Florida basketball started off the (Todd) Golden era with an 81-45 win over the Stony Brook Seawolves Monday night at the O’Connell Center.
Florida started off hot scoring 12 unanswered points and holding Stony Brook scoreless through the first six minutes of the game. After that, it was all Gators, and Florida was able to test out all of its depth pieces late in the game.
[autotag]Alex Fudge[/autotag], the transfer forward from LSU, led all scorers with 16 points off the bench and looks like a potential starter down the stretch. [autotag]Colin Castleton[/autotag], the team’s star center, led Florida with 20 minutes on the court, but there was no need to play him for the final 10 minutes of the game. UF’s new-look backcourt of [autotag]Kyle Lofton[/autotag] and [autotag]Will Richard[/autotag] also shined, but more on that below.
Overall, it was a fun start to the new era of Florida hoops under Todd Golden, but Stony Brook was far from a tough opponent. Florida’s non-conference schedule starts off easy, but things could get competitive in a hurry. With Florida State coming up on Nov. 18 and the Phil Knight Legacy Tournament a week later, Golden’s team will get tested early.
Here are five major takeaways from the Gators’ season opener.