After the Florida basketball team's demolition of the Tennessee Volunteers, it was led by many contributions, especially from junior big man Rueben Chinyelu. It was another huge second half for the Florida basketball team, which propelled to the big victory on Saturday night, but Chinyelu's performance was crucial, even garnering the attention of Tennessee's head coach, Rick Barnes.
In the contest, Chinyelu would record his eighth double-double on the season, scoring 17 points on eight of 12 from the field to go along with a whopping 16 rebounds. Barnes would be asked about the junior, expressing how “terrific” he was against the Volunteers, according to On3 Sports.
“As good a performance that I’ve seen in a long time,” Barnes said. “If he didn’t catch it where he wanted, he caught it and he got where he wanted it. And just did a great job. Totally dominated the game from an inside perspective and did a great job for them. And they got a national championship front line, we know that. I thought today, if nothing else, we’re going to find out if we’re willing to realize that we got to get out of the comfort zone that our guys are in to compete against a team like that, especially on the front line. But he was terrific. I mean, he was terrific.”
Rick Barnes on Florida basketball: “They kicked out butt”
Ever since the Florida basketball team lost in upset fashion to Missouri, the program has won the next two games, including Saturday, with everybody turning a corner, especially Chinyelu, who's averaging 10.9 points and 10.6 rebounds per game. Overall, the Gators dominated the Volunteers, forcing 18 turnovers, resulting in 30 points, an aspect that Barnes emphasized.
“I thought they challenged everything at the rim. I didn’t think we did. They kicked our butt,” Barnes said. “That’s all I can tell you. And that’s disappointing, because for 16 minutes in the first half we were there, the kind of game you thought it would be. And then turnovers.”
At any rate, the Gators look to keep the momentum going against Oklahoma on Tuesday.
