GAINESVILLE, Fla. — With stories about his online gambling debt circulating, Nick Calathes easily could have been distracted.

He seemed unworried.

Calathes had 16 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds and 3 steals, Dan Werner added 19 points and No. 19 Florida opened the season with an 80-58 victory over Toledo on Friday night.

“I don’t think it fazed him at all,” teammate Chandler Parsons said. “None of that stuff is true. He didn’t let it affect him.”

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The Gators, trying to rebound from missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time in a decade, won their 18 th consecutive season opener and improved to 51-6 under Coach Billy Donovan in November.

Florida looked much improved on defense. The Gators, who finished 10 th in the SEC in field-goal defense and ninth in rebounding last season, forced four 10-second violations and held the Rockets to 43. 8 percent shooting.

Jonathan Amos led Toledo with 22 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists.

Calathes was Florida’s catalyst, despite a potential distraction.

Calathes acknowledged truth to a story first reported by Yahoo. com that said he ran up a $ 600 debt playing poker online, but was adamant he did nothing illegal.

Donovan and Athletic Director Jeremy Foley agreed. Calathes said he wasn’t sure how much money he owed.

“I lost money,” Calathes said. “I really don’t know how much.”

Donovan said he heard rumors about Calathes’ gambling debt, but an investigation by the school’s athletic department found no evidence of wrongdoing.

“The only thing I’m going to say about any of that stuff is the unfortunate part in all this is nobody on our team has done anything wrong,” Donovan said. “It’s amazing to me that stories can actually be written or talked about when someone’s done nothing wrong.

“ We heard the rumors and we reacted to the rumors, responded to them, talked to Nick, talked to the team... handled the whole situation. To me, it’s not even a story. There’s no story. Nobody did anything wrong.”

Foley said he was confident that Florida had “no eligibility issues” regarding the matter.

Calathes was in the starting lineup against Toledo, which kept it close for most of the first half — until Florida began making three-pointers.

Allan Chaney, one of four freshmen making their official debut for the Gators, started the three-point barrage. Walter Hodge, Calathes and Werner followed.

The Gators finished 7 of 19 from three-point range and shot 53 percent from the floor. They were even better on defense, successfully pressing, forcing 25 turnovers and finishing with 12 steals.

“I don’t know if we’re going to be able to press everybody like we did tonight, but I think the difference in the game for us was the pressure up the floor and forcing 25 turnovers,” Donovan said.

The press helped the Gators build a 56-31 early in the second half, and they cruised from there even with Adam Allen (knee ) and Eloy Vargas (ankle ) sitting out with injuries. VMI 111, KENTUCKY 103 LEXINGTON, Ky. — It was Gardner-Webb all over again for Kentucky, only this one may even have been worse. Virginia Military Institute handed the Wildcats an early-season stunner for the second consecutive year with a victory at Rupp Arena. The upset came just over a year after Gardner-Webb’s 84-68 victory over the Wildcats in Billy Gillispie’s second game as coach. The sequel came in Kentucky’s season opener in year two. The Kewdets hadn’t beaten a program from a major conference since knocking off Virginia Tech 72-66 on Dec. 4, 2004.

It looked like a blowout early, as VMI led by as many as 26 points. But Kentucky used a furious comeback to take the lead with five minutes left before giving it back up. GEORGIA 72, SOUTH CAROLINA-UPSTATE 48

ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia pulled away with a 24-6 run in the second half and beat turnover-prone South Carolina-Upstate in the Spartans’ first game against an SEC team in 23 years.

Zac Swansey and freshman Travis Leslie each had 11 points for Georgia, which had 20 steals. Ricky McPhee and Terrance Woodbury each added 10 points.

The Bulldogs led only 30-26 just three minutes into the second half before taking control with the 24-6 run for a 54-32 lead. Terrance Woodbury capped the run with a fast-break dunk.

Carter Cook led South Carolina-Upstate with 11 points. Bobby Davis added nine points and 12 rebounds.

South Carolina-Upstate committed 29 turnovers in its first game against a SEC team since losing at Mississippi on Nov. 30, 1985. SOUTH CAROLINA 89, JACKSONVILLE STATE 76

COLUMBIA, S. C. — Zam Fredrick and Mike Holmes scored 17 points each to make Darrin Horn a winner in his debut as South Carolina coach with a victory over Jacksonville State.

Horn took over last April for retiring coach Dave Odom. Horn promised more intensity from his club and the Gamecocks didn’t disappoint in the opener for both teams.

South Carolina began with a 10-0 run and pushed the lead to 18 points less than 11 minutes in.

South Carolina was up 58-32 midway through the second half when Jacksonville State rallied to outscore the Gamecocks 27-14 run to cut the lead in half.

However, Holmes hit two consecutive baskets and Dominique Archie two free throws to restore control.

Jacksonville State, also in its first game with a new coach in James Green, was led by Brandon Crawford’s 28 points.