GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Alex Condon had 25 points and 10 rebounds, Micah Handlogten notched his second double-double in as many games and No. 3 Florida bounced back from a season-opening loss with a 104-64 drubbing of North Florida on Thursday night.
It was so lopsided that 7-foot-9 walk-on Olivier Rioux, the world’s tallest teenager, made his collegiate debut. The 19-year-old Gators freshman got the loudest ovation of the night when he pulled off his warmup jersey and entered the game with 2:09 to play. Rioux didn’t even touch the ball.
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Coming off a five-point loss to 13th-ranked Arizona in Las Vegas, the Gators unveiled their national championship banner during pregame introductions and then put on a show in their home opener.
Condon dominated inside three nights after getting outplayed by freshman Koa Peat, adding four assists, three blocked shots and two steals. Florida (1-1) finished with a 64-24 rebounding advantage and outscored the Ospreys 66-22 in the paint. Handlogten finished with 17 points and 13 boards.
Thomas Haugh chipped in 12 points, eight rebounds and four assists for the Gators, who won their 35th consecutive home opener and improved to 12-0 against the Ospreys.
North Florida (0-1) was hardly a factor in its season opener, the first game under new coach Bobby Keenen. Kamrin Oriol led the way with 19 points on 8-of-17 shooting. But the rest of the team managed a combined 11 field goals.
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NO. 11 LOUISVILLE 106, JACKSON STATE 70
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Ryan Conwell scored 14 of his 19 points in the first half, Kasean Pryor returned to the court for the first time since he tore his ACL nearly a year ago, and Louisville cruised past Jackson State.
Mikel Brown Jr. had 18 points and the star freshman guard added nine assists for Louisville, which shot 52.2% from the field in scoring more than 100 points for the second straight game.
Louisville (2-0) played without J’Vonne Hadley, the lone returning starter from last season’s squad, who’s in the concussion protocol.
Pryor received a loud ovation as he came in with 16:27 left in the first half. The 6-foot-10 senior, who played just seven games last season before tearing the ACL in his left knee in the Battle 4 Atlantis championship on Nov. 29 against Oklahoma, scored six points on 3-of-8 shooting in 16 minutes.
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The Cardinals outrebounded the Tigers 49-29, including a career-best 10 rebounds from Khani Rooths, who also scored 16 points. Sananda Fru contributed 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting.
The Tigers (2-0), who are playing ranked teams in four of their first five games, were led by Daeshun Ruffin with 22 points. Jayme Mitchell Jr. added 20 points and Dorian McMillian scored 18.
NO. 16 IOWA STATE 102, GRAMBLING 62
AMES, Iowa (AP) — Joshua Jefferson scored 20 points to lead six Iowa State players in double figures, and the Cyclones defeated Grambling.
Jefferson shot 8 of 10 from the field and had eight rebounds, three assists and a blocked shot as the Cyclones (2-0) won their 36th straight nonconference game at Hilton Coliseum.
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Milan Momcilovic, Killyan Toure and Jamarion Batemon scored 11 points apiece and Dominick Nelson and Tamin Lipsey had 10 points each.
Lipsey also had four rebounds and six assists and he made five steals for a second straight game.
Iowa State outrebounded the Tigers 43-25, had 17 second-chance points off 19 offensive rebounds and scored 29 points off Grambling’s 19 turnovers.
The Cyclones’ only struggle came at the free-throw line, where they were 18 of 29 (62%).
Antonio Munoz led Grambling with 16 points, seven assists and four rebounds.
NO. 20 AUBURN 95, MERRIMACK 57
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Keyshawn Hall scored 25 points to lead Auburn to a win over Merrimack.
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Hall also had 14 rebounds for his first double-double with the Tigers. The 6-foot-7 UCF transfer has been the leading scorer for Auburn (2-0) in both games; he had 28 points in Monday’s season opener, a 95-90 overtime victory at home against Bethune-Cookman in Steven Pearl’s coaching debut.
The Tigers led 39-22 at halftime and held the Warriors to 6-of-31 shooting and a 4-of-18 mark from 3-point range. Merrimack went 8:20 without a field goal until Ernest Shelton connected on a 3.
Shelton scored 23 points to lead the Warriors, who opened their season with a 75-66 loss to South Dakota State. He also grabbed four rebounds. No other Warriors player had more than five points.
Emeka Opurum had 11 points, four rebounds and two blocks in his Auburn debut after missing the season opener. The 7-foot center transferred from Butler Community College.
