This current collection of Gators may not be the most talented team Billy Donovan has coached at Florida, but no other group has won at home more consistently.
No. 7 Florida dispatched overmatched Georgia 72-50 on Tuesday night for its program-record 25th consecutive home victory. The win surpasses the previous school record set in 2007.
“I’m really, really proud of our guys,” Donovan said. “The guys that had won that many in a row obviously did some really special things. These guys haven’t won national championships, but they have done some special things as well.”
Any confidence Georgia (8-7, 2-1 SEC) established by sweeping its opening week of conference play was quickly eliminated in the first half. After a sluggish start, the Gators employed a full-court press that harassed the Bulldogs into making more mistakes than they could afford.
Georgia finished the first half with 12 turnovers to go along with a season-low 16 points as Florida (14-2, 3-0) took a commanding 36-16 lead into halftime before leading by 31 points late in the second half.
Michael Frazier II led all scorers with a career-high 21 points, 14 of which came after halftime. Florida’s best long-range shooter buried five of his 12 attempts from behind the arc to help the Gators make a season-high 11 3-pointers.
Prior to Frazier’s second-half barrage, Will Yeguete led the way with a resurgent effort. The 6-foot-8 forward has clearly been limited since undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery in May but appeared healthy while scoring a season-high 12 points, including 10 before halftime.
Donovan said he allowed Yeguete to sit out Sunday’s practice and only go through half of Monday’s session to recharge. The move paid off as the senior looked more comfortable moving around the court than he had at any point this season.
“It’s been a long season,” Yeguete said. “You kind of need these games to build your confidence. I’m definitely feeling confident right now. I’m just glad I was able to jump out in the game in the first half and get ourselves going.”
Stephen F. Austin (26 games) is the only program in the nation with a longer active home winning streak than Florida, which last lost at home to Kentucky on March 4, 2012.
The Gators will play three of their next four games on the road, starting with a trip to Auburn on Saturday.
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