What We've Learned About Gators Basketball Through Two Games

A couple games into the season and key players on the Florida Gators are exceeding expectations

It's a small sample size, but the Gators have shown us a thing or two already / Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images

The Florida Gators have taken the first two games of the season in dominant fashion. Let’s take a look into what we have learned so far in the small sample size. 

The first win of the season was in come-from-behind fashion over South Florida where they found themselves trailing for most of the first half. Luckily, seniors Walter Clayton Jr. and Will Richard came out firing on all cylinders on offense to help spark some life into the team in the second half that, ultimately, earned the team the win.

Both players scored 25-plus points in this game (Clayton Jr. 29, Richard 25), which was the first time UF had two players have 25-plus more points in a game since 2019. 

These aren’t the only two to have their season start in a positive way though, Sophomore Alex Condon has been just as dominant offensively. 

Condon has all the tools to be a top SEC big and this roster is deep, which is very important. They’ve also started the year off strong to back up all these claims. 

Through two games, Condon is averaging 18.0 points per game on .923/.667/.588 shooting splits. Additionally, the Aussie had a career night in the Gators' win over Jacksonville, pouring in 23 points and going perfect from the field. 

This team is capable of a deep run come March. This is one of the top teams in a deep SEC this year and they have the talent to match up with most teams in the country. 

If there is one area that needs fixing and that’s three-point shooting. As a team, the Gators are shooting 24 percent from behind the arc. Additionally, only two players are above 30 percent from three so far and that is Condon and Denzel Aberdeen, who have only taken three threes each. 

However, it doesn't sound like there is too much concern about the lack of a three-point threat at this time.

“I think the threes will drop, we got a lot of shooters on this team,” Condon said. “Those are going to drop. We aren’t worried about that.”

Should they start to drop soon, this team will be a dangerous one heading into some bigger games coming up on the schedule.