Monday, November 9, 2026 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
No. 1 Florida vs. Florida State
- When: Tuesday, 6 p.m. (ET)
- Where: Tucker Center / Tallahassee, Fla.
- Records: Florida (2-0) / Florida State (2-0)
- Series/Last meeting: Florida leads 48-29. The Gators defeated the Seminoles 78-76 in Gainesville on Nov. 11, 2025 behind double-doubles from both forward Thomas Haugh (20 points, 13 rebounds) and center Rueben Chinyelu (10 points, 16 rebounds). UF led by nine with eight minutes to go, but let FSU back in the game and survived a half-court shot at the buzzer.
- TV: ESPN2 (Mike Monaco and Cory Alexander)
- Radio: Gator Sports Network (Stations list) with Sean Kelley, Brian Hogan and Steve Egan
- Ticket info
Projected Starters
Florida
| Player | Pos. | Ht / Wt | Class | Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Condon | F | 7-0 / 236 | Sr | 11.5 pts / 9.5 reb / 5.5 ast |
| Rueben Chinyelu | C | 6-10 / 265 | Sr | 13.5 pts / 11.0 reb |
| Thomas Haugh | F | 6-9 / 215 | Sr | 16.5 pts / 8.5 reb / 4.0 ast |
| Denzel Aberdeen | G | 6-5 / 190 | 5th | 9.5 pts / 1.0 reb |
| Boogie Fland | G | 6-3 / 185 | Jr | 8.0 pts / 3.5 ast |
Florida Cumulative Stats
Florida State
| Player | Pos. | Ht / Wt | Class | Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sebastian Rancik | F | 6-11 / 230 | Jr | 21.5 pts / 3.5 reb |
| Marcis Ponder | C | 7-0 / 285 | Fr | 12.5 pts / 10.5 reb |
| Shon Avaev | F | 6-8 / 215 | So | 13.0 pts / 6.0 ast |
| Kam Taylor | G | 6-7 / 195 | Jr | 15.0 pts / 4.5 reb |
| Anthony Robinson | G | 6-3 / 190 | Sr | 11.0 / 5.5 reb / 4.0 ast |
The Setup
- Top-ranked Florida and Florida State, both undefeated, renew their 75-year-old men's basketball rivalry with a 77th meeting. The Gators, tabbed as the nation's No. 1 team by The Associated Press preseason poll for the first time in 20 years, opened the season last week with an impressive defeat of 14th-ranked Miami in Tampa and followed with a win over Jacksonville at home Thursday. The Seminoles have a pair of low-major wins over Florida A&M in Tampa and Troy at home Friday.
- UF has won five straight in the series, dating to 2021, when it snapped FSU's six-game winning streak that marked the Seminoles' longest, just one shy of the longest by either team (Gators won seven straight from 1965-68 and six in a row from 1999-2004).
- Florida has won the last two meetings at Tallahassee, where UF coach Todd Golden's first team fashioned the second-largest road comeback in program history when on Nov. 18, 2022, the Gators erased a 19-point first-half deficit and left town with a 76-67 victory for Golden's first road win on the UF sidelines.
Tale of the Tape
| Florida | Statistics | Florida State |
|---|---|---|
| 82.5 | Scoring | 102.0 |
| .460 | Field-goal percentage | .496 |
| .431 | 3-point percentage | .288 |
| 62.0 | Scoring defense | 68.5 |
| .342 | Field-goal percentage defense | .402 |
| .263 | 3-point percentage defense | .358 |
| 2nd | KenPom.com overall ranking | 56th |
| 2nd | KenPom.com offensive efficiency | 50th |
| 5th | KenPom.com defensive efficiency | 65th |
| 94th | KenPom.com adjusted tempo | 38th |
| NA | NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) ranking | NA |
| 117th | Overall strength of schedule ranking | 294th |
The Breakdown
About the Gators
- They shot 48% from the floor and 44 from the 3-point line against Jacksonville, while holding the Dolphins to 33.3% and 28.6 from deep. Forward Alex Condon (12 points, 12 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 blocks) fell two assists shy of a triple-double. Center Rueben Chinyelu poured in a career-high 21 points and grabbed eight boards, while Thomas Haugh had 14 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Haugh leads the team with six 3-pointers at 50% from the floor. All three players show up in KenPom's (very) early National Player of the Year standings, which lists 10 players: Condon (4th), Haugh (7th) and Chinyelu (9th).
- Reserve guard Urban Klavzar (10.5 ppg) is at 45.5% from distance and is the only backcourt player averaging double-figure scoring. Point guard Boogie Fland took just three shots against JU, while Denzel Aberdeen, who went 3-for-9 against Miami and missed all four of his 3s, bounced back nicely going 4-for-5 from deep on his way to 12 points. Fland needs to be more aggressive with his offense, so opponents will have to honor it. He had 18 points, five rebounds and four steals in last year's win against the Seminoles.
- They hit 11 3-pointers in each of the first two games, with makes from eight different players. Last season, UF hit double-digit 3s in back-to-back games only once.
- Backup junior wing Isaiah Brown (5.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg) is off to a very nice, energetic start as the second reserve with a plus-22 aggregate floor score. Forward Domen Petrovic (4.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg) didn't have the splash performance against JU like in his collegiate debut against Miami, but (for now) he has a hold on the eighth man in the rotation.
- Florida's offensive efficiency of 124.9 points per 100 possessions ranks second only to Illinois (124.8), while the Gators defensive efficiency (90.8) trails only Houston (87.6), Duke (89.5), Kansas (90.1) and Michigan State (90.6). Only one of those teams has played a power conference team and have faced a team ranked in the KenPom Top 100, while UF's season-opening foe, Miami, checks in at No. 23. Duke and Michigan State face off Tuesday in the Champions Classic in Chicago, as does Kansas against Kentucky.
About the Seminoles
- They're in the second season under alum and former walk-on standout Luke Loucks, who parlayed an assistant's career in the NBA into the job at his alma mater. FSU went 18-15 in Loucks' first season, but won 10 of its final 13 games (finishing 10-8 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) while playing an entertaining brand of basketball. The Seminoles returned two players from their '25-26 squad, neither a starter and neither available until maybe January due to injury. Loucks reloaded with five accomplished players via the portal and some impact freshman (one very large one). With exhibition wins over Auburn (in Birmingham, Alabama) and LSU (at home) during the preseason, this is the best Florida State team that UF has faced since Golden arrived. Very likely a NCAA Tournament team and most certainly a Quad 1 opportunity.
- Even with tremendous size, Florida State plays to one of the fastest paces in the nation and is ranked 16th nationally in points per game with five starters averaging in double figures. Loucks, though, backed off during midseason last year from the mad-bombing style from the 3-point line to focus more on shots at the rim. It worked for the balance of '25-26 and was carried into '26-27. The Seminoles have converted just 28.8% from distance to date, but also have dropped their 3-point volume to 40.3% of their total shots compared to 50.6 last season. FSU's players, though, are more than capable of hitting 3s at high numbers, which suggest they're due. Especially at home.
- Point guard Anthony Robinson hurt the Gators big-time at Missouri last season -- he hit a game-winning 3 in the SEC opener -- and is running an offense that also features play-making shooting guard Shon Abaev, by way of Cincinnati, who had six assists in both games. Athletic wing Kam Taylor, who averaged 18.9 points and 5.0 rebounds at UNC-Asheville last season, will be on the attack and draw fouls, where he's 14-for-15 at the line.
- Sebastian Rancik and Marcis Ponder will be problems in the ACC post this season. Rancik, by way of Colorado, is another who excels at drawing fouls, but at 6-11 also needs to be respected from the arc (33% last season on 118 attempts). The 7-foot Ponder has double doubles in both his games (8-for-10 from the floor, too). The latest "Baby Shaq" is listed at 285 pounds, but probably is 20-25 more and gobbles rebounds on both ends. He had 21 in an exhibition win over Auburn last month, including 13 on the offensive end.
- FSU not only constantly changes defenses, but plays multiple brands (including some junk), so it'll be to the Gators to be on their recognition game on offense. UF didn't handle it so well last season, finishing with 18 turnovers, including six by Condon.
Numbers of Note
* 2 —Florida coaches -- Golden and Tommy Bartlett (1966-73) -- to win their first four games against Florida State. Golden can become the first to start 5-0 against the Seminoles.
* 19 — Turnovers by the Gators in their last visit at Tallahassee, which marked a season-high during their 2024-25 national-championship season. UF was able to overcome the giveaways and prevail with an 87-74 victory, thanks in great part to a Walter Clayton Jr.'s game-high 25 points, including four 3-pointers, and an equally lopsided 47-29 advantage on the glass.
Bottom Line
A very challenging first true road date. Probably more so than Florida fans realize.Email senior writer Chris Harry at chrish@gators.ufl.edu. Catch up on the Gators with more of his stories on FloridaGators.com.
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