Takeaways from Florida's 80-45 win over Merrimack

Story by Brooke Bastedo

Days after receiving their national championship rings, the Friday night crowd of 10,935 at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center received replica rings as the No. 10 Florida Gators won their 10th straight game at home with a 80-45 blowout victory against Merrimack.

UF was led by double-double performances from juniors Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu, who set a school record. Redshirt freshman center Olivier Rioux also made history.

“I thought our guys were on point, playing the right way, sharing the ball. We rebounded very well,” Florida coach Todd Golden said of his team, which posted a 53-25 rebounding advantage. “We took care of the ball for the most part and made our free throws.

“And we stepped up, guarded them really well. I think our defense should be our identity most nights. I thought we did a good job that way, and I’m proud of the systematic effort our guys displayed this evening.” 

Rueben rebounds his way to history

Starting bigs Condon and Chinyelu held down the frontcourt in the absence of senior center Micah Handlogten, who sat out against the Warriors after taking an elbow to the chin against Miami. Handlogten led the team in rebounds through first two games.

Chinyelu filled the void Friday, posting a UF shot-clock era record 21 rebounds and 14 points along with Condon’s 20 points and 10 rebounds. Chinyelu became Florida’s first men’s basketball player to record 21 rebounds in a single game since Eugene McDowell against Georgia in 1982.

“Rueben’s obviously kind of found his form. He’s playing elite basketball right now,” Golden said. “To go in there and grab 21 rebounds just says a lot about his effort and his enthusiasm, and his enjoying competing.”

Chinyelu and McDowell are the only Gators since 1970 to post 21 rebounds. He also became Florida’s first player to post three straight double-doubles since Tyrese Samuel in 2023.

“It felt good out there,” Chinyelu said. “We just tried to play on their weakness.”

Condon leads Florida Gators in scoring

In 2023, Condon recorded his first career double-double against Merrimack. He posted his second-straight double-double Friday and third of the season.

It also marked the fourth 20-point game of his career and Thomas Haugh added 13 points.

“Condo and Tommy did a really good job keeping us organized in the middle of the zone,” Golden said. “We felt like if we could get them the ball in advantage-disadvantage situations there and let them kind of read the opportunities, that that would be our best bet to attack it, and it worked out well for us.”

The Gators faced some setbacks at the line last year and had similar challenges early this season, shooting 66% in their first four games and less than 70% in each one.

Condon averaged 60% from the line as a sophomore — down from 67.3 his freshman year — but the Australian has increased his accuracy to 73.3% so far this season.

“I think I’m doing better,” said Condon, who was 4-for-5 on Friday. “I’m just trying to be more consistent every day with how I approach the game, and it translates onto the court.” 

Florida made nearly 80% of its foul shots (78.3%) against Merrimack, with sophomore guard Boogie Fland shooting a perfect 4-for-4.

Guards contribute off the bench

Fland also finished in double figures Friday, scoring 10 points and shooting 2-for-3 from 3-point range. Sophomore guard Isaiah Brown and junior guard Urban Klavzar contributed off the bench as well.

The Gators have struggled beyond the arc since the beginning of the season, but Fland, Brown and Klavzar all hit a pair of 3s and the team shot 8-for-22 from downtown (36.4%) against the Warriors.

Freshman guards CJ Ingram and Alex Lloyd also made their mark in the second half. Ingram hit his first 3-point attempt, giving the Gators a 30-point lead. Then, Lloyd achieved the same feat and drained his lone shot from beyond the arc. 

“Alex is obviously a really talented scorer. He threw it in a 3. I thought he played a good floor game, grabbed two rebounds,” Golden said. “CJ I thought showed some good flashes, hit the 3, got to the line, made his free throws. And he just pops up there.”

Despite 22 minutes on the court and a position in the starting lineup, senior guard Xavian Lee was scoreless for the duration of the game. He went 0-6 from the field and missed four 3-pointers. 

“We’re gonna keep allowing him to kind of find himself in that sense,” Golden said of Lee. “I’m sure he’s beating himself up a little bit, but it’s my job to make sure he’s focusing on the right stuff.”

The Gators rotated in five guards and two centers from the bench. These players contributed 23 points and 12 rebounds.

Biggest man makes history

Rioux made history against Merrimack, becoming the tallest player in NCAA history to record points in a Division 1 basketball game. Rioux stands at 7-foot-9 and made his collegiate debut earlier this season against UNF. 

“I thought he did a good job getting to the foul line, really proud that he made one,” Golden said. “He did the best he could do in those minutes.”

He was fouled under the net with 1:24 remaining in the game before being fouled once again during the rebound. While shooting the 1-and-1, Rioux scored his first point and causing pandemonium in the arena.

“It was really fun,” Chinyelu said of watching his teammate late.

The Gators limited themselves to 12 turnovers, which is nearly four less than their previous season average of 15.8 per game. They return to the court on Nov. 27 against the TCU Horned Frogs in San Diego.