Kenny Boynton is back.
That’s what No. 3 seed Florida wants to believe as it gets ready to open the NCAA tournament Friday against 14th-seeded Northwestern State (7:27 p.m., truTV) in Austin, Texas. If the Gators advance, they will play No. 6 seed UCLA or No. 11 seed Minnesota on Sunday.
While UF’s recent trip to Nashville for the SEC tournament came up empty in the final, Boynton appeared to have buried his extended shooting slump with strong performances in the semifinals and championship game.
“You can just tell by the way he’s moving — he has a swagger about him and he knows he’s not gonna get stopped,” center Patric Young said. “I’ve seen that look in his eye since we were in high school playing AAU basketball.
“He’s worked really hard to get out of that slump. We have confidence in him. Every time he shoots the ball, we think it’s going in.”
Boynton, a 6-foot-2 guard, hit 11 of 23 shots, including 5-for-15 from 3-point range, and totaled 29 points over his past two games. In the previous 12, he scored 9.8 points per game while shooting 33.1 percent overall and making 25.4 percent of his 3-pointers.
He is averaging 12.3 points per game and hitting 39.5 percent from the field, both significant drop-offs from his numbers as a junior last season. His 3-point shooting fell from 40.7 to 32.5.
As he wraps up his career as a four-year starter, Boynton has the chance to exit as one of the most productive players in Florida history. He is the all-time leader with 329 three-pointers and is second in scoring. He has 1,995 points, trailing Ronnie Williams by 95.
“He’s about as consistent of a guy as I’ve coached since his freshman year,” Billy Donovan said. “You know what you’re getting. I think his consistency of being a dependable guy is really, really important. I think his fearlessness, his aggressiveness, his will and wanting to win as a competitor, are things that stand out to me.”
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