Florida's biggest challenge of the season so far is here.
The No. 15 Gators (5-2) travel to take on the No. 4 Blue Devils (8-0) Tuesday at Cameron Indoor Stadium for the SEC-ACC Challenge, looking for their first win in program history at the iconic college basketball venue.
"Just a great opportunity," head coach Todd Golden said. "To be able to, in the professional part of my career, get an opportunity to go coach there is really special and obviously we're looking forward to the opportunity tomorrow night."
Here are four keys for Florida to pull off the upset.
Reduce Cameron Boozer's Impact
Eight games into his collegiate career, Cameron Boozer has lit up the college basketball world, cementing himself as one of the top players in the nation. The son of former two-time NBA All-Star Carlos Boozer, Cameron has filled the void of 2025 No. 1 overall draft pick Cooper Flagg as the Blue Devils’ star.
He leads Duke in points, assists, rebounds and steals per game. In Duke’s last game, a dominant victory over No. 22 Arkansas, Cameron was dominant, logging 35 points and nine rebounds on 13-of-18 shooting from the field.
"Cam's a different beast," Golden said. "He's a sure-fire top-three pick in my estimation. I'd probably take him No. 1 if I was a GM."
Standing six-foot-nine and weighing 250 pounds, Cameron can dictate a game even beyond his scoring prowess. While the Gators likely won't be able to keep him out of the game completely, they can attempt to make life difficult for him.
A strength of this Florida team is four returning pieces in the frontcourt. Alex Condon, Thomas Haugh, Micah Handlogten and Rueben Chinyelu, will look to give Boozer a difficult time. Moreover, Boozer has yet to face a frontcourt like Florida's, which ranks No. 2 nationally in rebound margin.
In Florida's Final Four game last season versus Auburn, Condon played an essential role in shutting down All-American Johni Broome, holding him to three points in the second half. Look for Condon and the rest of the Gators' frontcourt to play a similar defensive role against Boozer, forcing Duke's supporting cast to carry the load.
If the Gators can keep the ball out of Boozer's hands and prevent him from taking over the game, they will have a chance.
Win on the perimeter
These two teams have some of the best frontcourts in the nation. So while they match each other's punches down below, the game could go down to who takes advantage outside the paint.
So far, the Gators have struggled from three-point land, shooting 28% from beyond the arc. However, in Friday's contest against Providence, the defending national champions had a breakthrough.
Xaivian Lee, Boogie Fland and Urban Klavzar combined for 11-of-27 shooting from beyond the arc. Lee, in particular, entered the game shooting 16.7% from three, but finished 44% from deep en route to a season-high 20 points.
Klavzar has been Florida's most consistent backcourt scoring option over the past four games, averaging 14.8 points per game during that span. Against Texas Christian on Thursday, he had a career-high 20 points on 4-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc.
"Coming into this year, I told myself I need to be more confident and take more accountability," Klavzar said. "I'm just trying to be confident and play my game."
The Blue Devils’ defense is No. 1 in the nation, holding opponents to 34% shooting from the field, but if the Gators can get some perimeter shots to fall early, it will ease the pressure on their frontcourt and the offense as a whole.
Stay the Course
One theme from last year's national championship team was its ability to keep composure when games went out of hand. During March Madness, the Gators had to crawl back from late-game deficits against Connecticut, Texas Tech, Auburn and Houston.
Coming into Cameron Indoor, one of the loudest venues in college basketball, it will be crucial for the Gators not to get discouraged if or when the Blue Devils make a run.
"It's loud," Klavzar said. "The fans are really close to the court, so it's going to be really fun to play in that environment."
One player who will be key to keeping Florida in the game is Haugh.
In its season opener against Arizona, Florida had to overcome a deficit and the energy of the Wildcat fans, who outnumbered the Gator fans in Las Vegas.
To keep UF in the contest, Haugh took control, drawing fouls continuously. Despite coming up short, the Gators had a chance to tie the game with around 30 seconds left thanks to Haugh's 27 points and 12-of-14 shooting from the charity stripe.
To slow down Duke, who will be fueled with energy from the Cameron Crazies, Haugh and the rest of Florida will need to stay the course and slow down the game by getting to the line.
Stay out of Foul Trouble
In both of Florida's losses this season, foul trouble has plagued the team. In the Arizona game, Condon and Chinyelu's exits allowed for Koa Peat and Jaden Bradley to attack the basket en route to 57 combined points.
Most recently, against TCU, four players had at least four fouls, including Fland and Lee, who both fouled out. In the frontcourt, Haugh and Chinyelu had four fouls each. As a result, Golden had to turn to freshman guard Alex Lloyd, who had played in just two contests prior and averaged 2.3 points per game this season.
If Florida wants to slow down Duke's top scorers and big men, Boozer and Patrick Ngongba II, they must stay out of foul trouble. If not, the Gators' frontcourt will be limited in action, allowing the Blue Devils to attack the paint with ease.
Contact Jeffrey Serber at Jserber@alligator.org. Follow him on X @JeffreySerber.
Jeffrey is the Fall 2025 enterprise and men's basketball beat reporter and a second-year journalism sports & media major. In his free time, he enjoys hanging out with friends and family, and rooting for the Miami sports teams.
