Florida basketball starts the season with a 2-0 win over Jacksonville

Florida Basketball defeated Jacksonville 81-60 in their home game on Thursday night.

Although they won by more than 20 points, the victory was much sloppier than Florida’s season-opening win over South Florida on Monday. The two-headed monster of Walter Clayton Jr. and Will Richard combined for just 20 points on 9-for-20 shooting after scoring more than 50 points three days ago.

The good news is that two more starters, Alex Condon and Alijah Martin, have picked up the slack and taken over the offense.

Jacksonville lasted much longer in this game than it should have, which is a sign that Todd Golden’s team still has a lot of work to do on defense. Still, a win is a win, and the Gators enter the weekend at 2-0.

Career night for Condo

Alex Condon made a career-high 7 of 7 shots from the field, including two three-pointers. He got to the finish line often, but only made seven of his twelve attempts. Most tall men strive for 70% height, and Condon has a certain feel for a 6-foot-5 man.

Despite the strip’s poor performance, Condon was dominant offensively. Securing just one rebound on the night is another red flag, but it’s still early in the season. However, Condon added two blocks and two assists to pad his stat sheet.

It’s not the most complete performance from Condon we’ll see this year, but it’s very good to know that he can play without fouling – he committed zero after getting into early foul trouble on Monday – and can score, when others don’t.

Closing time for Clayton?

Speaking of players who didn’t score as many goals as expected, Walter Clayton Jr. was unusually quiet on the field for a man considered Florida’s leading scorer. Calyton only fired eight shots, five of which came from deep. After sinking an early three-pointer, Clayton went cold, leading to a nine-point score.

He hit a nice poster dunk in the final minutes of the game that provided the climax, but Florida will be at their best when he scores. Still, it’s possible that Clayton was focused on distributing the ball tonight. He finished the night with seven assists and just one turnover.

Looking at the bigger picture, it wasn’t a really bad night, but it’s not the style of play we’re used to from Clayton.

Sam Alexis from the bench

After just two games with Florida, Sam Alexis appears to be an X-factor for the Gators. He has a bad habit of making ill-advised shots from deep, but his follow-up and rebounding skills more than make up for it.

It’s hard to see him moving into the starting lineup when Condon is the star upfront and Rueben Chinyelu plays the big man role, but the latter has only played 35 minutes in two games. This gives Alexis and Thomas Haugh enough time to take turns getting in and out with him.

Alexis finished the night with 10 points on 4 of 7 shooting (0-2 from deep) and seven rebounds (two offensive boards). He also stopped four shots in just 15 minutes on the court. That kind of efficiency on defense and along the boards will buy him more time in the rotation.

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