Florida basketball score, takeaways: No. 3 Gators rout No. 22 Mississippi State, lose Alex Condon early

Basketball

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Image Credit: UAA

A first-possession injury to sophomore forward Alex Condon put a damper on a rousing 81-68 victory Tuesday night as the No. 3 Florida Gators entered Starkville, Mississippi, shorthanded and left even worse for the wear after 40 minutes against the No. 22 Mississippi State Bulldogs.

Despite trailing at the break, Florida dominated at the onset of the second half and never looked back. However, there was no celebrating the win in the immediate aftermath of the contest given the Gators suffered a brutal blow just seconds after tip off. Luckily, the immediate news coming out of the contest appears to be leaning toward the positive side.

Let’s take a look at what went down with some Fastbreak Takeaways.

It was over when … Florida opened the second half with an explosive 17-0 run led by seven points from junior guard Denzel Aberdeen plus three straight 3-pointers during the scoring stretch. The Gators suddenly surged ahead by 16 points just 4:50 into the period as the Bulldogs struggled to find the bottom of the net or even hold onto the ball. It was all academic from there as UF used a subsequent 10-2 run — punctuated with an Aberdeen triple — to take a game-high 24-point lead with 7:11 to play.

First half focus: Shooting just 36.7% from the field, Florida also got dominated down low with Mississippi State opening advantages of 26-16 in rebounding and 18-8 scoring in the paint. The Gators rectified their softness inside over the latter 20 minutes but still wound up losing both categories despite ultimately winning with ease.

Important injury: Condon crumpled to the court just seconds into the game when he caught a pass awkwardly near the arc slipping with his lower leg bending forward toward his foot. He was almost immediately ruled out with a right ankle injury, and Florida head coach Todd Golden said after the game that X-rays are negative and Condon is dealing with a sprain. With a low-grade sprain, Condon should not miss more than 1-2 weeks depending on progress made in rehabilitation. The second-year standout has been an impactful every-game starter for UF this season averaging 11.0 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.5 blocks and nearly a steal per contest.

Severely shorthanded: Redshirt senior G Alijah Martin was already out of action continuing to deal with a hip pointer. It was thought that Martin would be back for the game, but he ultimately did not suit up for the Gators. That left Florida down two every-game starters for the entire contest, yet it still went on the road and won by double digits against a fellow top 25 team.

Exceptional efforts: Aberdeen matched a career-high with 20 points on 7 of 11 shooting by hitting 3 of 7 attempts from beyond the arc. Senior guard Walter Clayton Jr. was tremendous posting 19 points on 4 of 12 shooting from long range with 6 assists and 5 rebounds. Sophomore F Thomas Haugh was excruciatingly close to the third triple-double in program history with 16 points, 9 boards and 8 assists.

Odds & ends: Florida improved to 69-53 all-time against Mississippi State with a 25-36 mark on the road … the Gators under Golden improved to 56-5 when leading with 5 minutes left, 41-8 when shooting 45% or better from the field, 54-7 when outshooting an opponent, 49-8 when outshooting an opponent from 3-point range and 35-14 when forcing more turnovers … Florida under Golden picked up rare wins when trailing at halftime (12-20) and getting outrebounded (19-23) … Clayton extended his program record with a made 3-pointer in his 46th consecutive game … UF made its hay scoring 20 points off 15 MSU turnovers whereas it got beaten in paint scoring (26-30), bench scoring (22-30), second-chance points (9-11) and fastbreak points 11-12)

What it means: Down two starters in a trap game on the road against a top 25 team, Florida can only be judged as having exceeded expectations on Tuesday night. Condon appearing to be not seriously injured is even more important given he has been such a crucial piece for the Gators while continuing to mature and hone his craft over the latter half of the season. UF now has a 4-3 record in Quadrant 1 games with a perfect 17-0 mark in the remaining quadrants. Florida also has the nation’s best win this season beating No. 1 Auburn on the road by nine points over the weekend. Its NCAA Tournament resume is incredibly strong, and a top seed in March Madness is absolutely a possibility at this juncture.

What’s next? The Gators get a bit of a breather from ranked competition and road contests with a two-game homestand upcoming. Florida will first host South Carolina on Saturday with an 8:30 p.m. ET tip off set or SEC Network.