FINAL: No. 7 Florida 111, No. 20 Arkansas 77

What Happened

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The seventh-ranked Florida Gators won the Southeastern Conference championship in resounding fashion Saturday night with a 111-77 massacre of No. 20 Arkansas, much to the delight of the rowdiest sellout crowd of the season that witnessed the home team clinching the program's first league title in 12 years.

The team and fans basked in a post-game celebration, complete with confetti and net-cutting, as the O'Dome celebrated the Gators' eighth SEC crown, joining the championship teams of 1989, 2000, '01, '07, '11, '13 and '14. Now Coach Todd Golden has more hardware to go alongside the SEC tournament and NCAA championships the 2025 squad claimed last season.

Florida, winner of nine straight and 14 of the previous 15, can do no worse than share the title, but can grab it outright by winning one of the two final games of the regular season.

A season-high seven different UF players finished in double-figure scoring, led by forward Thomas Haugh's 22 points. Center Rueben Chinyelu posted his league-best 17th double-double of the season with 12 points and 16 rebounds. Reserve guards Urban Klavzar and Isaiah Brown were fabulous off the bench, pitching in 14 and 11 points, respectfully, with Klavzar nailing four 3-pointers. Point guard Boogie Fland scored all 14 of his points in the second half, while forward Alex Condon had 17 points and guard Xaivian Lee 13 points and five assists.

UF, which raced to a 24-point first-half lead, shot 56.5% for the game, including eight of 19 from the 3-point line, but it was what the Gators' No. 4-rated defense did to the Razorbacks' No. 4-rated offense and their electric point guard, freshman Darius Acuff Jr., that stole the show.

Arkansas came into the game leading the SEC in shooting percentage at 51.6 and shooting 35.2 from 3. Against the Gators, those numbers shrank to 40% and 31%, respectively, with Acuff, the league's scoring leader at 22.2 points per game, finishing with 17 points on just six of 19 from the floor, six assists and three turnovers.

The Razorbacks led by five, 11-6, about six minutes in when UF took off on a run of 12 straight points, including a couple 3s by Klavzar, that put the Gators ahead 23-16. About 10 minutes later came another run, this one 14-1, with eight straight points from Brown, also with a couple 3s, as UF built a lead that blew up to 24 points before heading to the locker room ahead 53-34. The rout was on.

UF forward **Alex Condon** (21) throws in a first-half basket during the Gators' rush to a 19-point lead at the break.

Turning Point

The runs of the first half. After that, the game was never close. The most drama in the second half came when Arkansas coach John Calipari, on the way to equaling the worst loss of his career, got into a back-and-forth with Golden during a dead ball resulting in double technical fouls on both.

Staggering Statistic

The win was the sixth straight against an Associated Press ranked team when the Gators scored at least 90 points, giving them the second-longest such streak in college basketball history. The all-time longest is shared by 1989-90 UNLV and Loyola-Marymount at nine straight. During the nine-game winning streak, all in league play, the Gators' average margin of victory has been 22.5 points. Two of those wins came by 47 and 34.

Up Next

Florida (23-6, 14-2) has its regular-season home finale Tuesday night against Mississippi State (13-16, 5-11), a game that will double as "Senior Night" for Micah Handlogten and Lee (and maybe the final home appearances for a couple other popular players, but that's a conversation for later). The Bulldogs, who are tracking to miss their first NCAA Tournament since 2022, got smashed by Missouri 88-64 at home Saturday afternoon.

Email senior writer Chris Harry at chrish@gators.ufl.edu. Find his story archives here.

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