As has been the case for Florida Basketball since starting SEC play, there was about a ten-minute stretch in the first half where the Gators didn't look like the team we had hyped up as a potential Final Four team. Florida fell behind 14-8 about seven minutes in, and there was a hint of doubt that was starting to creep into the O'Dome.
But over the next 33 minutes, the Gators reminded everyone that when everything is clicking, they are one of the elite teams in the nation capable of a Final Four run and beyond.
Florida Basketball: Never In Doubt
Once again, suffocating defense was what let Florida hang around while their offense got into gear. The miracle shots Missouri hit in the first half on Tuesday never materialized for Texas and in the end Florida held the Longhorns to 36% shooting while forcing 14 turnovers.
As has also been the case for Florida, the size advantage proved to be too much for Texas to handle. The Gators had 44 points in the paint to the 20 the Longhorns had and Florida had 13 offensive rebounds to just 8 for Texas.
Twenty-two points from Alijah Martin and 19 points from Walter Clayton will be the headlines that emerge, but don't sleep on Alex Condon getting another double-double while also picking up four steals on the night.
Texas hung around into the second half, and it was still a seven-point game with eight minutes to play, but eventually, the levy broke for Texas, and Florida clamped down to allow just six points over the final eight minutes of the game.
Next up for Florida is South Carolina, who are 0-5 in SEC play. After that is a date with Mike White and the Georgia Bulldogs next Saturday, who had a wild finish against Auburn but just fell short of pulling off the upset.