Florida walk-on Bennett Andersen is gaining a ton of fans this week for an interview he had.
Florida basketball moved on to the Elite Eight, as No. 1 seed UF overcame 17 turnovers to beat No. 4 seed Maryland 87-71 on Thursday night at the Chase Center.
It was a shocking outcome since they only held a 40-38 lead at halftime and lost starting forward Alex Condon for a stretch in the first half with an ankle injury.
Freshman center Derik Queen led Maryland with 27 points, but the Gators put forth a solid defensive effort in the second half to shut their offense down.
After the win, the program advanced to its first Elite Eight appearance since 2017 and its sixth trip since 2011.
Bennett Andersen is not a player used to getting interviews since he plays very little during games.
In that game, he scored his second field goal of the year.
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Following the contest, ESPN Gainesville’s Talia Baia, a student reporter, would find herself going viral because of an interview she had with Andersen.
“First of all, congrats on your bucket, that was huge,” Baia said. “I just want to know how was the trip here, and how was the energy going into that game?”
Andersen responded: “Trip’s been awesome, energy was good.”
Caught up with Bennett “Buckets” Anderson after the game on what he looks forward to in the Elite 8!
— Talia Baia (@talia_baia) March 28, 2025
“Hopefully these guys take care of business so I can play again, hopefully I can get another bucket” pic.twitter.com/bo31tHqabg
Social media loved it because Bennett looked incredibly interested in her.
Florida Gators Star Bennett Andersen Has Seen More Action In His Second Year
Florida Gators guard Bennett Andersen is a team walk-on, and it can be difficult for those types of players to register many minutes.
However, he has been good enough to play in even more games in his second year than in his first one.
During the 2023-2024 season, Bennett saw limited action in four games.
In those games, he went 1 for one from the field for two total points and zero rebounds.
This past season, he played in nine games and scored four points so far while grabbing two rebounds.
Who knows, Bennett Andersen might find himself getting real minutes in year three.
