It was all smooth sailing in Gainesville on Sunday as the Florida Gators took care of business against a talented Colgate Raiders team by a score of 90-60. Given that score you might think that Colgate was just another one of the low-major teams that SEC squads bring in to dominate, but this is a very good Raiders team that is likely to dominate the Patriot League and make an NCAA Tournament and this performance by the Gators was one their strongest of the season, even though it might not get the same level of attention as their fights against Arizona, Duke, and UConn did. With the win the Gators enter their holiday break at 8-4, with only a game against Dartmouth remaining before SEC play begins.
Frontcourt Physicality
This game was all about the muscle in the frontcourt as the Gators’ forwards were simply too much for Colgate to contain. For a Patriot League team the Raiders actually have good up front, but they were still no match for the multiple massive bodies the Gators have. Rueben Chinyelu finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds, while Alex Condon really stuffed the stat sheet with 16 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists (0 turnovers), 2 steals, and 2 blocks, as he really benefitted from being at the “4” and having even more advantageous matchups. Both Chinyelu and Condon were also able to score efficiently and it seemed like any time they got both feet in the paint they were finishing, and that’s going to be a major key as SEC play comes.
Locking Down
Colgate is always a talented offensive team and head coach Matt Langel is known as one of the best offensive coaches in the country and while they had their moments creating and hitting open looks the Gators made them work for every inch of space they created and on the whole this might have been Florida’s best start to finish defensive game. Colgate went 11-17 from three which showcased their tremendous shot making, but they didn’t get anything easy in the paint and had 13 turnovers which is all a credit to Florida’s defensive excellence. It’s clear that the Gators have taken on a defensive identity and are still finding ways to get better on their own end in every single game, and it looks like they’ll be ready for some of the more explosive scoring teams of the SEC.
Putting Things In Context
It’s easy to look at every mid or low-major opponent the same, but Colgate is much, much better than any of the other buy game opponents on Florida’s schedule–even though the final score wouldn’t indicate that. Entering Sunday Colgate was 164th in KenPom and trending up, and given how they are a fairly regular top-150 finisher you can expect them to likely do the same again this year. This is a team that also played Michigan State and St. Bonaventure close, and lost to a very good Illinois team by 19. The fact that Florida was able to dominate this game doesn’t just suggest an excellent performance by the Gators, but also is one that will help them in the metrics far more than beating a team in the 300s by the same margin.
Final Thoughts
Oftentimes teams don’t really get credit for beating good mid-major opponents but the Gators deserve a ton of credit for what they just did to a very good Colgate team, and the program should be feeling good going into their holiday break. With their non-conference portion of the season pretty much done it would be hard to look at it as an overall success given that they couldn’t get a marquee resume win, but the team is playing its best basketball right now and that’s about all they can hope for as they enter SEC play.
Photos from the first half as the #5 ranked Florida Gators mens basketball team hosts the Texas Longhorns at Exactech Arena in Gainesville, Florida. January 18th, 2025. Gator Country Photo by David Bowie.