After back-to-back road games and three matchups against ranked opponents in the last four contests, the No. 16 Gators return home for their most favorable matchup of conference play thus far.
On Tuesday night, Florida (13-5, 4-1 SEC) takes on LSU (13-5, 1-4 SEC) in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. The Gators are coming off their biggest win of the season against then-No. 10 Vanderbilt on Saturday, while LSU grabbed its first win of Southeastern Conference play against Missouri.
“LSU is pretty good,” Florida head coach Todd Golden said. “They played Texas A&M really tough on the road early, and now we’re seeing Texas A&M is pretty dang good, and it’s hard to do that. They had a big lead against Kentucky at home last week and should’ve won that game. They’re 1-4, but easily could be 3-2.”
Here are four keys for the Gators to win their third-straight home game against the Tigers.
Lock down on defense
LSU came into Tuesday’s match struggling on the offensive end.
Much of their struggle can be attributed to the loss of Dedan Thomas Jr. The junior guard suffered a low leg injury that has kept him out of action for the Tigers since their matchup against Southern Mississippi on Dec. 29.
Up to that point, Thomas was leading LSU with 16.2 points and 7.1 assists per game. Against Boston College on Dec. 3, he logged 23 pts on 8-of-21 shooting and seven assists.
Ahead of LSU’s game against Missouri, Thomas was listed as doubtful. While his status for Tuesday's contest is not clear, his absence could prove crucial to Florida’s ability to lock down on defense.
“He’s a very good point guard,” Golden said. “It’s taken them a little bit to get comfortable and figure out, ‘How are we going to play without this guy?”
The Gators enter Tuesday limiting opponents to 41.5% shooting from the field, which ranks fifth-best in the conference. Still, Florida’s defense has struggled at times recently.
In Wednesday’s game against Oklahoma, UF held Nijel Pack to 5 points on 2-of-8 shooting. However, the Sooners found success from beyond the arc, converting 10 of their 16 attempts.
Against Vanderbilt on Saturday, Florida gave up 94 points on 51% shooting from the field. Moreover, the Commodores shot 36% from 3-point range, resulting in five double-digit scorers.
Facing a struggling LSU offense that could be without its top scorer yet again, Tuesday provides the Gators' defense an opportunity to put on a clinic, reducing the stress on its inconsistent offense.
Win on the glass
Florida’s frontcourt continues to shine, coming into Tuesday ranked first nationally in rebounds per game (46.3), rebound margin (plus-15.6) and offensive boards per outing (16.8).
Conversely, LSU is allowing 32.2 rebounds per game to its opponents, ranking No. 5 in the SEC.
“Their front court, maybe the biggest we’ve seen in a couple weeks,” Golden said. “This is a spot for us where we’re finally getting some appreciation and recognition and we cannot allow it to change our approach.”
The Tigers’ rebounding effort is led by Marquel Sutton, who is averaging 8.5 rebounds a night. The fifth-year forward is coming off a 26-point, six-rebound outing in LSU’s win over Missouri on Saturday. However, at 6 feet, 9 inches, Sutton is smaller than Florida’s starting big men, Reuben Chinyelu (6 foot, 10 inches) and Alex Condon (6 foot, 11 inches).
Chinyelu, who averages 10.7 rebounds per game, leads the Gators and is on track to be the first player in program history to finish a season averaging double-digit rebounds since 1976. Against Vanderbilt on Saturday, the reigning SEC Player of the Week grabbed his 10th double-double of the campaign with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
"During the draft process, there were so many questions about the offense and all,” Chinyelu said. “Their feedback was good, and it's just up to me to go and do what I've been doing. I go out there, enjoy the game, embrace the game and get better each day."
Condon is averaging 8.3 rebounds per outing and coming off a 16-point, eight-rebound performance against the Commodores.
Expect the Gators to impose their will on the glass and punish the Tigers’ inability to limit rebound opportunities to their opponents.
Win the turnover battle
Both teams have struggled to protect the ball throughout the season, entering Tuesday’s contest with negative turnover margins.
Florida has the worst turnover margin in the SEC (-1.33), which played a role against Vanderbilt. The Gators lost the turnover battle 10-4, giving the Commodores a plus-5 advantage in points off turnovers. Against Oklahoma, UF was minus-four in the turnover battle.
In their first win in conference play on Saturday, the Tigers were minus-five in turnover margin. Overall, LSU has six players in its rotation who are averaging a turnover or more per game.
The Gators will look for Boogie Fland to take advantage on the defensive end. The Arkansas transfer averages a team-high 1.7 steals per game and four takeaways in Florida’s home win against Tennessee on Jan. 4.
Given LSU’s offensive struggles, if the Gators can also win the turnover battle, they’ll have the chance to create separation on Tuesday.
Get the bench involved
Tuesday marks a three-game span in which the Gators face unranked opponents, after playing three ranked teams in the last four games.
Given LSU’s struggles in conference play, Florida has a chance to take an early lead and get some of its players on the bench with more experience, including Isaiah Brown, Urban Klavzar and Micah Handlogten, who make up the Gators’ rotational bench unit.
Brown is coming off his best performance this season, which came on his 20th birthday, when he recorded 14 points on 3-of-6 shooting, including two 3-pointers. Klavzar logged 3 points on Saturday but recorded double-digit scoring efforts in the three games prior, including a 15-point outing versus Tennessee on Jan. 10.
“We definitely expected him to impact the team this year,” Golden said. “He's answered the bell, man. He's been fantastic. But just really impacting the game in a positive way.”
Handlogten, however, has struggled recently. He was held scoreless in two of Florida’s last three outings and his last double-digit scoring effort was a 10-point outing against Saint Francis on Dec. 17. Additionally, the senior center started the season with back-to-back double-doubles but has not been able to reach the feat since.
Moreover, freshmen CJ Ingram and Alex Lloyd have seen limited time on the court. Ingram played two minutes against the Sooners on Wednesday and has not seen 10-plus minutes of action since the Saint Francis contest. Lloyd also saw two minutes in Wednesday’s game but has not been on the court for 10-plus minutes since Florida’s 94-72 win over Dartmouth on Dec. 29.
If the Gators can get out to a commanding lead, their bench could get some valuable minutes to get guys in rhythm before the conference schedule picks up again.
Contact Jeffrey Serber at Jserber@alligator.org. Follow him on X @JeffreySerber.
Jeffrey is the spring 2026 men's basketball beat reporter and a second-year journalism sports & media major with a media, management and production minor. In his free time, he enjoys hanging out with friends and family, and rooting for the Miami sports teams
