The Florida Gators improved to 21–6 (12–2 SEC) with a 94–75 win over Ole Miss on Saturday afternoon.
Head coach Todd Golden, junior forward Alex Condon and junior guard Urban Klavžar met with the media after the game. Here’s what they had to say.
Opening Statement:
“Just another great road win for our team. I feel like we’ve done a good job this year of being ready to compete on the road and doing a really good job, being consistent that way. Overall, our first-shot defense was really good today, limited them to 41% from the field. Rebounding-wise, we were solid, plus-15, and then we did not take care of the ball very well. I thought that was an area that we can really focus on improving before we go to Texas. But when we did, we did a really good job of sharing it and finding shots for our teammates. We had 26 assists on 32 made baskets, so that was encouraging to see.”
On Alex Condon’s playmaking:
“You saw Condo at his at his best in regards to playing fast, but not in a hurry, doing a great job of putting balls in as well as finding shots for his teammates – six assists, only one turnover, 24 points, shot the ball well, hit a three, made it all his free throws, and just did a really good job of playing that point forward position for us today.”
On the 11-for-22 day from 3-point range:
“I think it shows our ceiling. We try to play a certain style that gives us a high floor and allows us to play well through spans of not shooting the ball well. When we do make shots like that, we have the ability to run away from teams. And I thought today was an example of that because we sacrificed a lot of possessions offensively. I think the game was like 77 possessions and we gave away 19 of those to turnovers. So we had, what is that, 58 other opportunities to score? So we were pretty efficient when we took care of the basketball, and obviously that 3-point shooting allowed us to maintain and grow a lead, even when we weren’t playing our best in terms of ball control.”
On Boogie Fland knocking down some 3-pointers:
“Listen, he’s done a great job of being mentally tough through some of the shooting struggles, but obviously, I think it was a little weight off his shoulder, seeing the ball go through the net in the second half, and hopefully that’ll, you know, continue to build a little confidence for him as the rest of the season goes.”
On Urban Klavžar’s performance off the bench:
“I think (he’s) one of the best guards in league off the bench. He’s been a spark for us all year that way. Been incredibly efficient from both 2 and 3 and (is) a guy that comes in and isn’t afraid of the moment and is shot-ready at all times and his explosiveness offensively, his ability to shot-make for us gives us a big lift when he comes in the game.”
On the team’s road success:
“Our team has been very good. in terms of mentally preparing on the road. I think a big part of it is this group enjoys being around each other. There are obviously less distractions on the road in regards to having family around or people coming to visit, stuff like that. And I think at home, we’ve got a lot of stuff going on and it’s hard to always focus completely, whereas on the road, we’re pretty insulated. We keep it simple. We get here, we shoot, we go eat, we go to sleep, we wake up, and we get ready to play. And these guys have been ready since the Missouri game, in terms of competing on the road.”
Junior F/C Alex Condon
On playing on the road:
“I think we like playing on the road a little bit better. It gets everyone juiced up. Everyone is fired up always. We didn’t play as good as we could have against South Carolina [Tuesday], but still won. We definitely needed to make a statement on the road and it was good to get that 20 piece.”
Junior G Urban Klavžar
On the team’s big day from 3:
“The ceiling is crazy if we shoot 50%, especially having these guys under the rim. They do an exceptional job every game, but there are going to be times where we’re going to have to make some huge shots from 3, so this helps a lot.”