Image Credit: UAA
The friendly confines of the Stephen C. O’Connell Center had the No. 3 Florida Gators back to their winning ways Thursday night. Fresh off its first loss since February, Florida won a 104-64 rout over the North Florida Ospreys in the Gators’ first home game of the 2025-26 season.
Even with the 2024-25 national championship banner unveiled before tip-off, the game disappointingly only drew a crowd that may not have reached half the O’Dome’s capacity. Still, the Gators played like the stands were full, grabbing momentum early and never letting go on the way to the first win of the campaign.
Let’s take a look at what went down with some Fastbreak Takeaways from the game.
It was over when … the Gators erupted on a 27-3 run to jump ahead of the Ospreays by 23 points with 26:38 of clock remaining in the contest. Florida trailed four-plus minutes into the game but never came close to falling behind again, leading by 25 at the break.
Four straight points from freshman guard CJ Ingram pushed the Gators ahead 29 early in the second half. Seven points from redshirt senior center Micah Handlogten and a 3-pointer from senior G Xaivian Lee led a 13-0 run that raised the lead to 39 points in the waning minutes. UF eventually went ahead 41 points inside the final minutes before giving up a free throw.
Exceptional efforts: As was the case with the team as a whole, junior forward/center Alex Condon bounced back from a rough initial outing. Condon, one of the most hyped players in the nation this preseason, finished with a double-double, including a game-high 25 points on 8 of 12 shooting and 10 rebounds. He also dished four assists, blocked three shots and finished 9 of 10 from the free-throw line.
Four other players — Lee, Handlogten, junior F Thomas Haugh and sophomore G Boogie Fland — finished in double figures. Handlogten led the group with a double-double of 17 points and 13 rebounds; he has hit 12 of 14 shot attempts to begin the season. Lee started ice cold from long range but hit two triples in the second half to finish with 10 points, which Fland matched despite going 0 of 3 from deep. Haugh filled up the box score, as per usual, with 12 points, 8 boards and 4 dimes.
History is made: Redshirt freshman C Olivier Rioux checked into the game late in the second half, officially becoming the tallest player in college basketball history. The 7-foot-9 Rioux is the world’s tallest teenager. He took a developmental redshirt season as a true freshman.
Odds & ends: Florida improved to 12-0 all-time against North Florida … the Gators won their 35th straight home opener after breaking a streak of six straight wins in season openers on Tuesday … Florida’s No. 3 ranking in the Preseason AP Top 25 was its highest since 2007; it will likely be knocked down next Monday given its 1-1 record …
Sophomore G Isaiah Brown registered 9 points and 9 rebounds, and while he only hit 4 of 11 shots, his 11 minutes were a career-high … the Gators absolutely dominated the Ospreys with massive edges in rebounding (64-24, 29-7 offensive), second-chance points (40-11), points in the paint (66-22), fastbreak points (28-11), points off turnovers (23-13) and assists (21-2) … UF has started this season a paltry 38 of 58 from the line (.655)
What it means: Nothing. The Gators took care of business. This was a get-right outing for a team that needed a reminder of its potential dominance after getting outplayed for three quarters of the Arizona game. Condon playing well was a nice development, but it means little against an undersized UNF team that he should dominate. Ultimately, this was not much more than a tape game for UF, which will be able to review its film from the first two games in preparation for its second Power Four showdown of the season.
What’s next? Remaining home for the second straight game, Florida will host rival Florida State on Tuesday. The game will air live at 7 p.m. ET on SEC Network. The Gators have won four straight meetings after in the series after losing seven in a row from 2014-20.
This one is for the ladies: Florida dominated its second straight game to open the season, winning 94-52 over Chattanooga. The Gators were again blistering on both ends with sophomore point guard Liv McGill registering arguably the greatest single-game performance in program history. McGill posted a career-high 38 points on 6 of 11 shooting from long range with 10 assists, 8 rebounds and 7 steals. She was similarly dominant in the season opener, giving her an astounding two-game total to start the season of 64 points, 17 rebounds, 19 assists and 12 steals.
