Gators Down Norfolk State, Advance in NCAA Tournament

Walter Clayton Jr. hit a trio of 3-pointers within the first six minutes of play as the Florida Gators defeated Norfolk State, 95-69, in the Round of 64.

Behind 23 points from guard Walter Clayton Jr., the No. 1 Florida Gators downed No. 16 Norfolk State, 95-69, to clinch its first trip past the Round of 64 in four years. / Kyle Lander / Gators Illustrated

RALEIGH, NC.-- Favored heavily in Friday's Round of 64 matchup against Norfolk State, the No.1-seeded Florida Gators didn't need long to assert its dominance over the Spartans with a 95-69 win, which marked the program's first win in the NCAA Tournament since the 2020-21 season.

"Great win for us. Really proud of the way we played for the first 15 minutes of the game," said UF head coach Todd Golden, who won his first NCAA Tournament game in his career as a head coach. "I thought we played exceptionally well in all three facets, offensively, defensively, and on the glass.

"Credit Norfolk. Obviously we got out to a big lead. I thought they did a great job competing. They were able to get downhill on us a little bit, did a great job getting into the paint, finishing over our bigs, and they were able to play us pretty well during the second half.

"Overall, a great win for us and excited to see who we're going to play on Sunday."

All-American guard Walter Clayton Jr., behind a trio of 3-pointers within the first seven minutes of game time, sparked Florida to a 26-7 lead at the under-12 media timeout with a game-high 13 points. The SEC Tournament MVP finished the night with 23 points on 6-of-11 shooting, moving him past the 2,000-point mark in his career.

"Blessed. I think I'm blessed just to be on multiple teams where -- with a bunch of guys that just love each other, a bunch of guys that trust me to shoot the ball," the senior said.

In total, four Gators scored in double figures with Alijah Martin scoring 17 points on 5-of-10 shooting, Thomas Haugh scoring 13 points off the bench and Alex Condon recording 12 points. Haugh and Condon also led the way with two blocks each as the Gators held Norfolk State's Brian Moore Jr. to six points.

He had averaged over 18 points per game on over 54 percent shooting from the field coming into Friday.

Florida Gators third-year head coach Todd Golden earned his first win in the NCAA Tournament in his head coaching career. / Kyle Lander / Gators Illustrated

Florida extended its lead to 20 points after the under-12 timeout with a 3-pointer from Denzel Aberdeen, and two more from Alijah Martin, who added 17 points on 5-of-10 shooting, extended the Gators' lead to 24 points with under eight minutes left in the half.

The Gators eventually took a 32-point lead behind a pair of free throws from Rueben Chinyelu before Norfolk State went on a 11-0 run over the last 2:45 of the first half, and the Spartans consistently answered Florida's buckets in the second half with strong play in the paint.

"I'm not necessarily concerned moving forward, but at the same time, no, I did not want the challenge," Golden said of Florida's defensive effort in the second half. "I would have preferred to continue to keep our foot on the gas and not give them any life. Again, you can't necessarily dictate everything for 40 minutes, and Norfolk is a really prideful group, and they play incredibly hard. And as I said, they're very quick, and they're hard to keep in front."

On the night, the Spartans scored 36 points in the paint and only scored five less points than Florida in the second half. By that point, though, the Gators held a comfortable lead and never led by less than 18 points.

Next Up

With the win, No. 1 Florida advances to the Round of 32 and will play the winner of No. 8 UConn and No. 9 Oklahoma, which is set to tipoff on Friday at 9:25 p.m. Florida will look to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since the 2016-17 season.

"Just staying humble, just keep telling everybody remember where you come from because this team is full of underdogs," Martin said. "We haven't had so much success, and we can get the big head. Just have to keep reminding everybody to stay humble, not to take anybody lightly, and just enjoy every moment of it."

A specific time and TV designation for Florida's next matchup will be announced after all opening round games are completed.

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