Coming into Saturday night’s prime-time bout, Florida’s mission was clear as day. A win, and the Gators would secure a share of the Southeastern Conference regular-season championship for the first time since 2014.
Florida did that, and a whole lot more.
The Gator offense could not be stopped, as a whopping seven different players scored in the double-digits. It marks only the second time in team history that seven players have scored in double-figures, following UF’s 114-95 win over Auburn on Feb. 14, 2017. Furthermore, the Gators shot a blistering 57% from the field and 42% from 3-point range.
The No. 7 Gators (23-6, 14-2 SEC) trounced No. 20 Arkansas (21-8, 11-5 SEC) 111-77 on the Exactech Arena in the O’Connell Center. With the victory, Florida not only claimed its eighth SEC regular-season title but also the No. 1 seed in the SEC Tournament.
“Just really proud,” Florida head coach Todd Golden said post-game. “We can call ourselves SEC champions.”
Florida celebrated the achievement with a ceremony immediately following the game, where Golden and the Gators cut down the nets.
The Gators would clinch sole possession of the SEC regular-season crown with a victory in either of their two remaining games against Mississippi State (March 3) and Kentucky (March 7). A loss by Alabama to either Georgia (March 3) or Auburn (March 7) would also secure UF’s place at the top of the SEC standings.
The Gators, who came into the contest No. 1 nationally in rebound margin, further dominated the Razorbacks on the glass, outrebounding them 51 to 31.
At the core of the Gators' success on the boards was junior center Rueben Chinyelu. The junior center, who came into the night second in the nation with 11.5 rebounds per game, asserted his presence with 16 rebounds, four of which were offensive.
“Best rebounder in the country … There’s no argument about that,” Golden said of Chinyelu. “I think he’s the best defensive player in the country as well.”
Along with his excellence on the glass, Chinyelu posted 12 points to record his 17th double-double of the season.
With Florida sharing the offensive wealth, junior forward Thomas Haugh ultimately finished as the team’s leading scorer with 22 points. It marks the 12th contest this season in which he has scored at least 20 points.
It was a nice rebound for Haugh, who had a joint-season-low 5 points in Florida’s win over Texas Wednesday.
“I played like crap at Texas,” Haugh said. “I obviously wanted to get back to my game. Credit to these dudes who find me in the right spots.”
Also in the double-digits was senior guard Xaivian Lee, who added 13 points to his team-high five assists. Alongside Lee, junior forward Alex Condon, who paced the Gators in scoring in each of the past three games, capped off his night with 17 points.
The final Gator to hit the double-digit mark was sophomore guard Boogie Fland, who faced off against his former team for the first time. He finished with 14 points and four assists in 21 minutes.
Further, the Gators' improved shooting from deep was led by the pair of junior guard Urban Klavžar and sophomore guard Isaiah Brown.
Klavžar shot four for seven from 3-point range en route to finishing the game with 14 points. Meanwhile, Brown scored 11 points while sinking each of his two tries from beyond the arc.
“Zay Brown has been unbelievable for us,” Condon said. “Zay’s a great shooter, so when I hand the ball off to him, I’m saying, ‘Shoot it, shoot it, shoot it.”
For Arkansas, the ever-dependent guard pair of freshmen Darius Acuff Jr. and Meleek Thomas was mostly held in check. Acuff, who had not scored less than 20 points since Jan. 20, finished the night with 17 points on 6 of 19 shooting. Meanwhile, Thomas was held to 10 points on 5 of 13 shooting.
While the Razorbacks’ top two leading scorers struggled, sophomore guard Billy Richmond III emerged as the team’s go-to guy. He finished the contest with 22 points while shooting 9 for 17 from the field.
"I wish it would have gone faster," Arkansas head coach John Calipari said after the game.
The winners of 14 of its past 15 games, including an undefeated month of February, Florida will host its final home game of the season, facing off with Mississippi State (13-16, 5-11 SEC) in the O’Connell Center Tuesday at 8 p.m.
“Didn’t lose in February … Got to try to not lose in March, either,” Golden said.
Contact Max Bernstein at mbernstein@alligator.org. Follow him on X @maxbernstein23.
Max is a junior sports journalism student in his seventh semester at The Alligator. He serves as The Alligator's assistant sports editor and football beat coordinator. He previously served as The Alligator's sports editor and as a reporter for football, women's tennis, volleyball, lacrosse and sports enterprise. He also has made multiple appearances on the Paul Finebaum Show. Max wants to shoutout his cats, Scooter and Zoe, and niche former Florida Panthers players (shoutout Maxim Mamin).
