More photos » Tim Larsen - AP

2 months ago: Rutgers' Austin Johnson (21) tries to shoot between Florida's Kenny Boynton (1) and Erik Murphy, right, during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Atlantic City, N.J. on Saturday, Nov. 28, 2009. (AP Photo/Tim Larsen)

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After 20 full minutes of play in the final game of the Legends Classic in Atlantic City, Rutgers was thinking Championship.  Then Kenny Boynton took over.

Boynton, a freshman guard took it to the Scarlet Knights in the 2nd half of Florida's 73-58 victory over Rutgers in the Championship game of the Legends Classic at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.  Boynton had a game high 19 points, as Florida jumped off to it's best start (6-0) since the 2006-2007 season.

Rutgers was led in scoring by Mike Rosario who had 14 points (he was also named to the All-Tournament Team), but struggled in the 2nd half as the Gators pulled away.  Though Rosario led the team in points, it was Hamady Ndiaye who led the team on the floor, as the senior played inspired basketball swatting anything in his range and throwing down monster dunks which allowed Rutgers to hang around in the 2nd half.

This was my first time seeing Rutgers this season in person, and I came away impressed.  After beating UMass on Friday night, my expectation was that they would get run out of the gym by a stronger and more athletic UF team.  But to my pleasant surprise, Rutgers actually played with, and at times, outplayed the Gators in the first half.  Though they trailed by 5 at the half, most of that deficit could be attributed to the hot shooting of the Gators from beyond the 3 point line, and some fortunate bounces that went the Gators way.

As expected, the Gators pulled away in the 2nd half.  Florida is a more complete and talented team than Rutgers, and they wore down the Scarlet Knights down low in the final period.  When Rutgers tried to defend inside, Kenny Boynton and Erving Walker knocked down open jumpers, and when they defended on the perimeter, Florida dumped it down low to Vernon Macklin who provided some rim-shaking highlights. 

I was very impressed with Hamady Ndiaye who provided highlights with his high intensity defensive style, and Ndiaye could be seen talking to the younger Knights and giving them the confidence that they need.  He truly was the best Scarlet Knight player on the court Saturday night, despite the fact that he only played 17 minutes.

Rosario started off hot, scoring 11 first half points, but was bottled up by the aggressive zone defense that Florida employed in the 2nd half.  He was visibly frustrated and forced many shots that weren't there down the stretch.  Rosario needs to trust his teammates a bit more and give Patrick Jackson and Johnathon Mitchell more opportunities by drawing double teams.  Center Gregory Echenique was largely ineffective recording 0 points in 21 minutes, and providing porous defense.  There was a span in the 2nd half where Florida dumped the ball down low 3 or 4 consecutive times and Macklin was able to exploit Echenique for easy Florida points.  For some reason he has shown an inability to catch the ball down low, and is becoming a liability down in the post.

Though they weren't able to pull the big upset, I was pleased with what I saw from Rutgers.  The team played hard till the end against a superior team, and for a while looked like they had a chance.  If they continue to play like they did against Florida, Rutgers should be able to win more than a few games in the Big East.

Rutgers next plays on Thursday night against Princeton at the RAC.