For much of the season, and arguably Mike White’s tenure at Florida, there have been two trusted predictors for how the Gators will fare on the hardwood: defense and three-point shooting. It wasn’t the best three-point shooting night (10-of-32) for UF, but it was one of Florida’s most impressive defensive performances of the season.

The Gators notched a 77-62 win over No. 11-seed St. Bonaventure in big part due to the Bonnies struggles from the floor. St. Bonaventure shot only 35.4 percent (17-of-48) for the night, including 15.8 percent from beyond the arc (3-of-19).

For Florida, there were cold stretches in the first half, but graduate transfer guard Egor Koulechov managed to score 20 points. Fellow transfer Jalen Hudson recorded 16 points in the win. Hudson had the play of the night when he grabbed a missed three-pointer and put it back in over multiple Bonnies defenders.

With the first round in the books, the No. 6-seed Gators move onto the second round to face No. 3-seed Texas Tech on Saturday.