Florida Men’s Basketball Drops Second Straight, Lose to No. 5 UConn
The No. 18 Florida Gators traveled to New York on Tuesday for the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden for the first time in seven years and returned home with their fourth loss of the season, falling to No. 5 UConn, 77-73.
UConn (9-1) got its revenge after Florida (5-4) sent the Huskies home in the second round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
It was the untimely mistakes by Florida in its second consecutive loss to a top-five team on the road and the timely shots by UConn that decided this game.
Down by three with nine seconds remaining, the Gators forced a UConn turnover. Florida couldn’t capitalize on the turnover, failing to inbound the ball. The Huskies got the ball back and passed to a cutting Solo Ball that forced Boogie Fland to commit his fifth foul.
Three of Florida’s four losses are to top-five teams (Arizona, Duke and UConn).
“We’re close. We’re right there,” UF coach Todd Golden said. “If we get 5% better these next couple weeks, we’re gonna be pretty good in SEC play.”
Through the heartbreak of another loss for the Gators, a light shined through. Guard Xaivian Lee scored a team-high 19 points with 0 turnovers.
“I thought he had his best game in a Gator uniform and kept us in the game early,” Golden said.
Thomas Haugh added 18, along with Alex Condon, who finished with 14.
Solo Ball led the way for the Huskies with 19 points, knocking down some critical free throws at the end.
First Half
The Gators started the game sluggish and sloppy. UConn, on the other hand, came to play just 138 miles from their campus. The first three baskets of the first half came in the paint for the Huskies, a trend that continued throughout the half.
Florida’s front court struggled by going a combined 3-13 from the field.
UConn’s frontcourt did not. Jaylin Stewart, Tarris Reed and Alex Karaban went a combined 7-9 from the field with the Huskies scoring 20 points in the paint to Florida’s 12.
Florida also had three early turnovers that UConn capitalized on.
However, the first half was a game of runs. Midway through, the Gators went on an 11-0 run. The top of the run came from a steal from Lee who took it the length of the court for an and-one layup.
UConn fought back with a run of its own, making three shots in a row to get within two points before the Bronx native Boogie Fland picked up his third personal with eight minutes remaining in the first.
With four minutes remaining, the Huskies took a seven-point lead by making nine field goals in a row.
After the Huskies took a 10-point lead, Haugh woke up. He was fouled on a dunk and knocked down the free throw, putting the Gators within seven right before halftime.
Florida trailed by seven at halftime after shooting 30% from the field, almost half of the Huskies, who shot 59%.
Lee was the lone offensive spark for Florida, scoring 13 points in the first half.
UConn went into halftime up 39-32.
Second Half
Florida opened the half on a 10-4 run to pull within one of the Huskies. The run was sparked by three Condon blocks that turned into three dunks for the Gators on the other end.
The second half energized the rest of Florida’s offense when Fland got his first points, Condon knocked down a jumper in the paint to tie the game at 46 and Haugh drained a 3-pointer to put the Gators ahead by three.
The game of runs extended to the second half as Haugh’s 3-pointer added to the Gators’ 7-0 run as the Huskies missed seven of their last eight shots.
UConn took a late 12-3 run, but with three minutes left, the Gators cut the deficit to four. The game then turned from a game of runs to a game of fouls, as the Gators tried to get a chance at the lead.
But when Florida had a chance to take control, turnovers followed. A 5-second violation and a wide-open cut by Ball sealed the win for the Huskies.
Takeaways
It came down to the little mistakes for the Gators. The turnovers, the capitalizing on second chances and the protection of the paint.
However, when asked about the five-second call, Golden was quick to give an answer.
“I thought they called it early,” Golden said. “We timed it in the locker room and got 4.6 seconds.”
The Gators committed 12 turnovers, four of them coming from Haugh.
Along with the turnovers, Florida’s shooting is still a struggle as it went just four of 15 from the 3-point line (27%). The Gators also shot just 42% for the game. Florida held the Huskies to 42% from the field, but the 44% from the 3-point line is what hurt the Gators.
The Gators outrebounded the Huskies, 40-28, however UConn outscored the Gators 7-6 in second-chance points. Florida struggled to capitalize on those second-chance opportunities.
“We’re through the toughest part of our schedule,” Golden said. “I think a combination of us improving in the areas that we know we need to be better in.”
The Gators hit the road again to take on George Washington (8-2) in the Orange Bowl Classic at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise at 2:30 p.m. Saturday (ESPN2, 103.7-FM/98.1-FM/850-AM WRUF).
Category: Basketball, College Basketball, Feature Sports News, Gators Men's Basketball, NCAA
