GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Michael Frazier II scored 17 points, one of six Florida players in double figures, and the seventh-ranked Gators routed Marquette 82-49 Thursday night in the SEC-Big East Challenge.
Florida took control midway through the first half, building a double-digit lead thanks to Frazier's hot hand and solid defense, and never let up.
The Gators kept things rolling after the break, opening up a 23-point lead on Will Yeguete's layup.
And get this: the Gators (6-0) stayed unbeaten without much help from Kenny Boynton. The team's leading scorer missed his first six shots and was scoreless until hitting a jumper with 16:34 remaining.
Boynton finished with six points on 2-of-11 shooting. Yeguete (11 points), Casey Prather (11), Mike Rosario (11), Pat Young (10) and Erik Murphy (10) all scored in double digits.
Vander Blue led Marquette (5-2) with 20 points, the team's only player in double figures.
Frazier and Young were even more impressive than Florida's balanced scoring effort.
Frazier made 5 of 8 shots from 3-point range, getting on such a role in the first half that teammates started looking for the 6-foot-4 freshman guard.
Young, meanwhile, came off the bench for the first time this season. Coach Billy Donovan benched Young because of his attitude in practice.
Young responded as well as Donovan could have wanted. He played with energy and effort all night, dominating the boards and doing all the little things. He had two monster blocks, a couple of nifty passes, went after loose balls and had a leaping steal near midcourt that turned into points.
Florida held Marquette to 41 percent shooting. The Golden Eagles finished 3 of 12 from 3-point range and turned the ball over 14 times.
Marquette had won three in a row and was looking to avenge last season's loss to the Gators in the NCAA tournament. Florida won 68-58 in the round of 16 in Phoenix.
Marquette lost Jae Crowder and Darius-Johnson Odom off that team, but the Golden Eagles showed little drop-off while playing Butler tight in the Maui Invitational and beating Mississippi State and USC.
But they were overmatched in Gainesville.
Florida opened a 23-13 lead midway through the first half, pushed it to 38-20 on consecutive 3s from Frazier and could have cruised in the second half.
Instead, the Gators poured it on. Frazier's fifth 3-pointer made it 70-39 with 6:14 remaining.
About the only concerns for the Gators were a couple of minor injuries.
Murphy went to the locker room with what appeared to be a hip injury, and Scottie Wilbekin went down with a right leg injury
