Florida vs. Florida State score, takeaways: No. 20 Gators storm to victory as Walter Clayton Jr. stars

Basketball

0

Image Credit: UAA

No. 20 Florida Gators basketball was tested for the first time this season on Friday night as it faced its first power-conference opponent of the 2024-25 campaign. Leading by as many as 18 points in the opening half, Florida’s advantage dropped to single digits in the latter frame before the Gators pulled away in the waining minutes to pick up a decisive 87-74 win over the Florida State Seminoles.

UF has now won four straight in the series against FSU — reigning in those games by an average of 14.8 points — with head coach Todd Golden holding a 3-0 record in the rivalry since taking over the Gators. He is the first Florida coach to reach that achievement since Tommy Bartlett in 1966-68.

Let’s take a look at what went down at the Donald L. Tucker Center in Tallahassee, Florida.

It was over when … redshirt senior guard Alijah Martin and senior point guard Walter Clayton Jr. drained consecutive 3-pointers inside a 40-second stretch to push the Gators ahead by 12 points with less than a minute remaining in the game. Martin’s was a buzzer-beater at the end of the shot clock with two defenders in his face. Those triples were part of a 10-0 run that took UF’s lead from four to 14 points in the span of 2 minutes.

Florida led by as many as 15 points with 8 minutes left only for Florida State to come storming back — mostly due to Gators turnovers and fouls. The Seminoles went on a 10-2 run over 90 seconds to cut their deficit to four as the visitors struggled making shots and protecting the basketball.

First half focus: Florida used an extended 27-8 scoring stretch, including six 3-pointers, to jump ahead by 18 points with less than 6 minutes to play in the period. However, the Gators got away from the ball movement and ball protection that built their lead giving up 10 turnovers in half and failing to register an assist over the final 7 minutes. That allowed the ‘Noles to cut their deficit to 13 points at the break.

Exceptional efforts: Clayton started hot and reignited in the final minutes of the contest after briefly cooling off. He finished with a game-high 25 points on 4 of 10 shooting from deep with 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Martin also shot well hitting 3 of 9 attempts from beyond the arc to finish with 17 points and 5 boards. Sophomore center Alex Condon struggled to put together a complete performance, but his 12 boards created numerous second-chance opportunities for a Gators team that capitalized on many of them. Junior forward Sam Alexis was efficient for a second straight 12-point scoring effort hitting 5 of 6 shots with 3 rebounds.

Odds & ends: Florida improved to 47-29 all-time against Florida State with a 20-14 record in Tallahassee and wins in four straight games (3-0 under Golden) … the Gators dominated the boards (47-29) and edged the ‘Noles in paint scoring (40-36) but struggled mightily with their ball protection committing 19 turnovers that FSU converted into 16 points, keeping the game unnecessarily close … Florida is now 34-9 under Golden when leading at halftime, 41-5 when leading with 5 minutes left, 31-6 when shooting 45% or better from the field, 32-9 when shooting the same or better as an opponent from 3-point range and 30-7 when outrebounding an opponent

What it means: The Gators overcame self-created adversity on the court. This game never should have been close with Florida holding an 18-point lead in the opening period, yet it took its collective eye off the ball in the second half and allowed Florida State to make a game of it simply by playing fundamental basketball. UF committed nearly twice the acceptable number of turnovers in a game and literally handed FSU opportunities on a silver platter throughout the contest. It will go down as a double-digit win for the Gators, but anyone who watched the game knows they have a lot of improvements to make.

Florida built its early lead with tremendous passing and shot making. The Gators notched 6 assists in the first 13 minutes of the game and only 6 more over the remaining 27 minutes.

Beyond that, freshman G Urban Klavžar, a three-year Slovenian professional player who was cleared by the NCAA this week, made his lone basket of the game in 5 minutes of first-half action.

What’s next? The competition level drops down a peg with Florida hosting Florida A&M on Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET in a game that will air exclusively on ESPN+. The Gators will not play another power opponent until Thanksgiving.

And the ladies? Florida wiped Chicago State from the face of the Earth on Tuesday night with a 104-35 win, the second-largest in program history at 69 points, to improve to 3-0. Freshman sensation Liv McGill had a game- and career-high 21 points in a dominant effort. (The Gators’ largest win came by 83 points over Mississippi College in 1976.) UF begins its power-conference schedule on Saturday against Miami with a noon tip on ESPN+.