GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The Florida Gators handled business in Thursday's home opener, defeating Jacksonville 88-57 to move to 2-0 to begin the 2026-27 season.
"I thought we played pretty well," head coach Todd Golden said. "Jacksonville, I thought, did a good job in the first half just slowing tempo and kinda keeping that game within reach. And then, obviously, the last four minutes of the first half, I just think we wore them down a little bit and making some shots and turning misses into transition opportunities and got that lead up to 22 pretty quick.
"... Shot the ball well, again, made the free throws tonight. Just a good effort against a scrappy Jacksonville team."
That said, here are three things that stood out from the win.
Alex Condon did it all for Florida. The senior big not only recorded a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds, but he also flirted with a triple-double by finishing with a game-high eight assists. He added three blocks to his stats as well, making him the first SEC player since Ben Simmons in 2015 to record a double-double with at least seven assists and three blocks.
"He's just playing really well. There's not much more to say other than that," Golden said. "I think he's playing very confidently and playing the right way. Good things are going to happen for him when he does that."
While Condon was close to history, he was far from the only effective scorer on Thursday. Rueben Chinyelu led all players with 21 points on 5-of-7 shooting, while Thomas Haugh (14 points) and Denzel Aberdeen (12 points) scored in double figures. Urban Klavzar added another 12 points off the bench, hitting three 3-pointers.
Chinyelu and Haugh also aided Condon in Florida's dominance on the glass with seven rebounds each.
The last time Denzel Aberdeen played an official game on Billy Donovan Court, boos rained down as he took the court for rival Kentucky. On Thursday, cheers echoed for the senior in his first home game with the program since transferring back. Aberdeen finished with 12 points , hitting a game-high four 3-pointers on five attempts.
"Definitely amazing," Aberdeen said. "Back with my boys. Back with my coach. It just feels amazing. My family was here today, so it's a blessing."
While Klavzar paved the way for Florida's bench, the Gators got plenty of contributions from its non-starters . In fact, all available players (sophomore CJ Ingram II remains out with an injury) saw minutes in the blowout win. AJ Brown, making is UF debut after missing all of last season, scored his first points with a 3-pointer, while freshman Arturas Butajevas recorded six rebounds in just nine minutes.
Freshman center Jones Lay also made his UF debut in the win.
"I want to credit our bench that came in. The guys that don't generally play a lot, I thought they defended really well," Golden said. "They competed, they defended, they got on the glass. Offensively, we weren't great in those minutes, but they were trying to execute and trying to defend the right way."
The Gators travel to Tallahassee to face rival Florida State on Tuesday, searching for its sixth straight win over the Seminoles. Tip off is at 6 p.m., with television coverage on ESPN 2.
Sign up for our free Florida Gators newsletter and follow us on Facebook , YouTube ,and X for the latest news!
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/florida as 3 Things That Stood Out from the Florida Gators' Blowout Win Over Jacksonville .
