Takeaways from Gators' Gritty Road Victory Over Texas

The No. 7 Florida Gators extended their win streak to eight games on Wednesday, using a late surge in the second half to leave the Moody Center with an 84-71 victory over the Texas Longhorns. Florida is now 22-6 and 13-2 in the SEC.

“A really good basketball game. I thought we did a good job down the stretch of extending the lead and not giving them any hope or any belief in the last two minutes that they'd come back, and this is a huge win for us going down stretch in conference play,” Gators head coach Todd Golden said.

Here are three takeaways from the Gators' seventh straight victory on the road this season.

Alex Condon Dominates on Both Ends

Fans may have been disappointed with some performances from Condon earlier this season, but the Australian is slowly stacking All-SEC outings as the regular season nears a conclusion. Condon posted a team-high 23 points on 10-for-12 shooting against the Longhorns in 33 minutes. He also had four rebounds, three assists and four blocks.

“I’ve found a rhythm these last few games. My teammates are getting me the ball and trusting me to make the right plays. I didn’t feel like I forced anything tonight and just let the game come to me,” Condon said.

everything about it

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His defensive effort, noted by the four blocks, played a crucial role in the Gators’ second-half turnaround on that end of the court. He switched onto guards to stifle their drives to the paint and played physically with the opposing bigs to limit points inside.

That work on defense contributed to a rough second half for the Longhorns on offense.

Lee and Fland Rise to the Occasion

When Florida needed them most, Xaivian Lee and Boogie Fland showed up. Both ran the offense efficiently in their own ways, with Lee swiftly moving his way around the court and finding open teammates and Fland supplying an offensive boost from outside and inside the arc.

Lee ended with 12 points, six assists and three rebounds on the night. In his own crafty way, the Princeton transfer finessed his way into advantageous spots and ended possessions by creating his own open looks or ones for his teammates.

L33 applying pressure 👌

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As for Fland, he posted 22 points, five rebounds and two steals against the Longhorns. His impact came later in the second. He knocked down shot after shot down the stretch to help the Gators slowly push their lead into double digits, scoring 11 points over the final seven minutes.

Defense Corrects Course in the Second

Florida struggled in the first half to limit Texas's offense. The Longhorns shot 50 percent from the field and 50 percent from behind the arc in the first 20 minutes of the contests. That led to the visitors trailing the hosts by three at the break.

Additionally, despite being one of the worst teams in the league in turnover margin, the Longhorns committed just four turnovers in the first half.

That all changed in the second half, though. Texas shot 35.7 percent from the field and 20 percent from three in the final period. Florida’s defense forced eight turnovers, as well.

“We obviously challenged our guys pretty strongly at halftime about guarding your yard and doing a better job on the defensive end. And obviously that flipped for us. We guarded really, really well in the second half,” Golden said.

1 block 2 block

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The Gators flipped a switch defensively when guarding Longhorns guard Tramon Mark, too. Mark scored 13 first-half points, shooting 5-for-7 in the first half. Then, in the second, Mark took only two shots in 11 minutes on the court.