RALEIGH, N.C. – Much of the post-game discussion zeroed in on the ugly way fourth-ranked Florida ended the first half Friday night. The Gators got sloppy and allowed super-underdog Norfolk State a run of 11 consecutive points, then in the second half let the Spartans attack the paint and score inside in a manner out of character for one of the best defenses in the country.
There was far less emphasis on the 32-point lead the Gators built in the game's first 16-plus minutes, thanks to some stunningly efficient basketball. Such is life for a No. 1 seed -- and all the expectations that come with it -- in the NCAA Tournament, where UF is still kicking following its mostly lopsided, frustrating-at-times 95-69 victory over NSU in the West Region opening round at Lenovo Center.
The Gators (31-4), winners of seven straight and 13 of the previous 14, advanced to Sunday's second round to face two-time defending NCAA champion and 8-seed Connecticut (24-10), which ousted Oklahoma 67-59 in the bracket's late game.
Senior point guard and first-team All-American Walter Clayton Jr. scored 23 points, including 16 and four 3-pointers during his team's red-hot portion of the first half when the Gators stormed to a 53-21 lead with 3:15 to play by hitting 18 of their first 32 shots, including seven 3-balls.
Then things went a bit sideways. "We got a little lazy," UF backup guard Denzel Aberdeen said after the program's first NCAA victory in four years. "It was our first game, so we're going to learn from this and build on it."
Clayton, who eclipsed the 2,000-point milestone for his career in the second half, went six of 11 from the floor and four of nine from the 3-point line to go with five rebounds, but four of his team's 12 turnovers.
Fifth-year guard Alijah Martin had 17 points, with sophomore backup forward Thomas Haugh adding 13 points and four assists. Sophomore forward Alex Condon gave the team four double-figure scorers with 12 points, while junior center Micah Handlogten had six points and eight boards.
After building their gigantic margin, the Gators never led by less than 19, doing so just twice early in the second half. But, yeah, what about that end of the first half?
"We're more worried about process, and our process was not nearly as good after the first 15 minutes of the game," UF coach Todd Golden said. "Regardless of the final score, we just weren't as sharp as we expect to be, and what we feel like we need to be if we want to make a run in this tournament."
In those troubling couple minutes, the Spartans hit five consecutive field-goal attempts, while the Gators turned basically comatose by missing their last six shots, turning the ball over four times and aggravating Golden enough that he busted a grease board in the locker room at halftime.
"Yeah, they went on an 11-0 run, so we were pretty [ticked] or whatever, but we know we have to tighten up," said Martin, who went 5-for-10 from the floor, made two of five 3s and five of six free throws. "We had some lazy plays, some careless plays, some uncharacteristic plays, stuff like that. We just had to get after it coming out [in the second half]."
It was mostly smiles for UF coach Todd Golden, who won his first NCAA Tournament game Friday in his third try. They did, but in some ways they didn't. The Spartans, champions of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, played the Gators to mostly a stalemate after intermission (UF won the second half 42-37). Their quick, four-guard lineup was a step faster when matched against Florida's bigger, longer front-court players, with Christian Ings (16 points), Jaylani Darden (15 points, 6 rebounds) and backup Chris Fields Jr. (14 points) getting downhill and finishing around the rim. NSU outscored UF 48-36 on points in the paint.
"I told y'all we weren't no 30-point underdog," Norfolk State coach Robert Jones said.
With 8:31 to play in the game, Norfolk State was shooting 73.3 percent from the 2-point area (11 of 15). Florida still led by 21 at the time. And won by 26, the program's most lopsided NCAA victory since 2017.
"I'm not necessarily concerned moving forward that it's going to be an issue for us," said Golden, whose team shot 48% for the game, but defended NSU at 46%, while allowing only two makes from the arc. "We played exceptionally well for the first 15 minutes and kind of exhaled. Norfolk's good. They're quick. They're really hard to keep in front, and I thought our defensive intensity for the first 15 minutes of the game was elite. We did a great job of staying in front, guarding with physicality. Then when we took a little bit of a breath, we actually had some bad turnovers that led to transition run-outs that gave them a little juice, a little confidence."
But gave the Gators, they swear, not a hint of doubt. "We got a little comfortable," Haugh said. "It won't happen again." It better not. Given the Gators' goals, the cost could be incalculable.
