Everyone knew the preseason No. 1 Florida men’s basketball returned the best front court in the country with USA TODAY Sports' best player in the country Thomas Haugh part of a veteran led group that includes Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu. The trio helped the Gators to a national title two seasons ago.
As for the perimeter, Florida
lacked some bit and that led to an early NCAA Tournament exit last season.After one game, the country ought to start to panicking; Florida unlocked something that makes them more dangerous than ever before.
The Gators look to have some shooters which was on display in a quality 77-67 win against No. 17 Miami in Tampa, Florida.
For as talented Florida was in its quest for a repeat title last season, it was was held
back by a lack of production from the 3-point line. Only 23.9% of its made shots came from outside the arc. Despite shooting 48.4% overall from the field last season (34th in Division I), Florida was horrid from deep, with a 31.2% mark that ranked 317th in the country, second-worst among power conference schools behind South Carolina. Its season-high was 12 in a game.
When you have such a dominant interior, you can get away with it, but those off nights where the bigs aren't controlling the game become problematic.
All of Florida's eight losses last season came when it shot below its average from 3, including the shocking second round exit in the 2026 NCAA Tournament against Iowa.
If the Gators are going to avoid the same fate, they need to shoot the ball. Florida coach Todd Golden looks to have addressed the issue as the Gators showcased an improved perimeter game.
Haugh drilled a 3-pointer two and a half minutes into the opener and the rest of his team followed suit for a first half you didn't expect from Florida. It opened with seven made 3-pointers in its first 10 attempts, finishing the opening 20 minutes with nearly half of the shots coming from beyond the arc.
The production in the second half tailed off, but Florida still finished 11-for-26 (42.3%). Gators only only made that many 3-pointers twice all last season.
Luckily, everything that already makes Florida so good also clicked.
The post domination and hounding defense starred in the second half, holding Miami to 29% from the field after halftime, with just three made field goals in the final 12 minutes. With his four made 3-pointers, Haugh proved every bit of why he's the top guy in the country, Chinyelu collected 14 rebounds and made Miami's newest addition Somto Cyril work for everything he got with Condon stretching the floor. There's meaningful contributions coming from Boogie Fland, and Urban Klavzar continues to be a solid piece off the bench.
A team that can dominate inside, play tough defense and now score from anywhere on the floor? That's not something anyone wants to face.
Florida is good − and it found that missing piece that could be the difference come March.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Florida shooting in defeat of MIami should have rest of country scared
