TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Thomas Haugh stepped into the post-game media scrum wearing an ice bag on his arm and an ear-to-ear grin. The standout senior forward wasted no time announcing his favorite statistic that came out of No. 1-ranked Florida's 81-72 workmanlike road win Tuesday night over rival Florida State.
"Yep, 4-0 against these guys … probably not going to be 5-0, either," Haugh said of his career mark against the Seminoles. "I'm not going to be back [next year]."
Not exactly breaking news from the preseason Southeastern Conference Player of the Year, first-team All-American and future NBA lottery pick. Then again, neither was another win over FSU, which the top-ranked Gators defeated for a sixth straight time. Haugh led the way behind a double-double of 21 points and 10 rebounds over 34 minutes.
In remaining unbeaten with a first road win of the season, UF (3-0) led for the final 20-plus minutes, but left the door cracked just enough for the home team with a poor shooting first half, a dreadful nearly 30 minutes at the free-throw line and some live-ball turnovers. The Gators fixed themselves enough on those fronts to notch a third straight win in the state capital city.
Thomas Haugh(10) had a trio of 3s and 10 free throws among his team-high 21 points.
Haugh went four of eight from the floor, three of six from the 3-point arc, 10 of 12 from the free-throw line and did not turn the ball over. Junior point guard Boogie Fland finished with 14 points, five rebounds and four assists (with four turnovers), while backup guard Urban Klavzar, who missed his first five shots (all 3-pointers), pitched in 10 points, including eight straight during a pivotal second-half stretch that steadied his team when the Seminoles (2-1) were threatening. Forward Alex Condon had nine points, 10 rebounds, but five turnovers.
"I think this [FSU] program is on the rise. They have good momentum. There was a lot of excitement around this game," said UF coach Todd Golden, who became the only coach in program history to win his first five games against Florida State, said of the first Seminoles home sellout in three seasons. "Anytime we can come in here and get a win, regardless of whether it's pretty or not, it's one that were going to take a lot of pride in."
He definitely should be proud of how his players righted themselves on the fly at the free-throw line. The Gators, eight days after going a miserable 20 of 35 in a season-opening win over No. Miami, made just four of their first 11 – as opposed to the Seminoles starting 9-for-9 – before going 26-for-30 over the game's final 11:19. At one point, they knocked down 17 in a row.
"We haven't been shooting well from the line," said Klavzar, who was perfect in seven attempts. "I don't know, we always talk about, 'We have to hit free throws at the end,' but we didn't really talk about it that much [during the game]. So, just keep going to the line and concentrate."
UF guard Urban Klavzar went 7-for-7 from the free-throw line and helped the Gators make 27 of 33 in the second half.
Florida State got a game-high 23 points from forward Sebastian Rancik, but the anticipated battle of giants between UF's 6-foot-10, 265-pound senior Rueben Chineylu and FSU's 7-foot, 285-pound freshman Marcis Ponder never really materialized. Chinyelu, alongside the 7-foot Condon in the post, never let it happen. Chinyelu had eight points and six rebounds over 31 minutes, while Ponder finished with a quiet four points and three boards in 21 minutes.
"They bully teams and are so physical on the glass," FSU coach Luke Loucks said of the Gators, who won the rebound battle 41-29. "They're grown men who know how to win because they've done it."
Florida led by two, 31-29, at halftime after shooting just 36.7% from the floor. That was only a tad worse, though, than Florida State, which shot at 38.7% and missed all nine of its 3-pointers.
It was anyone's game at the break and the home crowd was into it (and then some).
"I got hit with a beer can. Never been hit with a beer can before. It was halftime and I was walking to the locker room," UF junior backup wing Isaiah Brown said of the hostile atmosphere. "It's one of the most insane environments I've been in. We [excel] in those. We're used to it. We've been together. We expect this."
The Florida bench reacts after backup guard Isaiah Brown (20) -- after taking a beer can to the head -- drills a timely second-half 3-pointer
The Gators scored the first six points of the second half to go up eight, but the Seminoles got back within one, 37-36, before the first media timeout. UF then scored seven straight, keyed by a 3 from Brown (9 points, 3 rebounds), and again were up eight, but FSU kept coming and trailed by just three, 53-50, with 7:17 remaining when Chinyelu made one of two free throws.
Over the next minute-plus, Klavzar countered a pair of FSU field goals with his first and only 3 of the game, followed by three free throws after getting fouled shooting from the arc, then two more free throws to push his team back ahead by eight.
"Urb stepped up," Haugh said of the 2026 Southeastern Conference Sixth Man of the Year. "He was quiet in the first half, but it's just resilience from him. He's the Sixth Man of the Year for a reason. He came in there and changed the momentum of the game."
An offensive rebound and second-chance layup by Fland gave the Gators a 10-point cushion at 4:25 remaining with what was their last field goal of the game. Even so, UF outscored FSU 19-18 to the final buzzer, with all the Gators' points coming on 22 free throw attempts to seal the victory and help offset 14 turnovers that led to 17 Seminoles' points.
When it was done, the Gators had shot 41% for the night, going nine of 28 from deep (32%), and 30 of 41 at the line (73.2%). The nation's No. 4 team in defensive efficiency coming in, UF walled up FSU at 43.5% overall, just 19% from distance (4-for-19) and did its thing on the glass.
"It makes it easy when you have Rueben and Condo at the rim," Haugh said. "You're not getting easy buckets. Every shot is going to be contested."
Rueben Chinyelu with the late-game Gator chomp.
As the final seconds ticked away, the Gator-chomping from the UF players commenced. For Haugh (and almost certainly Condon, Chinyelu and who knows who else) it was a final FSU house call. A sweet swan song, to be sure.
It was the Gators' way to say, "Thanks for the memories" … and goodbye.
"They were even talking about my girlfriend, but we blocked out the haters," Haugh said of the FSU student section. "I love playing in environments like this. I think playing away games is the best. We all love it – and love watching them walk out of the gym."
