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The No. 3 Florida Gators basketball team faced an uphill battle in a road matchup against the Mississippi State Bulldogs without UF senior guard Alijah Martin, who suffered a hip injury Feb. 4 against Vanderbilt.
Thirty seconds into the matchup, the Gators’ challenge became exponentially more difficult.
Florida center Alex Condon leaped to grab a pass at the top left wing. Condon landed on the foot of Mississippi State forward RJ Melendez and injured his lower leg. He was helped off the court and never returned to the matchup.
Despite being without two of its starters, Florida (21-3, 8-3 SEC) cruised past the Mississippi State Bulldogs (17-7, 5-6 SEC) 81-68 due to a dominant second half
Inside the Gators’ Instant Analysis takes a quick look at how the game unfolded.
IT WAS OVER WHEN: The Gators trailed 34-33 entering halftime after struggling to take advantage of the rebound battle without Condon. Florida had 10 fewer rebounds and shot just 37% from the field, failing to get many of the open looks down low and second-chance points i’t’s used to.
However, the Gators’ offense began the second half looking significantly more refined on both ends of the court and dominated offensively.
Florida went on a 17-0 run and didn’t let up a single point until five minutes into the half.
THEY STOLE THE SHOW: Gators forward Thomas Haugh had a fantastic night as one of the primary focal points for Florida’s offense.
Haugh put up a near triple double and finished with 16 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists.
THESE STATS DON’T LIE: Condon is unquestionably one of the best centers in college basketball. The Perth, Australian, native averages 11 points, 8.1 rebounds and nearly 3 assists a game.
Condon has won SEC Player of the Week twice this season, a feat that has been achieved just seven times before in program history.
He is a large reason why the Gators are so dominant on the boards and offensively — two metrics they are both within the top-10 in.
THIS MATCHUP PROVED KEY: Mississippi State is one of the worst three-point shooting and defending teams in the SEC.
It was evident Florida’s plan of attack was to take advantage of the Bulldogs’ lackluster perimeter defense. The Gators’ backcourt landed 14 triples on 39% shooting, whereas Mississippi State shot just 26% from beyond the arc.
WHAT A PLAY: Florida guard Denzel Aberdeen finished the contest with 20 points and three threes, hitting one of them to begin the Gators’ dominant second-half run.
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