Florida Gators advance to next round of NCAA Tournament with win over Norfolk State

RALEIGH, N.C. – No. 1 seed Florida basketball delivered an early roundhouse blow, then held off pesky No. 16 seed Norfolk State 95-69 in its opening NCAA Tournament game on Friday night at the Lenovo Center.

The Florida Gators (31-4) built a 32-point lead in the first half before slogging through up and down stretches to get to the finish line. UF won its seventh straight and for the 13^th time in its last 14 games, picking up its first NCAA Tournament win since beating Virginia Tech 75-70 in overtime in the first round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament.

Senior All-American point guard Walter Clayton Jr. led four UF scorers in double figures with 23 points. Alijah Martin added 17 points for UF, Alex Condon scored 12 points and Thomas Haugh had 13 points off the bench.

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Clayton scored 16 points in the first half, allowing Florida to race to a 52-21 lead before Norfolk State went on a 11-0 run at the end of the half, cutting UF's lead to 53-32 at halftime. UF shot 50% from the field in the first half, while holding Norfolk State to 41.9% shooting.

Florida will next play No. 8 seed Connecticut, which defeated No. 9 seed Oklahoma 67-59 on Friday night. The Florida-Connecticut Round of 32 matchup will be on Sunday, with the time to be determined.

Mar 21, 2025; Raleigh, NC, USA; Florida Gators guard Isaiah Brown (20) makes a basket during the second half against the Norfolk State Spartans at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florida beats Norfolk State. Who do they play next in NCAA tournament?

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