No. 20 Florida vs Grambling State Game Thread

[Mark Wheeler]

No. 20 Florida plays Grambling State tonight at 7:00 p.m. in the O'Dome in a game being played on The SEC Network Plus.

Luke Adragna will be courtside providing live updates and observations.

LIVE STATS

 

[Mark Wheeler]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1855963169090306137

 

[Mark Wheeler]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1856117251163709454

 

[Go Gators TJ]

Coach is innocent until proven guilty but it's going to be hard to watch us get off to a hot start and he gets fired in the middle of it.

 

[Mark Wheeler]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1856123785889624098

 

[Luke Adragna]

I didn't hear a single boo during Todd Golden's introduction. If anything, the cheers sounded just as loud as they did for some of the fan favorite players (Clayton/Condon).

 

[Luke Adragna]

The crowd is also quite rowdy today despite it being a Monday night.

 

[Mark Wheeler]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1856128636916527280

 

[Luke Adragna]

H1 - 11:52 | Timeout

UF 19
GRA 10

Florida has taken nine shots from beyond the arc and landed just three of them. Clayton is 1-4 and all of his shot attempts have been threes.

 

[Luke Adragna]

Denzel Aberdeen just tried catching another body and missed horribly. Questionable decision.

 

[Luke Adragna]

Florida needs to keep going to Alex Condon in the paint. The mismatch is extremely evident, and Ross can't hold his own when Condon is backing up in the paint.

 

[Luke Adragna]

H1 - 6:40

UF 30
GRA 18

The Gators have done such a good job of drawing contact. They're in the bonus and capitalizing off their FT attempts (7-9).

 

[Luke Adragna]

Todd Golden was livid a foul wasn't called on Alijah Martin's dunk attempt. The defender left his feet, and it looked like Martin literally levitated. His head was nearly at the rim.

Also, Martin plays so hard for his team. We're only three games into the season, and it looks like he's playing for a national title.

 

[Luke Adragna]

HALF:

UF 43
GRA 28

Florida is playing with tenacity. UF has out-rebounded the Tigers 25-10. Additionally, the Gators have forced nine turnovers and have 12 second chance points.

Alijah Martin has been a catalyst on both ends of the court. He has 7 PTS, 5 REB and 2 AST.

 

[Mark Wheeler]

At the half No. 20 Florida holds the lead over Grambling State.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1856138205973672007

 

[Luke Adragna]

Some halftime observations:

- Alijah Martin has been playing his heart out. He stuffs the lanes, works around screens and is a dog on both ends of the court. He has the exact toughness on both ends of the court that Golden sought after last season.
- The rebounding has been superb today. Florida is out rebounding GSU 25-10. It has 12 second chance points and nine forced turnovers.
- The three point shooting is still a work in progress. UF struggled early on beyond the arc and ended the half 5-13. Catch-and-shoot threes are hitting for them, but not much besides that.

 

[Luke Adragna]

H2 - 5:26 | Timeout

UF 73
GRA 45

Florida converts a pair of vicious dunks by Will Richard and Rueben Chinyelu and are up by nearly 30. The defense has looked fantastic today for UF.

 

[Luke Adragna]

Alex Condon looks great in the paint at times. He just had a nice spin move to get around and over a defender for an easy layup.

 

[Mark Wheeler]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1856150307933433999

 

[Mark Wheeler]

No. 20 Florida improved to 3-0 on the season with a 86-61 win over Grambling State. Five Gators scored in double digits, led by Rueben Chinyelu's 14 points.