What Happened
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Senior guard Walter Clayton Jr. paced Florida with 18 points as five Gators reached double figures in an 85–63 rout of Oklahoma on Tuesday night at a sold-out Exactech Arena. Ranked No. 2 nationally, Florida controlled the SEC matchup from start to finish.
Clayton connected on six of nine attempts, including four of seven from deep, before exiting with just over 10 minutes remaining and his team ahead by 23. Fellow seniors Will Richard and Alijah Martin each scored 14, sophomore center Rueben Chinyelu added 11, and reserve guard Urban Klavzar chipped in a career-high 10.
Florida shot 45.2 percent overall, went 12-for-32 from three-point range (37.5 percent), and committed only six turnovers. The Gators have now made at least 10 threes in each of their five consecutive wins. Defensively, they held Oklahoma—now on a five-game losing streak—to 38.8 percent shooting and forced 13 turnovers.
The Gators built a double-digit lead midway through the first half, then broke the game open with a 17–3 run fueled by five threes from four different players. By halftime, Florida led by 22 after hitting nine triples and committing just one turnover. The margin swelled to as many as 29 in the second half.
Despite missing sophomore forward Alex Condon, the team’s leading rebounder and third-leading scorer, along with backup forward Sam Alexis (both sidelined by ankle injuries), Florida notched its 19th double-digit win of the season—second-most in the nation behind Duke’s 21. Twelve of those victories have been by 20 points or more, including this one.
Oklahoma freshman Jeremiah Fears, a projected first-round NBA draft pick, led all scorers with 22 points and four threes.
UF guard Alijah Martin (15) sizes up the OU defense.
Florida’s perimeter shooting has been remarkable. Over the last five games, the Gators have knocked down 63 of 150 three-point attempts, a 42.0 percent clip. Against Oklahoma, five different players connected from deep.
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