Well, that was a pretty thorough beating. Florida teabagged UCLA last night, winning by a score of 73-57, and it wasn’t as close as the score would indicate.
I’m not sure there’s a college basketball team in the world that Florida wouldn’t have piped last night. Their performance was both surgically precise and just freakishly nasty. Their frontline really can do everything, and it all starts with Noah, of course. Tremendous passing, understanding of the game, athleticism, ball handling… he’s the man. Horford was pulling down some man-sized rebounds, Brewer was locking up Afflalo and making hustle plays all over the court… I just don’t think there was anything UCLA could’ve done. Great season, great effort, Bruins… you ran into a buzzsaw. A big French buzzsaw.
And if you stopped watching them early and you missed the 2nd half, let me sum it up for you… UCLA presses, Florida breaks it and dunks the fuck out of the ball. UCLA presses, Florida breaks it and dunks the fuck out of the ball. Again, and again, and again.
I’ve gained a lot of respect for Billy Donovan… not that I didn’t respect him before, but I wouldn’t have put him among the nation’s best coaches. When you look at where Florida was where he got there, compared to where they are now… that’s enough to make him a stud. But I thought Florida was really well-coached tonight. You don’t get big men who pass that well and a guard like Taureen Green who handles the ball and the pressure so well without great coaching.
Other various things…
• I should’ve written it down, but Billy Packer said one of the dumbest things I’d ever heard in the first half. UCLA made a long pass down the court over Lee Humphrey’s head, and Packer said that since Peyton Manning was Humphrey’s hero, he should’ve been looking for them to go deep, and that he was a poor defensive halfback.
• I’m not going to miss seeing Lorenzo Mata on my television. He is unattractive and has armpit fur.
• Anyone catch that Burger King commercial with the King in bed with a construction worker, and he gives him a sandwich, and then they have a pillow fight? That was gay, right? Burger King is telling us that The King is a gay guy. Am I wrong to interpret it that way? I mean, he was in bed with the guy, he gave him a sandwich, a bunch of other dudes were there, and then they had a gay pillow fight. I think that’s kinda gay.
• The entire Florida starting line-up can return next year, if they so choose. And I bet they will.