Florida again posted a NCAA Graduation Success Rate above the NCAA D1 average.

The Setup

About the Gators: Florida has excelled defensively and on the boards, though the offense is still developing, with the starting backcourt struggling to find consistency in shooting. The front court trio of Alex Condon, Rueben Chinyelu and Thomas Haugh combined for 52 points on 20-for-35 shooting (including 5-for-10 from beyond the arc) in the victory over the Hurricanes. Condon (19 points, 10 rebounds) and Chinyelu (16 points, 10 rebounds) each recorded their second consecutive double-double, following similar performances five nights earlier against Florida State. That gave UF three straight games with two players posting double-doubles, a feat not achieved by the program in at least three decades. ... The Gators are hitting 59.5% of their shots inside the arc (51st nationally), but just 23.7% from 3-point range, ranking 345th nationally. ... UF stands as the No. 12 rebounding team in the country, reclaiming 43.8% of its missed shots. ... Backup guard Urban Klavzar snapped out of his early-season shooting slump by connecting on four of seven attempts from deep against the Hurricanes. Meanwhile, the transfer backcourt of Xaivian Lee (17.6% on a team-high 34 attempts) and Boogie Fland (11.8%) continued to struggle, as both went 0-for-5 in their last outing. Haugh currently leads the team in 3-point percentage at 36.4. ... Backup center Micah Handlogten (7.5 ppg, 8.8 rpg) exited the UM game in the first half after taking a forearm to the head and is not expected to play Friday, though he is projected to return next week. ... Reserve guard Isaiah Brown (3.0 ppg, 3.2 rpg) contributed just two points in a career-high 19 minutes against Miami but earned praise for his effort and approach. He appears to have moved ahead of freshman CJ Ingram in the rotation. Ingram logged only one minute against FSU and did not play against UM (Coaches Decision).

About the Warriors: Merrimack is in its seventh season under Joe Gallo, with winning records in all but one campaign. ... The Warriors began the year with three losses, including a 95-57 defeat at Auburn, but have since strung together back-to-back wins over Boston U and Maine. ... Their five starters — four of whom are guards — have accounted for 74.4% of the team’s minutes across five games, with only one reserve averaging at least 12 minutes off the bench. UF’s size (even without Handlogten) and pace should be able to exploit that limited depth. ... Merrimack’s lack of interior presence has made them one of the nation’s weakest defensive rebounding teams, securing just 42.7% of available boards. To compensate, they rely on a wing-extended 2-3 zone throughout the game, daring opponents to shoot from long range — a strategy that could prove effective against the Gators given their current struggles from deep. ... While the Warriors lack inside scoring threats, they feature one of the nation’s top 3-point shooters in Ernest Shelton, a transfer from Division II Gannon (Pa.) College. Shelton has hit 21 of 44 attempts (47.7%) and set a school record with nine triples on 12 attempts in a 33-point performance against BU. ... Point guard Kevair Kennedy, Shelton’s former high school teammate in Philadelphia, is not a perimeter threat (just three attempts so far) but ranks among the nation’s top 50 in drawing fouls. Kennedy and Shelton have combined to take half of Merrimack’s 120 free throws this season, converting 86.3% at the line. ... Guard Andres Marrero joined the program after transferring from LaSalle.

Numbers of Note