FINAL: No. 2 Florida 85, Oklahoma 63

What Happened

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Senior guard Walter Clayton Jr. scored 18 points to lead five Florida players into double-figure scoring and the second-ranked Gators made quick and easy work of Oklahoma with an 85-63 blowout victory in their Southeastern Conference game Tuesday night at sold-out Exactech Arena.

Clayton hit six of his nine shots, including four of seven from the 3-point line, before taking a seat for good with 10:18 left in the game and the Gators up by 23. Senior guards Will Richard and Alijah Martin each added 14 points, sophomore center Rueben Chinyelu had 11 points, while reserve sophomore guard Urban Klavzar pitched in a career-high 10 points.

UF shot 45.2 percent for the game, including 12-for-32 from the 3-point line (37.5 percent), and turned the ball just six times. The Gators have hit at least 10 3-pointers in each of their five consecutive wins. Defensively, the Gators limited the Sooners, losers of five straight, to 38.8 percent for the game and forced 13 turnovers.

Florida built a 10-point lead midway through the first half, then used a 17-3 run that featured five 3-pointers by four different players to build a 20-point advantage with five minutes to go in the period. The margin was 22 at halftime (with UF banging nine 3s and turning the ball over just once) and got as high as 29 in the second half.

The win, UF's fifth straight, came with sophomore forward Alex Condon, the team's leading rebounder and third-leading scorer, as well as backup forward Sam Alexis both sidelined by ankle injuries. No problem. The Gators registered their 19th victory by double digits, the second-most in the nation behind only Duke's 21. All but one of the wins (the nine-point road upset of No. 1 Auburn) during the five-game streak have been by double figures. Florida won its second in a row by more than 20 points and 12th on the season.

OU freshman Jeremiah Fears, a projected first-round NBA draft pick this summer, led all scorers with 22 points, with four 3s.

UF guard **Alijah Martin** (15) sizes up the OU defense.

What it Means

Right now, no team in college basketball has more wins than Florida, with the Gators defying their banged-up roster and continuing to accumulate wins while playing their best basketball of the season. They're still lagging in Quadrant 1s wins with just five, but they'll have four more Q1 opportunities in the regular season to build the resume. UF will be no worse than alone in third place in the SEC standings heading into the weekend.

In the Spotlight

Martin, who missed two games last week, looked much closer to the pre-hip pointer Martin. He hit five of 12 shots, a couple 3s and grabbed five rebounds over 27 minutes. His on-court score was plus-31. Don't be surprised to see the Florida Atlantic transfer and second-leading scorer resume his place in the starting lineup this weekend.

Staggering Statistic

In the five consecutive games of double-digit 3-pointers, the Gators have combined to make 63 of 150. That's 42.0 percent. Five different UF players made 3s against the Sooners.

Up Next

Florida (23-3, 10-3), after a two-game home stand, has consecutive road games, starting Saturday night at LSU (13-12, 2-10). The Tigers, sitting next to last in the SEC standings, had a late Tuesday game at last-place South Carolina. The Sooners (16-10, 3-10) are home against No. 21 Mississippi State.

Email senior writer Chris Harry at chrish@gators.ufl.edu

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