Some observations following UF’s 85-47 win over Yale:
– It was nice to see Florida put forth a full 40-minute effort on Monday night. When players like walk-on guard Lexx Edwards are crashing into the press table to save a loose ball with the Gators up by more than 40 points late in the second half, it’s the sign of a team not taking anything for granted. Florida played with intensity from start to finish in a game it needed to have for RPI purposes, given Yale came into the game 44th in RPI.
— Freshman forward Devin Robinson and sophomore center Chris Walker continued to show signs of progress on Monday night. Robinson had 9 points and 6 rebounds, while Walker wound up with a career-high 13 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocked shots in 21 minutes. Florida coach Billy Donovan said he wanted to play Walker more than 15 minutes against Kansas, but said Walker was gassed and overwhelmed by the atmosphere. Walker pushed himself through fatigue better against Yale by playing 21 minutes and running the floor hard throughout the game.
– Give junior forward Dorian Finney-Smith credit for stepping up when junior guard Michael Frazier II left the game for a stretch in the second half with a busted nose. Finney-Smith scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half, helping extend UF’s 26-point halftime lead to as many as 49. Finney-Smith said after the game his broken left hand remains weak but offered no excuses “I’m out there, so I have to play through it,” he said.
