The wait is over. Florida men’s basketball will tip off its season Nov. 3 and begin its quest for back-to-back national titles against the No. 13 Arizona Wildcats.
The Gators will look far different than the team that earned the title in April, but the program returned crucial pieces of its frontcourt and has a backcourt built up of strong transfers and rising parts of last year’s team.
“It's a new team,” said head coach Todd Golden Oct. 30. “But Monday night's a new challenge. I've never been under the lights with those guys yet, so we'll see what that looks like.”
Gators basketball returns Thomas Haugh, Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu, who will start in Florida’s frontcourt. The program added Princeton transfer Xaivian Lee and Arkansas transfer Boogie Fland as its starting guards.
The starting five will look different without Walter Clayton Jr., Will Richard and Alijah Martin, who led the Gators in points during their title run. However, Florida’s new backcourt tandem has adjusted well and feels optimistic heading into the team’s season opener.
“We're confident together,” Fland said. “You've always got room to get more comfortable, but we’re better now."
The Gators’ debut matchup won’t be any walk in the park. Under head coach Tommy Lloyd, Arizona boasted an elite group that surged to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA Tournament before falling to Duke in 2024.
Last season, the Wildcats were led by senior guard Caleb Love, senior forward Carter Bryant — who was drafted No. 14 overall to the San Antonio Spurs — and center Tobe Awaka, who logged 7.8 rebounds a game. Awaka will return as a senior this season alongside senior guard Jaden Bradley, who tallied 12.1 points per game in 2024.
Arizona also added the No. 2 recruiting class in the country, according to 247Sports. The Wildcats secured forward Koa Peat, who was ranked the No. 8 recruit in the country.
Peat is expected to be one of the best freshmen in the country and played for the FIBA U-19 team during the summer, averaging 12 points, seven rebounds and one assist per game. He even faced Gators 7-foot-9 center Olivier Rioux, who played for Canada’s U-19 team, during the tournament.
The Gilbert, Arizona, native is joined by five-star guard Brayden Burries and three-star guard Bryce James, NBA star LeBron James’ son.
“I think Koa is going to be a little bit of what determines how good they are,” Golden said. “They definitely do have one of the best frontcourts. … My hope is that our veteran leadership and the veteran experience in the frontcourt will be a plus for us on Monday night.”
One of Florida’s biggest changes is Haugh emerging as the Gators’ starting forward. He’ll play alongside Condon and Chinyelu in Florida’s starting frontcourt.
Condon is expected to be one of the premier forwards in college basketball after he decided to return to college. He was named a preseason AP All-American and listed on the coaches’ preseason All-SEC First Team.
“We had great guards last year, but this is the year to really prove ourselves,” Condon said of the frontcourt. “The ball is going to go into us a lot more, so we’ve got that responsibility.”
Haugh and Fland were named to the coaches’ preseason All-SEC teams alongside Condon.
Fland already has experience at the SEC level and will look to make a similar impact at Florida. Without Fland in the Gators’ exhibition match, Lee proved he will be a crucial piece to UF’s success this season. He recorded 17 points and eight assists in Florida’s preseason exhibition match against Illinois.
"Offensively, he’s fantastic,” Golden said. “He’s been playing really, really well. I thought he was fabulous on Saturday against Illinois, and I'm excited to see what he does on Monday night.”
After guard Denzel Aberdeen decided to transfer to Kentucky, junior Urban Klavžar and sophomore Isaiah Brown are two of Florida’s main returners on the bench. Isaiah is joined by his brother, AJ Brown, a redshirt junior transfer from Ohio, with whom he’ll be competing with for a spot in Golden’s nine-player rotation.
Senior center Micah Handlogten will return after forgoing his redshirt last season and is expected to be a significant piece of the rotation. Florida’s two incoming freshmen guards, CJ Ingram and Alex Lloyd, are also likely contributors to UF’s efforts.
Going into Monday, the Gators are ranked No. 3 in the country and hope to maintain the high expectations for their season.
“It's a privilege,” Fland said. “We know people are going to come for our necks. We just have to be ready to go."
Contact Ava DiCecca at adicecca@alligator.org. Follow her on X @avadicecca24.
Ava is a sophomore sports journalism student and the volleyball beat reporter for fall 2025. She enjoys playing basketball and volleyball in her free time and going on beach trips with friends. She has been a Boston sports fan all her life (Brad Marchand we miss you).
