The No. 1 seeded Florida Gators got the job done against 16th seeded Norfolk State, 95-69, to advance to the Round of 32 in the men's basketball NCAA tournament.
The Gators did not trail once the whole game.
Florida All-American guard Walter Clayton Jr. Was hot offensively to start the game, hitting four threes in the first half. He also got an and-1 three to get a four point play in the first half.
Gators center Reuben Chinyelu was also huge in the beginning minutes, using his size and strength to dominate the Spartans in the paint.
The Gators reached a 32-point lead at one point, but a late surge from Norfolk State brought their deficit down to nearly 20 at the half. They went on an 11-0 run to end the first half. Florida head coach Todd Golden said his team was not fazed.
He said, “They’re very well coached. Coach Jones does a great job continuing to motivate and keeping them engaged in the game. They got a little life. They had an 11-0 run and you know I thought they did a good job taking advantage of that. I’m not necessarily concerned moving forward.“
Coming out of the half, Gators Forward Alex Condon’s patience at the rim earned him and-1 to get the team back on track. Minutes later, he gets an insane block at the rim to electrify the crowd.
Shortly after, Walter Clayton Jr. knocked down a pair of free throws to reach 2,000 career points. Clayton attributes this milestone to his teammates and coaches that have supported him throughout his collegiate career.
He says, “I think I’m blessed just to be on multiple teams with a bunch of guys that love each other. A bunch of guys that just trust me to shoot the ball. So, honestly I just thank all my teammates for instilling trust in me, you know without them. And even my coaches, without all they trust I wouldn’t be able to score any points.”
Halfway through the second half, guard Alijah Martin get to the rim for a thunderous dunk. Isaiah Brown checks in for the gators and also gets a huge dunk to put the exclamation mark on the night.
Florida moves on to the second round of the tournament and will face the UConn Huskies on Sunday.