GAINESVILLE, Fla. — After watching Florida put on a 3-point exhibition, West Virginia’s Bob Huggins said he was stunned Gators coach Mike White didn’t make one.
“And I was hoping Darris (Nichols) would shoot one,” Huggins said. “I knew that wouldn’t have gone in.”
Huggins’ jab at his former point guard and graduate assistant delivered the only laugh on an otherwise humorless afternoon for the No. 9-ranked Mountaineers, who never got closer than 14 points in the second half of an 88-71 loss.
Florida’s perimeter shooters kept stepping into open looks—some created by dribble penetration, others off the pick-and-pop, and some generated by big men passing out of double-teams—to finish 12-of-20 on 3-point attempts.