Florida Gators Basketball: Gators blow out Stony Brook in season opener

It is a day to behold for Florida basketball fans, the season has begun and the new “Golden age” is in full effect. The squad rallied behind new head coach Todd Golden as he earned his first win in Gainesville to open the season. Led by LSU transfer Alex Fudge’s 16 points, the Gators earned a blowout 81-45 win over the Stony Brook Seawolves.

Playing fast and making it rain from outside the Gators made it look easy in their victory last night. Here are Hail Florida Hail’s biggest takeaways from last night’s home win.

2nd Half Snipers

The first half was a rough start for the Gators shooting-wise. We all know Todd Golden is a three-point enthusiast and expected the team to be looking for that outside shot. However, in the 1st half despite getting off 15 threes, they only managed to make 3.

As the game progressed and the Gators got more comfortable against the Stony Brook defense, the shots started to fall and Florida went 7-10 in the 2nd half. Despite the rough start, the Gators managed to finish shooting 40% from outside, hopefully, a benchmark for the rest of the season.

Not in Colin’s Paint

Last night the Gators protected the rim and rallied 4 blocks. Where did they come from? All 4 blocks are credited to Castleton. Anchoring the defense for Florida, Castleton was able to use his large frame and quick steps in the paint to deter potential baskets and block shots.

A great way to demoralize an offense and frighten scorers is to have Colin Castleton protecting your rim.

Career Night for Alex Fudge

Our new transfer from LSU Alex Fudge came off the bench huge last night for Golden. In 18 minutes Fudge scored 16 points while shooting 6-12 from the field and 2-4 from outside the arc. Fudge even grabbed 3 rebounds and kept a perfect 2-2 at the charity stripe.

Hopefully, Fudge can continue to bring this intensity off the bench and put pressure on our opponents. Earning Hail Florida Hail’s game MVP honor, we hope to see production like this from Fudge moving forward this season.

Next up… Kennesaw State

On Friday, November 11th, Florida basketball looks to continue this momentum in a matchup against Kennesaw State. Kennesaw opened their season yesterday at home and defeated LaGrange College 99-56. Coming into Gainesville, they are looking to steal a win and upset the Gators.

As long as the Gators continue to defend the outside shot, keep Kennesaw from shooting free throws, and move the ball in the face of some heavy pressure they should have no problem walking home with this game.

Keep up with Florida basketball at Hail Florida Hail.