The Florida Gator men’s basketball team didn’t play well against Southern Utah last night. Despite shooting only 1-16 from beyong the arc and commiting 14 turnovers, the Gators managed to hang on and win 64-50. You may think a 14 point victory is a good thing, but against a team like the Thunderbirds, the Gators should have won by 25.

Southern Utah played with a lot of energy. They were a bit undersized, but that didn’t stop them from nearly matching (31 to 30) the Gators in rebounds. They’re a scrappy little team that played the Gators tight at certain points in the game.

Florida was led by sophomore guard Nick Calathes (Casselberry, Fla.), who was the only Gator to score in double figures. Werner scored 9 points (with 6 rebounds), Tyus scored 8 points (with 6 rebounds) and Kadji added 8 points, despite only playing 16 minutes.

After watching Kenny Kadji last night, I think Billy Donovan needs to get him more involved. On a fast break play, Kadji was fed the rock and threw down a powerful one handed dunk. He’s a big guy and came move bodies around in the low post. If he could have connected on a few more of those little hook shots, he would have scored double digit points.

Two areas of concern: free throws and three-point attempts.The Gators shot 63% from the free throw line, and shot only 6% from beyond the arc. Thankfully there’s plenty of time to work on this before SEC play starts.

The Gators next game is on Monday November 24, against Syracuse (in Kansas City for the tournament).