Riding an eight-game winning streak, Florida has one of its most important games of the season coming up.
On Saturday, No. 7 Florida (22-6, 13-2 SEC) hosts No. 20 Arkansas (21-7, 11-4 SEC) for a primetime matchup, as ESPN’s College GameDay comes to Gainesville. With a win, the Gators would grab their first Southeastern Conference regular-season title since 2014.
“This is the two best teams in the league right now competing on ESPN with GameDay here,” Florida head coach Todd Golden said. “There is a lot more to play for.”
Here are three keys for the Gators to extend their winning streak to nine games.
Defend the perimeter
Arkansas comes into Saturday’s game averaging 90.3 points per game, putting them second in the conference. A large reason for that is its play on the perimeter.
The Razorbacks’ 50.5% shooting from the field and 37.5% from beyond the arc puts them first in the SEC for each metric.
At the forefront of their offense is freshman guard Darius Acuff Jr., the SEC Player of the Year favorite.
A 2025 McDonald’s All-American, Acuff is living up to his hype, leading the SEC with 22.2 points per game. He’s recorded 20 or more points in nine-straight outings, including a career-high 49 points on 16 of 27 shooting in an overtime thriller against then-No. 25 Alabama on Feb. 18. The IMG product went 6 for 10 from beyond the arc that game and is shooting a fourth-best in the conference 43% from 3-point range.
“Just a good player, a really good player,” Golden said. “Teams understand what he brings to the table, and for him to be able to have that success -- most likely being at the top of other team scouting reports -- is really hard to do.”
Meleek Thomas, who was also a 2025 McDonald’s All-American, follows Acuff with 15.2 points per game on 40.8% shooting from beyond the arc, good for seventh in the SEC. Against Alabama, he recorded 24 points on 8of- 3 shooting, including six 3-pointers, before fouling out.
Despite Acuff and Thomas’ recent success, Florida’s defense has proven that it’s built for the challenge.
The Gators come into Saturday ranked second in the SEC, holding opponents to 71.2 points per game. Moreover, their 40.5% defensive field goal percentage is first in the conference.
UF has held its opponent below 50% shooting from the field since Vanderbilt converted 50.8% of its field goals against Florida on Jan. 17. In its 84-71 win over Texas on Wednesday, the Florida defense held the Longhorns to zero field goals over the last 7:27 of the contest, fueling a 23-7 run for the Gators.
“We obviously challenged our guys pretty strongly at halftime about guarding your yard and doing a better job on the defensive end,” Golden said. “And obviously that flipped for us. We guarded really, really well in the second half.”
For the Gators to extend their win streak to nine games, it starts with their defensive effort and limiting Arkansas’ perimeter attack.
Feed the bigs
While Arkansas’ perimeter players provide a crucial role in its offensive output, Florida’s attack is driven by its frontcourt.
Leading that group as of late is junior forward Alex Condon.
The Aussie has recorded three straight games with 20 or more points. Against Texas on Wednesday, he logged 23 points on 10 of 12 shooting. In the game prior against Ole Miss on Saturday, he put up 24 points on 9 of 13 shooting.
“I’ve found a rhythm these last few games,” Condon said after the Texas game. “My teammates are getting me the ball and trusting me to make the right plays. I didn’t feel like I forced anything tonight and just let the game come to me.”
However, during this two-game span, Condon’s partner in the paint, Rueben Chinyelu, has struggled to assert his dominance.
The junior center comes into Saturday leading the Gators with 11.5 rebounds to go along with his 11.3 points per game. However, in Florida's last two games, the Nigerian has a combined eight points on 3 of 8 shooting and 10 rebounds. Against Texas, he was limited to 24 minutes of action due to foul trouble.
Thomas Haugh also struggled against Texas, tying a season low with 5 points on 2 of 6 shooting. He fouled out of the contest with about a minute to go.
The junior forward is averaging a team-leading 16.9 points per game, and in order for Florida to keep up with Arkansas’ offense, the Gators will need Haugh and Chinyelu to bounce back while Condon maintains his recent form.
Use the bench
Similar to Florida, Arkansas runs a smaller rotation, but it has become even smaller in the last few weeks.
The Razorbacks have been without Karter Knox since their game against Auburn on Feb. 14, as he underwent surgery to repair the meniscus on his left knee. Before his injury, the Tampa native provided 8.1 points per game off the bench and recorded 16 points on 6 of 9 shooting against then-No. 15 Vanderbilt on Jan. 20.
More recently, freshman guard Isaiah Sealy has been out of the rotation due to a hip injury since Arkansas faced LSU on Feb. 10. His status remains unknown for Saturday, but he missed Wednesday’s game against Texas A&M despite being ruled probable on the injury report.
Against the Aggies, the Razorbacks had just Malique Ewin and D.J. Wagner coming off the bench, and there is a chance the same could be the case on Saturday.
Therefore, Florida’s three players off the bench could provide a crucial advantage.
Urban Klavžar leads Florida’s bench, averaging 10 points per game on 40.1% shooting from beyond the arc. The junior guard has recorded double-digit scoring efforts in seven of his last 10 outings, including a 15-point performance against Ole Miss on Saturday, where he shot 4 for 5 from 3-point range.
Behind Klavžar is Isaiah Brown, who is averaging 5.3 points per game and is fresh off a 9-point and team-high eight-rebound outing against Texas on Wednesday.
Micah Handlogten rounds out Florida’s rotation, and while his scoring has been lacking, at 7-foot-1, he can play an important role in slowing down Ewin, who put up 18 points and nine rebounds against Texas A&M on Wednesday.
“We made our run with Tommy and Rueben on the bench, and I think that speaks a lot about Isaiah Brown and Micah Handlogten and the rest of our team and what we're capable of, and that we have a really, really strong eight,” Golden said.
Given the Razorbacks’ injuries to their bench, Florida's reserves could play an important role in providing a boost on Saturday.
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
