The Florida Gators improved to 4-1 on the 2025/26 season after destroying Merrimack 80-45 on Friday night. Florida entered the contest a 36.5-point favorites, so a dominant win wasn’t a surprise. It wasn’t the prettiest 40 minutes of basketball as the Gators turned the ball over 12 times and shot just 43.5% from the field, but a dominant defensive effort allowed the Gators to cruise to victory.
A lopsided 35-point victory allowed Florida to empty the bench in the second half, which included appearances from CJ Ingram, Alex Lloyd, Alex Kovatchev, Viktor Mikic, and the 7’9 monster Olivier Rioux, who scored his first career point from the free throw line with 1:24 remaining.
Florida jumped out to a 30-4 lead after roughly 12 minutes behind one of the best defensive stretches of the season which allowed the Gators to cruise to the finish line. It was clear from the jump that Florida’s interior presence was too much for Merrimack to handle.
Front court dominates
The size and skill of Florida’s front court was on full display vs. Merrimack. Junior forward Alex Condon led the way with his third double-double of the season, recording 20 points and 11 rebounds including six offensive in the victory. Right behind Condon was Rueben Chinyelu who scored 14 points on an efficient 5-8 shooting while setting his career high in rebounds with 21. Despite an 0-4 day from three point range, Thomas Haugh added 13 points and four rebounds.
The Gators outrebounded Merrimack 53-18 including 19-7 margin on the offensive glass.
Three-point shooting improves
Florida didn’t take as many threes as one might expect vs. a 2-3 zone defense, but the Gators shot an efficient 8-22 (36.4%) from beyond the arch. Boogie Fland, Urban Klavzar, and Isaiah Brown all added two three pointers while freshman Alex Lloyd and CJ Ingram made their only attempt. Thomas Haugh and Xaivian Lee both shot 0-4 from three-point range while the rest of the team was 8-14 (57.1%). Lee’s struggles continue from range as he’s now 6-38 (15.7%) from three, but it was nice to see a few other guys step up in the midst of a slow start from deep. The Gators finally started cashing in on some of the open looks they’ve been getting all season.
Florida’s defense
The Gators’ defense impressed on Friday night, holding Merrimack to just 28.6% from the field and 16% from three-point range. The Warriors’ 45 points is the lowest Florida’s defense has allowed this season. Florida didn’t allow very many easy looks and forced 11 turnovers in the contest. The Gators also blocked five shots as Rueben Chinyelu led the way with two.
No.10 Florida is set to play TCU in the Rady Children’s Invitational on Thursday, November 27th at 3:00 p.m.