Florida Routs Southern Illinois 93-68 To Stay Undefeated

There is no slowing down the No. 21 Florida Gators men’s basketball team at the moment after Friday’s dominant showing.

The Gators (6-0) stayed undefeated as the Southern Illinois Salukis came to the O’Connell Center

Behind 32 points and eight 3-pointers from Alijah Martin, the Gators ran away with the game to put down the Salukis 93-68.

6-0.#GoGators | Presented by @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/1LZeclEqNa

— Florida Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) November 23, 2024

Starting Fast

The game started with a sign of things to come when Martin drained a 3 to give the Gators a lead they would hold the entire game. Florida quickly jumped out in front 7-0.

Southern Illinois (2-3) responded with several second-chance points and were able to stay competitive, holding Florida to a 14-11 lead.

However, leading 19-15, the Gators pulled away with a 16-0 run that set them apart from the Salukis for good. The run was punctuated by an emphatic alley-oop dunk by Alex Condon.

CONDO. HOW. 🤯!!!!#GoGators | 📺SECN pic.twitter.com/pJIZ3rlYoa

— Florida Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) November 23, 2024

As the first half came to a close, the Gators jumped even further with Thomas Haugh’s 13 first-half points. Florida went into the break with a 46-25 lead.

Keeping Distance

Martin also had 13 points in the first half, but would make his mark in the second.

Although Southern Illinois cut the lead to 16 early on, the second half was all Gators.

Martin had his best moment as a Gator when he scored three consecutive long balls. The third jumper was taken from the Gator logo and forced a timeout from Southern Illinois.

The Gators’ lead went up to as much as 30 in the second half, running away with the game with a flurry of 3-pointers.

alijah martin.

will -> alijah for another triple
🔸8 threes is a new career high pic.twitter.com/WZt9PQL9Ka

— Florida Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) November 23, 2024

Martin, the fifth-year transfer from Florida Atlantic, ended the game with a career high in 3-pointers made (8 of 13) and two points off of his career high of 34. He tied Jason Williams (vs. Auburn in 1998) and KeVaughn Allen (vs. Texas A&M in 2019) for most made 3s in a game at the O’Connell Center.

The Gators sit at 6-0 for the first time since 2021.

Next Up

Florida heads to Kissimmee for the ESPN Events Invitational at Wide World of Sports to take  on Wake Forest (5-1) on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. Depending on the outcome, UF will face either Minnesota (4-1) or Wichita State (4-0) in the second game Friday.

Southern Illinois stays on the road to face Louisiana Tech on Monday at 3 p.m.