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The last week of Florida men’s basketball has been nothing short of dramatic.
On Friday, UF head coach Todd Golden was accused of cyberstalking and sexual harassment in a report released by The Alligator. Despite the allegations, Golden coached the Gators’ matchup against Grambling State Monday night.
All distractions seemed to be out the window before the matchup even began. The crowd gave Golden a raucous cheer during his introduction, and Florida didn’t appear to be out of focus at all.
The No. 20 Florida Gators (3-0) took a commanding lead early on and defeated the Grambling State Tigers (1-2) 86-62 Monday night at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.
Inside the Gators’ Instant Analysis takes a quick look at how the game unfolded.
IT WAS OVER WHEN: The Gators converted a pair of transition dunks during the final six minutes of the second half. Florida guard Will Richard and center Rueben Chinyelu both finished at the rim, which began a 9-of-11 shooting streak to end the game.
Florida’s field goal efficiency was spotty at times, but the transition dunk began a run to close out the game.
THEY STOLE THE SHOW: Gators guard Alijah Martin’s stats might not stand out in the box score, but he was all over the court Monday night for Florida.
Martin finished the game with nine points, seven rebounds, three assists, and two steals. He was constantly stuffing passing lanes, working around screens, and contesting shooters at the rim.
Martin’s been a bruiser for Florida on both ends of the court. He’s had the exact toughness Golden sought after last season.
THESE STATS DON’T LIE: The Gators’ two-point shot efficiency in the second half was lackluster. There was a five-and-a-half minute stretch where Florida failed to land a single field goal and were 0-for-8.
Coming into the matchup, the Gators led the nation in two-point shot efficiency at 72.9%. On Monday, they finished the game at 45%.
However, Florida’s rebounding was phenomenal, which helped pick up its miserable shooting night. The Gators outrebounded the Tigers 45-24.
THIS MATCHUP PROVED KEY: Gators centers Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu were significant mismatches for the Tigers’ frontcourt.
Condon was repeatedly fed in the paint in the first half when matched up with 6-foot-9 center Ernest Ross. Any time he had the ball in his hands, he was able to back down Ross before either going up for a shot or passing out to an open shooter.
Because of this, Florida earned several attempts at the free throw line early on and finished the first half with 10 free throw makes on 13 attempts. Additionally, the Gators converted five of 13 three-point attempts.
Chinyelu and Condon finished the game with 14 points and 10 points, respectively.
WHAT A PLAY: Florida 2023 dunk contest champion Denzel Aberdeen had a vicious slam early on in the game.
Up 16-8 with 13:33 left in the first half, Aberdeen drove past three defenders and met the rim with a vicious right-hand dunk to extend Florida’s lead.
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