Florida bigs dominate, and make history, as Gators notch first win
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Florida nearly doubled up on the visiting North Florida Ospreys in the first half. At the break, the third-ranked Gators led 52-28. And they never looked back.
Thanks to a record-setting day from Florida’s collection of bigs, the Gators trounced the Ospreys 104-64 to earn their first victory of the 2025-26 season.
Alex Condon scored 25 points in 26 minutes to lead all scorers. He also grabbed 10 boards, dished 4 assists, blocked 3 shots, and came up with 2 steals. Micah Handlogten came off the bench to record his second double-double in as many games to open the campaign, finishing with 17 points and 13 boards. Thomas Haugh scored 12 points to go with 8 rebounds and 4 assists. Rueben Chinyelu had 8 points and 9 boards.
“We imposed our wills,” said coach Todd Golden after the game.
In the blowout win, Florida also got a chance to insert 7-foot-9 center Olivier Rioux into the game. When Rioux entered with 2:09 to go in the second half, he made history as the tallest person ever to play in a basketball game.
“I talked to the guys at halftime when we’re up 24 and I expressed to them the importance of getting off to a really good start so we can get some of the younger guys and some of the guys from down on the bench an opportunity to play,” Golden said after the game. “I think [Rioux] was pretty excited. It was pretty neat for him to finally see the floor.”
Because of Florida’s frontcourt depth, the redshirt freshman’s minutes will be sporadic this season. He played just 2 minutes Thursday night.
With a player like Condon leading the charge, the Gators have a star to anchor the frontcourt.
Condon was held to 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting in the season-opening loss to Arizona. He committed 6 turnovers and fouled out in 29 minutes. He also missed 3 free throws. On Thursday, he made 8 of his 12 shots from the field and 9 of 10 from the charity stripe. He only turned it over once and didn’t pick up a single foul.
“He wasn’t feeling sorry for himself and making excuses. He was just, ‘Let me get back to it, get back to what I know.’ I thought he did a great job of letting the game come to him, being aggressive when he needed to,” Golden said. “This is an insane All-American level type of night. We were all disappointed with how Monday went, but I thought he answered the bell.”
Florida hosts Florida State next Tuesday.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
