Ad Disclosure
Florida cruises to NCAA Tournament blowout of Norfolk State
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Florida entered March Madness with all the elite expectations that accompany a No. 1 seed. And those expectations were pushed even higher with the Gators a common pick among brackets to become the eventual national champion.
In fact, Florida leads the latest national championship odds at BetMGM, coming in at +300 and edging out Duke (+310) and Auburn (+425) for that honor. The Gators will have to roll through the West Region to make good on their odds to reach the Final Four, and they started that trip with a bang on Friday.
Facing 16-seed Norfolk State, Florida delivered one of the most dominant halves of basketball you could ask for to start the game. At one point, Florida led by as many as 32 points but allowed the Spartans to score 11 straight points to end the first half.
While it appeared the Gators lost their focus after staking themselves to a massive lead, it was not enough to derail the evening. Florida rolled to a 95-69 win while making 10 3-pointers and finishing 48.3% from the floor.
The frontcourt for Florida dominated and overpowered Norfolk State all game long. The Gators finished with 21 offensive rebounds, a +13 margin in rebounding and 5 blocks.
Offensively, Walter Clayton Jr. led the team with an efficient 23 points on 11 shot attempts. Alijah Martin also added 17 points while Alex Condon and Thomas Haugh both reached double figures.
After the game, head coach Todd Golden admitted his team looked dominant across the first 15 minutes of the action. However, he was disappointed to see his squad let up a bit, something that will not be enough in subsequent rounds.
“We obviously played so well the first 15 minutes of the game, and then we just relaxed a little,” said Golden. “It’s disappointing… still really happy with the win. We’ve got to clean up a little though to get ready for Sunday.”
With the win, Florida will advance into the Round of 32 and will face the winner of UConn vs. Oklahoma. The Gators need one more win to punch their first trip to the Sweet 16 since 2017.
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
