No. 1 Florida passes biggest test of NCAA’s opening day with stifling win over No. 14 Miami
No. 1 Florida and No. 14 Miami faced off in the only top 25 matchup of Monday’s opening day of the college basketball season.
The top-ranked Gators passed the test in convincing fashion at the Tampa site of its stunning early NCAA tournament exit last season. The top-ranked Gators stifled the Hurricanes on defense and fought off multiple Miami flurries to start their season with a quality 77-67 win.
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It marked a strong start for a Florida team that enters the season as the favorite to secure its second national championship in three seasons.
A Miami team that’s projected to challenge No. 2 Duke for ACC supremacy got off to a good start and took a 17-15 lead in the game’s opening minutes. Florida responded with a 9-0 run for a 24-17 lead that it extended to 41-27 late in the first half.
Miami cut the deficit to as close as 3 points early in the first half and mounted multiple runs late, but the Gators never relinquished the lead. A Thomas Haugh bucket in transition off one of many Miami misses extended Florida’s lead to 71-62 late, and the Hurricanes never threatened again.
Haugh, who returned to Florida despite projections as a first-round NBA Draft pick, paced the Gators with 19 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists. He hit 4 of 8 3s to lead an offense that wasn’t at its best across the board.
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But it was more than enough next to a shutdown defensive effort that limited Miami to 1-of-19 shooting during a late second-half stretch.
As a team, Miami shot 20 of 58 (34.5%) from the field and 4 of 16 (25%) from 3. Preseason first-team All-ACC selection Shelton Henderson was limited to seven points and eight rebounds on 2-of-13 shooting from the field.
This story will be updated.
