care of business). That’s the litmus test for this team. The goal is an NCAA Tournament, and Quadrant 1 wins are necessary to reach the Big Dance.
So far, so good. But Florida has to win a big game before getting any national attention.
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