Koulechov scores 26 as No. 7 Florida routs Stanford 108—87

Egor Koulechov (Photo: Egor Koulechov/Twitter)

PORTLAND, Ore. — Egor Koulechov had 26 points, including five 3-pointers, and No. 7 Florida routed Stanford 108-87 on Thursday night in the Phil Knight Invitational.

Jalen Hudson added 17 points, including a career-high four 3s, for the Gators (4-0). Next up, Florida plays No. 17 Gonzaga or Ohio State.

Reid Travis had 23 points for Stanford (3-3), which lost its second straight to an opponent ranked in the top 10. The Cardinal trailed by as many as 38.

Koulechov, a graduate transfer, made all five of his 3-point attempts and Florida hit 15 from long range overall.

The Gators announced shortly before the opening tip that starting centre Kevarrius Hayes had been suspended for the game for a violation of team rules. The school did not provide details. Hayes is averaging 6.3 points and 5.7 rebounds.

The tournament involves 16 teams playing in two brackets on Thanksgiving, Friday and Sunday, with a break on Saturday. The field also includes No. 4 Michigan State and defending NCAA Tournament champion North Carolina.

Dubbed the PK80, the tournament celebrates Nike co-founder Phil Knight’s 80th birthday.

Florida and Stanford were in the Motion Bracket, playing Thursday at the Memorial Coliseum. Teams in the Victory Bracket played Thanksgiving Day at the adjacent Moda Center.

Stanford was coming off a 96-72 loss on Monday night to No. 9 North Carolina. The Cardinal have been short-handed as Dorian Pickens and Marcus Sheffield nurse foot injuries, putting three freshmen in the starting lineup.

Stanford was no match for the Gators, who jumped out to a 16-5 lead on Hudson’s 3-pointer. It was never really a contest, with Florida pushing its lead to 25 in the first half.

Chris Chiozza’s layup put the Gators up 58-33 with 1:45 left and they went on to lead 58-39 at the break.

It was the first time in five meetings that Florida defeated Stanford.

The Gators beat Gardner-Webb 116-74 and then North Florida 108-68 — scoring 100-plus points in their opening two games for the first time in school history — before they were challenged by New Hampshire on Sunday, coming away with a 70-63 victory as Hudson scored 22 of his 26 points in the second half.

BIG PICTURE

Florida: The Gators hadn’t played a Pac-12 opponent since the 2014 Sweet 16, when they defeated UCLA. … Hudson is a transfer from Virginia Tech. He sat out last season.

Stanford: The games against No. 9 North Carolina and No. 7 Florida marked the first time the Cardinal had faced back-to-back opponents in the top 10 in 19 years.

A LITTLE CONFUSION

Both teams left the court at the end of the first half but were called back to play out 0.8 seconds still on the clock.

UP NEXT

Florida plays the winner of the late game between Gonzaga and Ohio State, while Stanford will face the loser.