After opening conference play with a loss Saturday at Missouri, which cost Florida its national ranking, the Gators are in unfamiliar territory.
On Tuesday, UF (9-5) hosts its first home Southeastern Conference game of the season at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center against No. 18 Georgia (13-1). This meeting will mark the first time since 1996 that an unranked UF plays a ranked UGA.
“Georgia’s a great team this year,” junior forward Thomas Haugh said. “It’s definitely going to be rocking. It’s a rivalry game too, so, excited for it.”
Here are four keys for how the Gators can defeat the Bulldogs and get back into the AP polls.
Slow down UGA’s offense
Georgia enters Tuesday’s matchup with one of the best offenses in the nation, ranking first in scoring offense with 99.4 points per outing.
This high-powered offense is fueled by guards Jeremiah Wilkinson and Blue Cain.
Wilkinson transferred from the University of California, where he was named ACC Sixth Man of the Year and named to the ACC All-Rookie Team. This season, he leads the Bulldogs with 18.3 points per game and is coming off a season-high 31 points in Georgia’s 104-100 overtime win against Auburn on Saturday.
Cain is averaging 15.6 points per outing on 51% shooting from the field. Last season, he logged 12 points, including a 3-pointer with 48 seconds left, springing UGA’s 10-3 run in its 88-83 upset victory over UF.
Florida’s guards Boogie Fland and Xaivian Lee will have to hold their own defensively to prevent the pair from taking over the game. These two were the point of attack for Missouri’s guards in their last game.
“Our guards did a bad job on Saturday night of protecting, guarding their yard in the paint,” head coach Todd Golden said. “Our guards got beaten up a little bit in there more than we should.”
Slowing down the Bulldogs' offense will also require the Gators to prevent fast-break opportunities. UGA is No. 1 nationally in fast break points per game (27).
To prevent chances in transition, Florida will have to take care of the ball, something it struggled with at times throughout the season. However, against Missouri, Florida was plus-2 in the turnover battle, giving the ball away just eight times.
“They’re playing very fast and trying to play early in the clock offensively," Golden said.
The Gators must continue to take care of the ball while also getting back on defense to prevent fastbreak opportunities that can ignite this prolific Bulldogs offense.
Get support from the bench
Much of UGA’s offensive success comes from its bench, with head coach Mike White often using an 11-man rotation. As a result, the Bulldogs are No. 4 nationally in bench points per game (41).
Junior guard Marcus “Smurf” Millender is White’s spark off the bench, averaging 11.9 points and leading the team with 3.9 assists a game. Against Auburn, he had a season-high 24 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including 5 for 7 from beyond the arc.
Conversely, UF’s bench has struggled to provide a spark this season with a smaller eight-man rotation. The Gators average 20 points off the bench.
Micah Handlogten and Urban Klavzar lead Florida’s substitutes. After Handlogten started the season with two straight double-doubles, the senior center has recorded double-digit points and rebounds on separate occasions. Klavzar has yet to reach double figures in scoring against a major conference opponent since his 18-point outing against Providence on Nov. 28.
Against Missouri, they combined for nine points on 4-of-8 shooting and three turnovers. Overall, Florida’s bench was outscored by six in Saturday’s two-point deficit.
If Florida wants to keep up with UGA’s larger rotation, it will need support from Klavzar, Handlogten and the remainder of the bench.
Stay out of foul trouble
In all of Florida’s losses this season, foul trouble has played a factor.
Last time out, Alex Condon had three personal fouls at the break, limiting him to 12 minutes in a first half where he led the team with nine points. By the end of the contest, Rueben Chinyelu, Haugh and Condon finished with four fouls apiece.
In the season opener against Arizona, Condon and Chinyelu fouled out of the game in the second half, which helped Arizona’s Jaden Bradley and Koa Peat combine for 57 points that came predominantly on attacks to the rim. As a result, the Gators fell 93-87.
UGA will test Florida’s ability to avoid foul trouble. The Bulldogs are No. 2 nationally in free throws made (22.3) and No. 4 in free throws attempted (29.4) per game. On Saturday, Auburn's Filip Jović and Tahaad Pettiford both fouled out against Georgia.
Slowing down the Bulldogs' offense is hard enough; getting into foul trouble and sending them to the line will not make the challenge any easier for the Gators. Specifically, Chinyelu, who leads the team with 3.4 personal fouls a game, must stay out of foul trouble.
Beware of shot blockers
While the Bulldogs may not be as good a rebounding team as the Gators, they hold their own in the paint through their rim protection. UGA comes into Tuesday first in the nation with eight blocks per game.
The reason for their success in protecting the rim is the presence of big men Somtochukwu Cyril and Justin Abson.
Cyril leads the team with 2.8 blocks per game, placing him No. 5 nationally. Against Auburn, he had a season-high six rejections. Abson is right behind him with 2.2 swats an outing, putting him at the No. 25 spot. The senior forward had his season-best five blocks against Tennessee Tech on Nov. 29.
While Florida relies on its frontcourt for scoring, it will have to be selective with how aggressive it wants to be, knowing that two premier rim protectors await on the other end. A lift from perimeter players like Fland, Lee and Klavzar could help the Gators overcome this obstacle.
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
