No. 10 Florida will put its lethal and dominant frontcourt in the spotlight when it takes on TCU Thursday afternoon in a first-round game at the Rady Children’s Invitational in San Diego.
The winner will face the winner of the other first-round game between Providence and Wisconsin in the championship, while the losers of Thursday’s games will face off Friday afternoon in the third-place game before the title game.
The Gators (4-1) head to Southern California on a four-game winning streak, their most recent victory being an 80-45 home decision over Merrimack on Friday.
Alex Condon had a game-high 20 points and 11 rebounds and Rueben Chinyelu scored 14 points and made Florida history with 21 rebounds in the victory. The Gators scored the first 11 points of the game and took a 28-point lead at the 7:54 mark of the first half.
The defending national champions also got 13 points from Thomas Haugh and 10 from Boogie Fland.
Chinyelu’s rebound total, which included six on the offensive glass, was the most in a game by a Florida player in the shot clock era and marked his third straight double-double.
Florida coach Todd Golden said this week that he expects Condon and Chinyelu to set the tone for his team. Florida earned a 53-25 rebounding advantage in the win over Merrimack, the third time this season the Gators had a rebound advantage of more than 20. Florida is first in NCAA Division I in rebounding margin, rebounds per game and offensive rebounds per game.
“They’re expected to score every night,” Golden said of his frontcourt players. “They are two of our most impactful players, and we need them to play well so we can be the best we can be. That’s what we need to be if we want to be really good.
“When we play teams that don’t have the depth, size or physicality on the front line that we have, we have to impose our will.”
The Horned Frogs (3-2) also won their last outing, dominating Kansas City 81-45 on Nov. 19 behind Jayden Pierre’s 17 points and Liutauras Lelevicius’ 16, including a 4 of 5 from beyond the arc.
The Horned Frogs scored the first 17 points of the game while holding Kansas City scoreless through the first five minutes of the game, then put it on cruise control. TCU made more 3-pointers (14) than two (13) in the win and finished with a better percentage from beyond the arc at 43.8% than from the field as a whole (39.7%).
“I was pleased with the way we defended, especially early in the game,” TCU coach Jamie Dixon said. “It was a good start for us defensively and offensively. I found some good passes and made some open shots.”
Dixon understands the Gators frontcourt will be difficult to manage.
“I know (Florida is) big. I know they got all the guys that everyone wanted,” Dixon said. “I know they have a lot of depth, which is a good thing.”
–Field level media
