Florida moves past Maryland and into the Elite Eight

Edgar Thompson, Orlando Sentinel on Mar 27, 2025

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SAN FRANCISCO — Florida finally looked like a No. 1 seed — for a half, at least.

It was more than enough to move past Maryland, 87-71, in the Sweet 16 Thursday at the Chase Center. To get back to the Final Four, the Gators will need play their best basketball for a longer stretch Saturday.

Coach Todd Golden, back in San Francisco for the first time since he left for UF three years ago, wasn’t looking ahead just yet following biggest win his young career.

“It’s surreal,” the 39-year-old said. “Selfishly, personally, I don’t want it to end. It’s been an amazing run.”

Florida’s first Sweet 16 appearance since 2017 began with another uncharacteristically sloppy start highlighted by 13 first-half turnovers. But unlike Sunday’s narrow 77-75 win against UConn, the Gators cleaned up their act and pulled away behind unselfishness, hustle and sounder basketball.

Winners of 27 straight when leading at halftime, Florida (33-4) rode a second-half offensive surge ending with six Gators in double figures, led by Will Richard with 15. Alijah Martin scored 11 of his 14 points after intermission, while Orlando’s Denzel Aberdeen added 12 points off the bench — 10 of those points on 4-of-5 shooting in the second half as Florida pulled away.

“Denzel was fantastic,” Golden said. “He was in there for us when we iced it. He gave us a big lift.”

UF’s reserves outscored Maryland’s 22-3 as the Gators’ depth overcame a team nicknamed the “Crab 5,” as nod to the state’s cuisine and the Terps’ iron quintet.

“Their bench really wore us down," Maryland coach Kevin Willard said.

Florida also beat Maryland (27-9) on the boards 40-22, another of the Gators’ advantages as they earned the top seed in the West Region. The second team to reach the Elite Eight along with Alabama, UF will face the winner between Arkansas and Texas Tech.

“We take pride in what we’ve done all year,” said center Rueben Chinyelu, who finished with eight rebounds.

Chinyelu, who finished with 10 points, was key as the Gators seized control.

The 6-foot-10, 255-pound sophomore converted two dunks and a layup off nice feeds from teammates as the Gators had six assists on their first eight field goals to stake 52-42 lead.

“That was a moment when we might have started wearing them down a little bit,” Golden said.

After a Maryland tip-in, All-American guard Walter Clayton Jr. gave up a possible 3-point attempt for a better shot for Martin, who drained it from long range for a 55-49 advantage. When the Terps cut the lead to 55-49, Clayton found Aberdeen for a wide-open 3.

Maryland, a 6.5-point underdog, could not keep up with the Gators’ pace and eventually wilted.

“We were elite in the second half,” Golden said.

Everything went the Gators’ way, too.

Florida suffered a scare when power forward Alex Condon left the game after he rolled his right ankle with 12:15 remaining in the first half. Condon, the Gators’ leading rebounder and most versatile post player, injured the same ankle in February, sidelining him two weeks.

But the 6-foot-10, 230-pound sophomore returned six minutes into the second half and showed no ill effects. Condon soon was involved in one of the game’s craziest sequences.

Falling to his back after nearly committing another Gators’ turnover, Condon threw the ball toward the basket, where 7-foot-1 Micah Handlogten tipped the ball twice and into the basket.

“That was a hell of a play,” Golden said.

Willard called it “a big momentum breaker.”

Nothing was going to stop the Gators Thursday.

“This ride has been amazing,” Aberdeen said. “We know it’s not done yet.”