GAINESVILLE, FLA. ? The ugly orange shoes. The sweaty white headband. The scraggly little goatee.

Clearly, it was hoops, not fashion, on the mind of Florida freshman Matt Walsh on Tuesday night.

Bringing a brand new look to the O’Connell Center, Walsh burst onto the college basketball scene with 26 points to lead the eighth-ranked Gators to a 76-55 victory over Louisiana Tech in the opening round of the Preseason NIT.

The 6-foot-6 forward from Holland, Pa. also had five assists, three rebounds and four steals and took little time in establishing himself as one of the top freshmen to watch this season.

“I never expected to have a game like this,” Walsh admitted.

He did, and coach Billy Donovan improved to 7-0 in openers with the Gators. They will host Eastern Illinois in the second round of the NIT on Thursday, with the winner heading to New York for the semifinals on Nov. 27.

Freshman guard Anthony Roberson – the most ballyhooed of Donovan’s latest recruiting class ” opened his career with 13 points and two assists.

But the night really belonged to Walsh. His 26-point game rivaled early season performances of top freshmen Rashad McCants of North Carolina (28 points) and Carmelo Anthony of Syracuse (27).

Walsh made two three-pointers and no fewer than three dunks. He dived for loose balls and had an early candidate for pass of the year when he zinged a left-handed, no-look pass across his body to Matt Bonner for an easy layup in the second half.

“I just saw him at the last second, and decided to throw it,” Walsh explained. “It probably would have been kind of bad if I turned it over.”

Florida's David Lee (24) moves past Louisiana Tech's Zach Johnson during their Preseason NIT game. The eighth-ranked Gators won, 76-55, Tuesday in Gainesville, Fla.

The only one not laughing at that crack was Donovan, who now embarks on the mission of trying to make sure the resounding early success won’t go to this freshman’s head.

“I’m happy for him, but the season’s not ending,” Donovan said. “Eastern Illinois, on Thursday, is going to have him on the scouting report.”

Louisiana Tech sure didn’t.

Playing without senior guard Brett Nelson (foot), junior forward Bonell Colas (groin) and freshman Christian Drejer of Denmark (ankle), it was obvious the Gators would have to depend on their freshmen.

Still, Bulldogs coach Keith Richard said there was only so much information he could gather on Walsh, who played in only one exhibition game.

“I knew his name, I knew he had done some good things in the exhibition game,” Richard said. “But what an outstanding player for a freshman. Wow.”

Bonner was one of the two healthy remaining seniors, and he scored only four points. Donovan said there was nothing physically wrong with Bonner.

“I don’t know if he was 100 percent mentally, for whatever reason,” Donovan said.

It barely mattered on this night. Sophomore David Lee had 10 rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots, while senior Justin Hamilton finished with 21 points. Hamilton said he wasn’t surprised with the games Walsh and Roberson had.

“I see it every day in practice,” Hamilton said.

While the Gators are relying on youth, Louisiana Tech offered a rarely seen sight these days in college basketball – a starting lineup with five seniors. But experience wasn’t enough.

Louisiana Tech kept the game close for about 15 minutes, then Lee, Walsh and Hamilton combined for an 11-2 run to give the Gators a 40-26 halftime lead.