Florida Gators forward Sam Alexis (4) dunks the ball against Mississippi State Bulldogs forward KeShawn Murphy (3) during the first half Tuesday at Humphrey Coliseum. [Wesley Hale-Imagn Images]

No. 3 Florida Men’s Basketball Resilient Without Condon, Martin In Road Win

Jesse Bratman February 12, 2025 College Basketball, Feature Sports News, Gators Men's Basketball, Gators Sports, NCAA, SEC 199 Views

No. 3 Florida took over Humphrey Coliseum on Tuesday in an 81-68 win against No. 22 Mississippi State, without two key starters in Alex Condon and Alijah Martin.

This was yet another historic game for the Gators (21-3, 8-3). This victory was the first time Florida has won back-to-back ranked road games in program history.

Condon, who is one of eight Gators to have multiple SEC player of the week honors, went down in the first 30 seconds of the game after rolling his ankle over the foot of RJ Melendez. He has been diagnosed with a low ankle sprain.

Martin was sidelined for the second straight game after sustaining a hip injury Feb. 4 against Vanderbilt.

The starters’ their absence proved not to be an issue against the Bulldogs (17-7, 5-6). Thomas Haugh and Denzel Aberdeen both played their best game of the season. Haugh was on triple-double watch in posting 16 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Aberdeen tied his career high with a game-high 20 points. Next man up mentality.

Second-Half Adjustments

After being down 34-33 after the first minutes of play, Florida came out of the locker room and played its best half of basketball of the year. The Gators started the half on a 17-0 run, going 6-of-9 from the field and 4-of-6 from 3.

The Gators were relentless on defense in the second half, forcing turnovers and getting transition buckets. They had zero transition points in the first half and finished the game with 20. Haugh was doing everything on both sides of the court in his roommate’s absence. He had two steals and two blocks in addition to his stellar offensive numbers. He had active hands on defense, poking the ball out of Bulldog bigs’ hands when they dribbled on the perimeter on pick and rolls.

First-Half Woes

Florida looked like two different teams from the first to second half. In the first half, the Gators gave no effort to get the ball in the post. Twenty of Florida’s 30 field-goal attempts came from the 3-point line. Walter Ckayton Jr. did everything to keep Florida in the game, posting 11 of his 19 points in the first 20 minutes.

The absence of Condon was really felt in the first half. As one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the country, the Gators got out offensive rebounded 8-2 in the first half, setting up easy Mississippi State second-chance layups. Sam Alexis really struggled to rebound with the same intensity that Condon brings. He only played two minutes in the second half.

Mississippi State center KeShawn Murphy had 18 points off the bench, shooting 8-of-14. The Bulldogs leading scorer Josh Hubbard finished with 19 points. In the first half, he only had seven points on 1-of-6 shooting, with five of his points from the free-throw line. The rest of his buckets came when the game was out of reach.

UF coach Todd Golden made an emphasis on Haugh and Rueben Chinyelu being involved offensively in the second half. Chinyelu took advantage of mismatches in the paint off of switches to drop eight of his 10 points in the second half.

When the Gators shoot 40% from 3 they are almost unbeatable. After going 6-of-20 in the first half, they finished the game 14-of-36 (38.9%). Haugh showed some confidence in his stroke, going 3-of-6 from 3. Will Richard posted the exact same stat line from beyond the arc, finishing with 10 points. Clayton had another standout performance, making a case for not only First-Team All SEC but the Wooden Award.

Aberdeen Vs. Kugel

Former SEC All-Freshman team guard Riley Kugel played against the Gators for the first time since he transferred. When he was in the game, he primarily guarded his high school teammate Aberdeen. It is safe to say Aberdeen got the best of Kugel. Aberdeen was aggressive from the jump in his third career start, not hesitating to drive to the rim or knock down an open 3. His 20 points more than doubled Kugel’s seven points, five of which came in garbage time.

Up Next

The Gators face South Carolina at the O-Dome (8:30 p.m. tip Saturday, SEC Network, 98.1-FM/850-AM WRUF). The Gamecocks (10-13, 0-10) are looking for their first SEC victory against 19th-ranked Ole Miss on Wednesday night. The last time they met the Gators, they lost 70-69 on a Richard last-second layup Jan. 22 in Columbia.

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