Florida (21-3 straight up, 17-7 against the spread) was already down a starter last night at Mississippi St., as guard Alijah Martin was unable to go for a second straight game due to a hip pointer. Then power forward Alex Condon, the reigning SEC Player of the Week, sprained his ankle in the opening minute at The Hump in Starkville.
No Martin or Condon? No problem!
Todd Golden’s team started the second half with a 17-0 run, built the lead up to as many as 24 points (72-48 with seven minutes remaining) and coasted to an 81-68 win as a 2.5-point road underdog. The 149 combined points dropped ‘under’ the 155-point total.
The ‘under’ improved to 14-9-1 overall for UF. The Bulldogs saw their 3-0 and 6-2 runs to the ‘over’ ended.
Playing a career-high 36 minutes with Condon sidelined, Thomas Haugh produced a stat-stuffing performance with 16 points, nine rebounds, eight assists, two steals and two blocked shots. In his third straight start, Denzel Aberdeen scored a game-high 20 points on 7-of-12 makes from the field. He added four rebounds, two steals and a pair of assists without committing a turnover.
Walter Clayton finished with 19 points, six boards, one steal and six assists compared to only one turnover. Will Richard drained 3-of-6 attempts from downtown in a 10-point effort, while Rueben Chinyelu added 10 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots.
Most important, Florida got great news after the game. X-rays on Condon’s ankle were negative, as he was diagnosed with a sprain.
No timetable has been given for his return, but you have to imagine that he’ll be out of action for 2-3 weeks. In other Condon news, ESPN’s latest 2025 NBA mock draft was released this morning, with Condon going to the Atlanta Hawks (via the L.A. Lakers’ pick) with the #26 overall pick in the first round.
According to ESPN’s bracket guru Joe Lunardi, he moved the Gators to a #1 seed in his latest ‘Bracketology’ report. Tennessee had been on the #1 seed line, but the Volunteers lost at Kentucky last night to drop to a #2 seed.
UF also moved up to #4 from #5 in both the NET rankings and at KenPom. The Gators are hoping they’ll have Martin back when they host South Carolina on Saturday in Gainesville.