The Florida Gators (31-4, 14-4 SEC) showed why they were the number one seed in the West Region as they dominated and routed the 16-seeded Norfolk State Spartans (24-11, 11-3 MEAC), 95-69, at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, NC on Friday night.
After a Walter Clayton three, who had a game-high 23 points, Florida jumped out to a 16-3 lead. The Gators would lead by as many as 32 points in the first half, their largest lead of the game, and they coasted the rest of the way.
Coming into the game, Norfolk State head coach Robert Jones said he was not happy about the Gators being 28.5-point favorites; however, there was a clear difference in talent, but Norfolk State did cover, which Jones joked about after the loss.
“Well first thing I’ll say here, I told you we wasn’t a 30-point underdog,” he said.
To their credit, Norfolk State, who took down South Carolina State 66-65 in the MEAC Tournament Final last Saturday, did not give up. They did outscore Florida by six points in the final 24 minutes of the game, but again, it’s hard to beat the Gators.
Alijah Martin added 17 points for Florida, and Thomas Haugh chipped in with 13.
Christian Ings led the way with 16 points for the Spartans, and Jaylani Darden added 15.
Norfolk State’s leading scorer, Brian Moore Jr., who battled foul trouble, had only eight points.
