#13 Florida 87, Virginia 69
SEC-ACC Challenge
Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center | Gainesville, Fla.
Box Score<https://floridagators.com/documents/2024/12/4/2529497.PDF> | Season Stats<https://floridagators.com/documents/2024/11/15/2024-25_UFstats.pdf> | Courtesy Photos & Press Conferences<https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/rb8ojhaf9ygpi6d0k3c9e/ANF6-ow4Wppu1j1zjAsnMXA?rlkey=g1esu5ww8r31yd8dyekcik5iw&st=3b1ht5u5&dl=0>
Records: Florida 9-0; Virginia 5-3
Next Up: Saturday, Dec. 14, 3:30 p.m., vs. Arizona State (at Atlanta; Holiday Hoopsgiving), SEC Network
Notable
* Walter Clayton Jr.’s 27 points led Florida to its ninth straight win to open the season, as the Gators got double figures from Alex Condon (19), Alijah Martin (16) and Denzel Aberdeen (12).
* The Gators led by four at halftime, but Clayton scored 18 and Condon 15 in the second half to push Florida to victory.
* Virginia built an early nine-point lead, 18-9, but the Gators chipped away and a 15-0 first-half run gave Florida a nine-point lead. Virginia crept back within one early in the second half, but UF never relinquished the lead.
* The Gators improve to 3-0 against the ACC this season.
* Clayton has three 25-point+ games this season, and he matched a season high with five 3-pointers.
* Clayton has made five 3-pointers in back-to-back games, the first Gator to do so since Will Richard on Dec. 22 and 30, 2023, vs. Grambling and Quinnipiac.
* Clayton has hit a 3-pointer in 32 straight games, the fifth-longest streak in UF history and the longest since Michael Frazier’s record 41-game streak (Jan. 2014-Jan. 2015).
* The Gators shot 10-for-25 from 3-point range, and UF has made double-digit 3s in five of the last six games.
* Denzel Aberdeen scored 10 of his season-high 12 points in the first half and finished 4-for-5 from the field and hitting both 3-point attempts.
* Florida enjoyed a 20-4 edge in points off turnovers, forcing 15 turnovers while committing just six. The Gators forced three shot clock violations by Virginia.
* Clayton and Haugh both converted a pair of and-1 opportunities, including a 4-point play by Clayton. It was UF’s first 4-point play of the season and Clayton’s second as a Gator (3/16/24 vs. Texas A&M).
* Florida has its third 9-0 start in program history, previously starting 17-0 in 2005-06 and 10-0 in 1951-52. All nine wins this season have been by a margin of at least 13 points and a +21.6 margin on average.
* Will Richard nabbed a pair of steals and now has 83 as a Gator, breaking UF’s career transfer record of 81 previously held by Dorian Finney-Smith (2013-16).
* Florida improved to 5-0 at home this season and owns a 13-game home winning streak.
Head Coach Todd Golden
Opening statement…
“I’m proud of our program, proud of our guys. To be 9-0 is hard to do. I thought the first five or six minutes of the game we weren’t playing as well as we needed to. I didn’t think we guarded with enough urgency on the perimeter. I didn’t think we rebounded well enough, and it led to us to have a nine-point deficit early, but from that point forward, obviously outscored them by 27. It’s really hard to do and I thought we kicked it up a gear — started guarding better, getting clean rebounds and getting out in transition. I thought Denzel [Aberdeen] and Sam [Alexis] were huge for us in the first half. I thought they gave us a big lift off the bench and allowed us to get a little momentum in the game, and obviously some really good individual performances. I thought Walt [Clayton Jr.] was fantastic, makes me a much better coach when he plays like he does tonight. I though Condo [Alex Condon] was really, really efficient and effective down on the block and against a team that’s a really good two-point fielding percentage defense. So multiple good performances, proud of our guys performance through nine games and we’re excited and looking forward to getting a few days off here before going to Atlanta and playing Arizona State.”
On Denzel Aberdeen coming into his own in year three…
“He’s just growing up, getting better and the natural progression of a young guy coming into a Division I [program] and sticking with it. We talked about it a lot, his willingness to stay a part of the program without being promised certain things was something that we were really excited about. Everyone saw at the end of last year what he was capable of, and the fact that he’s been able to do it more consistently has allowed our team to be better. Again, I thought he provided a huge lift in the first half, obviously offensively but also on the defensive end. I look at that steal he got in the backcourt where he kind of picked the guy and went up for a dunk, that was a huge momentum play. Hit two big threes. Earned every minute that he got tonight.”
On the defensive uptick turning into offensive explosion…
“One of the really good qualities of our team is our spurt-ability, in our ability to go on big runs. In the Wichita game I think we went on a 27-0 run, tonight I think it was 15-0 in the first half. I think we’ve had a double-digit to O [zero] run in pretty much every one of our games so far to this point, and I think it speaks to the depth of our team. I think it speaks to the efficiency of the way we play offense and the way we’ve been better on the defensive end. We weren’t great overall defensively tonight. I thought our rebounding was poor compared to how it’s been over the last couple of weeks, but when we get going and we’re able to put a couple of stops together and get clean rebounds we’re really, really hard to guard in transition. And again, Walt, Alijah [Martin], Will [Richard], our perimeter pushing the ball up the floor and our bigs running to get easy lay-ups and dunks, we have the ability to do that to teams.”
Junior G Denzel Aberdeen
On what was working for him to help the team to go on the 15-0 first-half run…
“Just being able to be ready to shoot. You know, my teammates found me in the right spots and just defend and trying to pick up pace, trying to get the crowd going. Just the preparation before the game and stuff really help me to be in this game and play well.”
On starting 9-0 and the confidence it gives the team…
“We’ve done a good preparing each and every day for each game. All the walk-throughs we’ve had and just coming together and talking as a team, what we’ve got to do to win each game, it’s been very good. We’ve been locked in, so I think it is a very good start. We’ve got to keep it going and just take it one game at a time.”
Senior G Walter Clayton Jr.
On how he shook off a couple early misses…
“Just keep shooting. You know, all of them aren’t going to go in. My teammates kept on telling me keep shooting and they kept finding me, so that’s what I’m going to do.”
On the message in the timeout after falling behind 13-4 early…
“Just to play harder, you know what I’m saying? We came out a little sluggish today and we weren’t playing hard, so that was the message that coach gave us, just play harder.”
Sophomore F Alex Condon
On where he has seen the most growth in his game since last year…
“I think my outside game and just being more confident, taking the ball from side-to-side. It’s like a big part of our offense. We run through our fours, so being versatile, getting the balls to these little guys, that’s what I try to do the best.”
