Olivier Rioux caps Florida’s easiest win of the year with a history-making dunk

Wednesday night’s contest between Florida and St. Francis had blowout potential written all over it well before tip-off. The Red Flash are ranked 361st in KenPom, and the Gators were favored by 44.5 points coming into the game. It was no surprise that Florida dismantled the Red Flash in a flash and cruised to a 102-61 victory.

In the process, we saw some familiar storylines take hold, and we saw Olivier Rioux make history.

Olivier Rioux scores his first field goal in college basketball

The most encouraging aspect from Wendesday was the continued improved play of embattled guard Xaivian Lee, who was 7-9 shooting from the field and 2-4 from three to lead Florida scorers with 18 points in just 23 minutes of action.

Alex Condon had 14 points and seven rebounds in 25 minutes of action, and Boogie Fland had a decent game too with 11 points off 4-7 shooting, including 1-2 from three, in 23 minutes of play.

One of Florida’s biggest warts was on display, and it actually wasn’t three-point shooting. In fact, the Gators were a solid 10-27 from three (37%). Instead, it was the wart that Todd Golden alluded to after the win against George Washington:

Turnovers.

The Gators had 15 turnovers on the night, with Condon, Lee, and Thomas Haugh all committing two, while Alex Lloyd had three turnovers in seven minutes and Urban Klavzar had four.

But even with the turnovers, the vibes were high by the end of the game because the World’s Tallest Teenager checked in at the end an immediatley put St. Francis on a poster. Rioux started above the arc, cut into the lane, received a pass with a full head of steam, and dunked it home to give the fans in the O’Dome one last memory from the game.

While Rioux had previously scored from the free throw line, it was his first field goal in college basketball. As a result, he is now the tallest person in college basketball history to score a field goal in a real game.

Florida moves to 7-4 on the season and has two more games against Colgate and Dartmouth before opening SEC play against Missouri.