No one would ever mistake the six opponents Florida has beaten over the last month for the paddle-wheel of power the Gators are about to face in the coming weeks of their Southeastern Conference season. That’s OK. From Coach Todd Golden all the way down the UF bench, to a man, the Gators know they’re better – much, much better and way more cohesive – exiting December than when they entered it.

“I think we’re just getting more comfortable,” Golden said Saturday after Florida ripped Quinnipiac 97-72 for a sixth consecutive win, matching the program’s longest streak over the past seven seasons. “It’s a lot of new guys playing together, right? We only had two guys that really played last year that returned, and everybody that’s in the program has a different role than last year, and everybody that’s new to the program has a different role than they had in their last spot. It’s going to take a little bit to get to our potential, but I do feel like we’re slowly getting there.”

Take junior guard Will Richard, for example. He’s one of those two guys back from last year who’s had to adjust to a different role on a far more talented squad. One game into December, the 6-foot-4 wing was averaging 8.3 points, shooting 34.5 percent from the floor and just 30 percent from the 3-point line. On Saturday, Richard posted his fifth straight double-digit scoring outing, with a season-high 22 points on 8-for-13 shooting from the floor and a second straight game with at least five made 3s. Over the last five games, Richard is at 17.4 points per game, 52.5 percent overall and 43 from deep.

Consider him a microcosm of the Gators’ overall growth the last few weeks. Good timing, what with UF (10-3) set to open its SEC slate next weekend against eighth-ranked Kentucky at the O’Dome.

“We’re playing more together,” Richard said. “We’re having fun out there, playing more as a team and a lot more locked in. Our practices have been very similar to the games. Every game we feel prepared because we’re going so hard in practice.

After Richard, the Gators got another solid performance from point guard Zyon Pullin, the grad-transfer from California-Riverside who made his second straight start. Pullin scored 16 points, all in the first half, to help his club build a 23-point lead at the break. Junior guard Walter Clayton Jr. added 12 points, grad-transfer forward Tyrese Samuel had 11 points and nine rebounds and sophomore guard Riley Kugel, who came off the bench for the first time since 26 games (dating to last Jan. 21) and scored 12 in his reserve role.

UF shot nearly 42 percent in the first half to build a 52-29 lead, thanks to 17-3 run late in the period. Quinnipiac (9-4), out of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, got as close as 17 early in the second half, but the Gators were never challenged in taking the margin out to as high as 33, thanks to defending the Bobcats are 33 percent for the game and 23 from the 3-point line (5-for-22).

Eight days after carding 27 assists – the most by a UF team since 2007 – the Gators scattered 19 more (their third-most this season), a testament to their willingness to share the ball. Also a sign of developing chemistry and trust in one another.

“We want to keep the momentum going,” Pullin said.

The Gators were far from perfect. One of the nation’s best rebounding teams let an undersized mid-major from the Northeast challenge them on the glass, 48-44, and actually outworked the home team 18-15 on the offensive end en route to 20 second-chance points. UF turned the ball over 12 times, though five came from freshman reserve center Alex Condron, who made amends with nine rebounds. Florida had another tough day at the free-throw line, going 17 of 29 (that’s 58.6 percent), and is now shooting 65.4 percent for the season.

So there’s plenty of room for more growth and still a little bit of time to fix and tweak things before the Wildcats roll into town.