Florida was dominant from the start. Virginia never stood a chance.
There was concern this might happen. When Florida eased their way through their opening game while Virginia struggled it felt like their matchup was going to be lopsided. Still, Virginia had a solid regular season and London Perrantes is talented enough to make some noise on his own. Unfortunately, it played out just as how many of us feared. Virginia never once looked like they were at the same level as Florida and it became obvious quickly that they were in for a long night.
Virginia was never able to get their offense going at any point. The way they typically win games is through ugly, grind-it-out affairs, but the only team forced to grind was themselves. Florida on the other hand had no problem doing anything they wanted. Their defense was dominant, offense fluid, and and they more than doubled Virginia in free throw attempts.
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The worst of it was Perrantes. He finished 2-for-11 and never had his offense going at all. Florida completely shut him down and the rest of Virginia was unable to make up for that drop off in offense. It was truly a one team show for the entirety of the game.
Three Stars
Defense
Florida’s defense wasn’t just good, it was suffocating. Not a single player on Virginia finished in double digits in points, and only made a single 3-pointer. Dominance like this is usually seen in the 1-16 match not a 4-seed vs a 5.
Devin Robinson
Devin Robinson continues his dominance early on in the tournament leading the Gators with 14 points, but also pulling down 11 rebounds. The junior has quickly established himself as a force to be reckoned with in this tournament and it’s hard to see who will slow him down right now.
Justin Leon
Also dropping in 14 points for Florida was Justin Leon. He was 50 percent from 3-point range and had 10 rebounds himself. Florida’s dominant wing play had a lot to do with shutting down Virginia on both ends of the floor and Leon deserves just as much credit for that as Robinson is getting.
Highlights
Next Game
Looking at Florida’s upcoming path a trip to the Final Four isn’t crazy. Their next game is against a Wisconsin team that just knocked off defending champions, Villanova. This game will be played on March 24th in Madison Square Garden.