March 5, 2025 Game of the Day Recap
Florida 99 – Alabama 94
A few correct predictions were made yesterday by yours truly. The first being the rebounding total winner being the outright winner of this game, as well as Mark Sears playing well. The Gators outrebounded the Tide 50 to 35 and that was a big part of their victory. Florida shot awful from the three-point line but all of those extra possessions were huge.
The duo of Alex Condon and Reuben Chinyelu had a combined 21 rebounds with both in double digits and Condon picking up a double-double. Alex Condon led the big offensive night for the team with 27 points on an efficient 9 for 16 from the field and 2 for 4 from the arc. He showed he can be a vital point on a championship level team, and should be watched closely heading into postseason tournaments, as he could be a sneaky play for tournament Most Outstanding Player.
Mark Sears had close to his 20 points that I said he would get for the game in the first half. His offense is one of the reasons that Alabama was able to keep fighting for as long as they did. There were a few points in the first half when Sears and the Tide would go on a run, but that run would get nullified by giving it right back to Florida. Alabama was able to keep the lead or at least things close up until about the middle of the second half when Florida took control of the ballgame. Sears would finish the game with 30 points.
Walter Clayton Jr. was another big boost to the Gator offense. He finished the game with 22 points and added 8 assists to that as well. He and Condon paved the way for Florida to pick up a big top 10 road matchup. This puts them in sole possession of 2nd place with 1 remaining game on their schedule. They will take on an Ole Miss team who beat Tennessee their last time on the court.
The SEC keeps showing out, and their conference will get rewarded with double digit teams in the NCAA tournament. At this rate, I think it is an SEC team or Duke that will win the National Championship in April. It will come down to matchups and seedings, so that will be talked about more here in the future.
Mark Sears: 30 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 10-24 FG, 2-10 3P
Alex Condon: 27 points, 10 rebounds, 9-16 FG, 2-4 3P
Walter Clayton Jr: 22 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds, 8-20 FG, 2-8 3P
Reuben Chinyelu: 9 points, 11 rebounds, 4-6 FG
March 6, 2025 Game of the Day
Canadians – Oilers
Another battle inside the borders in the NHL as the Canadians take on the Oilers in Edmonton. The Oilers lost their last game that I had watched when they played the Panthers in a Stanley Cup Finals rematch.
The Oilers are coming off an ugly loss against Anaheim in their last game and the Canadians are coming off back-to-back Overtime victories. I spoke about the Oilers, and more particularly Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, when their game was featured last week. Draisaitl is still leading the sportsbooks when it comes to odds for the Hart trophy, the MVP of hockey. I was happy to see these two on the ice during their power plays and while they had an empty net in their game against the Panthers. Seeing more of that would make me happy yet again.
This’ll be my first Canadians game that I will watch this season, and I do not recognize many names from the roster. I should be able to decipher who is doing what good once the game starts, but from the season statistics, it looks as if the puck will be with Nick Suzuki a lot. He is the team leader in points and assists and will look to get the puck to Cole Caufield who is their goal leader.
The last 2 NHL Game of the Days have been close until the end. I hope this game does the trick in that department as well.
The 4th installment of Division Rankings with the AL West will be released today around 7pm CST.