No. 1 Gators 37.5-point favorites vs. Merrimack

Photo by Hannah White, UAA Communications.

The point spread – 37.5 points – is a clear indication that Merrimack isn’t expected to pose much of a problem tonight (7 p.m., SEC Network) for No. 1 Florida in the first game of the newly named Tower Hill Arena but the Warriors will indeed provide a useful service for the Gators. Merrimack coach Joe Gallo, who has won four Metro Conference championships in eight years, runs an aggressive zone scheme that forces a lot of outside shots and creates problems for teams that turn the ball over frequently.

“I think they have a very difficult zone to play against,” Golden said Thursday. “It’s unique. It bothered us here three years ago. We handled it better last year.”

The Gators beat Merrimack 77-57 in December of 2023, a game the Gators led by only a point (31-30) at the half. The Gators shot only 6-17 from the three-point line and turned the ball over 13 times. Last year, the Gators beat Merrimack 80-45, hitting 8-22 from the three-point line while turning the ball over 12 times.

Just Tuesday night, Florida State caused some problems for the Gators using a combination of several zone looks that forced 14 turnovers while holding the Gators to 9-28 shooting on threes. Merrimack isn’t nearly as long or athletic as the Seminoles, but another game working against zone schemes can only pay dividends for the Gators over the long haul

“Coach Gallo is a great coach, I think one of the better coaches in America,”Golden said. “He doesn't get the notoriety he deserves because he's at a smaller school right now, but he's a guy that you get a little nervous about competing against because you know he's going to have some stuff up his sleeve and he's not going to be afraid to do it.”

Florida’s recipe for success is fairly simple. Golden says “it's always about defending, rebounding, taking care of the ball. Like against the zone, we can't have turnovers. We got to rebound. We got to hit. We got to be really good at the things that don't require talent.”

Tonight’s game should also allow Golden to get good minutes for his bench, which contributed 22 points in the win over FSU. With three games in three days next week in the Players Era Eight tournament in Las Vegas, Golden will need strong contributions off the bench. The Gators will face Notre Dame (4-0) Tuesday and if they win, the winner of Houston and Rutgers Wednesday. Kansas headlines the other side of the bracket from Florida.

ANTICIPATED STARTING LINEUPS

No. 1 FLORIDA (3-0): Alex Condon (7-0, 236, SR); Rueben Chinyelu (6-10, 265, SR); Tommy Haugh (6-9, 215, SR); Denzel Aberdeen (6-5, 190, SR); Boogie Fland (6-3, 185, JR)

Merrimack (1-2): AJ Lespert Jr. (6-5, 195, SR); Denver Anglin (6-1, 185, JR); Ayden Johnson (5-10, 165, FR); Todd Brogna (6-7, 225, SR); Elijah Wilborn (6-8, 255, SR)

JOEY BRACKETS LATEST

Florida remains the No. 1 seed nationally in ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi’s most recent effort to determine the 76 teams that will make the NCAA Tournament field. Lunardi places Florida in the East regional with the first two games in Charlotte. The Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games will be played in New York. Lundardi has the Gators facing the winner of a No. 16 play-in game between Merrimack and American University with the winner advancing to play the winner of the first round matchup between No. 8 Baylor and No. 9 Villanova.

The Gators are one of 12 teams from the Southeastern Conference Lunardi places in the field, which expands from 64 to 76 teams for the first time this year. The Big Ten and Big 12 are next with 11 teams each while the ACC has seven and the Big East five.

Here are the first round matchups for SEC teams in each region:

EAST

Top 4 seeds: 1. FLORIDA; 2. Virginia; 3. Texas; 4. Texas Tech

Charlotte: No. 1 Florida vs. winner No. 16 Merrimack/America

Louisville: No. 3 Texas vs. No. 14 McNeese State

Omaha: No. 7 Kentucky vs. winner No. 10 Cincinnati/Purdue

Sweet 16/Elite Eight in New York

WEST

Top 4 seeds: 1. UConn; 2. Kansas; 3. Gonzaga; 4. UCLA

Pittsburgh: No. 8 Missouri vs. No. 9 Ohio State

Minneapolis: No. 5 Vanderbilt vs. No. 12 Santa Clara

Sacramento: No. 6 BYU vs. No. 11 Wisconsin/Georgia

Sweet 16/Elite Eight in Los Angeles

MIDWEST

Top 4 seeds: 1. Duke; 2. Michigan State; 3. Arizona; 4. Alabama

Charlotte: No. 8 Texas A&M vs. No. 9 Indiana

Spokane: No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 13 Memphis

Fort Worth: No. 6 Arkansas vs. No. 11 Grand Canyon

Sweet 16/Elite Eight in Kansas City

SOUTH

Top 4 seeds: 1. Illinois; 2. Houston; 3. Louisville; 4. St. John’s

Louisville: No. 8 North Carolina vs. No. 9 Auburn

Minneapolis: No. 5 Tennessee vs. No. 12 Creighton/North Carolina State

Omaha: No. 6 Michigan vs. No. 7 LSU/Utah State

Sweet 16/Elite Eight in San Antonio

IAN CONDON SIGNS WITH UF; GATORS AWAIT AWAKA

Ian Condon (6-7, 240, Washington, DC Sidwell Friends) signed his national letter of intent with the Gators Wednesday. He is the highest rated prospect in the highly competitive Washington, DC metro area. He is a strong low post player with shooting range to the three-point line.

The Gators await a signed LOI from commitment Kamsi Awaka (6-10, 255, Cheshire, CT/Blairstown, NJ Blair Academy), brother of former Arizona star Tobe Awaka. Rivals ranks Awaka the No. 32 prospect nationally and the No. 6 center while he is ranked No. 42 nationally and the No. 7 center by 247Sports. He is the No. 1 prospect in the state of New Jersey.

The Gators also await a decision from point guard Cayden Daughtry (6-0, 170, Fort Lauderdale, FL Calvary Christian), the nation’s No. 3 prospect. Most of the speculation regarding his final decision centers around Florida and Miami although there has been a late push from Florida State.

SEC BASKETBALL

Thursday’s game

Texas A&M (4-0) 88, Oklahoma State (2-1) 69

Friday’s games

Merrimack (1-2) at No. 1 FLORIDA (3-0)

Tennessee State (2-1) at No. 11 Tennessee (2-0)

Seton Hall (3-0) at No. 18 Alabama (3-0)

Central Arkansas (2-1) at No. 19 Arkansas (2-1)

Prairie View A&M (2-2) at No. 22 Vanderbilt (3-0)

Northern Arizona (0-3) at No. 24 Kentucky (2-1)

Georgia (3-0) at North Carolina (3-0)

Fairleigh Dickinson (1-2) at Oklahoma (2-1)

No. 12 Arizona (2-1) at Auburn (2-0)

Xavier (3-0) at Mississippi State (3-0)

KENPOM ANALYTICS TOP 25: 1. FLORIDA 3-0; 2. Duke 2-1; 3. Kansas 3-0; 4. Houston 2-0; 5. Michigan State 3-0; 6. Illinois 2-1; 7. Vanderbilt 3-0; 8. Texas 3-0; 9. UConn 3-0; 10. Virginia 4-0; 11. Gonzaga 2-0; 12. Arizona 2-1; 13. Nebraska 3-0; 14. Iowa State 2-1; 15. Alabama 3-0; 16. UCLA 3-0; 17. Texas Tech 3-0; 18. Texas A&M 4-0; 19. St. John’s 2-0; 20. Louisville 2-0; 21. Auburn 2-0; 22. Miami 2-1; 23. Missouri 2-1; 24. Tennessee 2-0; 25. Michigan 2-1; Other SEC and teams of interest: 27. LSU 3-0; 29. Arkansas 2-1; 30. Ole Miss 3-0; 36. Kentucky 2-1; 54. Florida State 2-1; 56. Mississippi State 3-0; 66. Georgia 3-0; 67. Oklahoma 2-1; 74. UCF 3-0; 82. South Carolina 3-0; 95. South Florida 1-2; 135. Florida Atlantic 2-1; 191. Jacksonville 2-1; 193. Bethune Cookman 0-4; 201. Florida International 2-0; 211. Florida Gulf Coast 1-2; 301. Stetson 0-4; 306. North Florida 1-2; 349. West Florida 2-2; 352. Florida A&M 0-4

EVANMIYA ANALYTICS TOP 25: 1. FLORIDA 3-0; 2. Duke 2-1; 3. Illinois 2-1; 4. Kansas 3-0; 5. UConn 3-0; 6. Michigan State 3-0; 7. Gonzaga 2-0; 8. Houston 2-0; 9. LSU 3-0; 10. Texas Tech 3-0; 11. Texas Tech 3-0; 12. Texas 3-0; 13. Arizona 2-1; 14. Alabama 3-0; 15. UCLA 3-0; 16. Louisville 2-0; 17. Miami 2-1; 18. Iowa State 2-1; 19. Virginia 4-0; 20. Vanderbilt 3-0; 21. Michigan 2-1; 22. Tennessee 2-0; 23. Nebraska 3-0; 24. Baylor 3-0; 25. BYU 3-0. Other SEC and teams of interest: 27. Auburn 2-0; 29. Texas A&M 4-0; 30. Missouri 2-1; 31. Ole Miss 3-0; 41. Arkansas 2-1; 42. Kentucky 2-1; 46. Oklahoma 2-1; 50. Mississippi State 3-0; 52. Georgia 3-0; 58. Florida State 2-1; 74. South Carolina 3-0; 82. UCF 3-0; 97. South Florida 1-2; 145. Florida Atlantic 2-1; 167. Florida International 2-0; 198. Florida Gulf Coast 1-2; 215. Jacksonville 2-1; 217. Bethune Cookman 0-4; 299. North Florida 1-2; 309. West Florida 2-2; 311. Stetson 0-4; 360. Florida A&M 0-4

EVANMIYA ANALYTICS TOP 10 PLAYERS: 1. Jeremy Fears Jr., Michigan State; 2. Tyler Tanner, Vanderbilt; 3. Silas Demary Jr., UConn; 4. Patrick Ngongba, Duke; 5. Chance Mallory, Virginia; 6. Tomas Ivisic, Illinois; 7. Alex Condon, FLORIDA; 8. Joseph Tugler, Houston; 9. Donovan Dent, LSU; 10. Tommy Haugh, FLORIDA

BARTTORVIK ANALYTICS TOP 25: 1. Duke 2-1; 2. Kansas 3-0; 3. Houston 3-0; 4. FLORIDA 3-0; 5. Virginia 4-0; 6. Michigan State 3-0; 7. Illinois 2-1; 8. UConn 3-0; 9. Arizona 2-1; 10. Gonzaga 2-0; 11. Louisville 2-0; 12. Texas Tech 3-0; 13. Iowa State 2-1; 14. Nebraska 3-0; 15. St. John’s 3-0; 16. UCLA 3-0; 17. Michigan 2-1; 18. Miami 2-1; 19. Texas 3-0; 20. Vanderbilt 3-0; 21. Tennessee 2-0; 22. Alabama 3-0; 23. BYU 3-0; 24. Texas A&M 4-0; 25. Marquette 2-1; Other SEC and teams of interest: 26. Missouri 2-1; 28. Arkansas 2-1; 30. LSU 3-0; 35. Auburn 2-0; 39. Kentucky 2-1; 46. Ole Miss 3-0; 48. Georgia 3-0; 52. Florida State 2-1; 54. Oklahoma 2-1; 62. Mississippi State 3-0; 72. UCF 3-0; 83. South Carolina 3-0; 98. South Florida 1-2; 139. Florida Atlantic 2-1; 169. Florida International 2-0; 181. Bethune Cookman 0-4; 199. Jacksonville 2-1; 217. Florida Gulf Coast 1-2; 281. Stetson 0-4; 321. North Florida 1-2; 336. Florida A&M 0-4; 360. West Florida 2-1