No. 7 Florida Cuts Down Nets in Demolition of No. 20 Arkansas
No. 7 Florida clinched the SEC regular-season men’s basketball championship with a 111-77 beatdown of No. 20 Arkansas in one of the most anticipated conference matchups of the season Saturday night at the O’Connell Center.
Florida (23-6, 14-2 SEC), which is two games ahead of Alabama in the SEC standings with two remaining and can wrap up the outright title Tuesday night at home, is one of the hottest teams in the country, earning its ninth straight victory to close in on a possible top seed in the NCAA tournament.
“In the beginning of the year teams were doubting us,” Florida forward Thomas Haugh said. “We knew who we were as a team from the beginning, but obviously the media, everybody is saying, ‘Florida, they’re not going back, they’re not doing anything this year,’ but we just stuck to it. It’s a credit to the coaching staff too for keeping us together and the players for going out there and executing.”
Not a single game during this stretch has been decided by a possession. Every win beside Kentucky (92-83) has been by a margin of 13 or more. This is the 14th game that Florida has scored 90 points or more, the most in program history. And UF has won six straight against ranked teams and scored at least 90 points in each of those.
“If we take care of business and play really well, there’s not a seed out there that is unattainable for us,” Gators coach Todd Golden said.
Florida handed out championship hats and T-shirts to the team and cut down nets.
Arkansas (21-8, 11-5) came out hot with a 16-11 lead. Florida then went on a 42-18 run to close out the first half up 52-34. Florida’s size, speed and shotmaking (57% from the field) were too much for the Razorbacks, who got outrebounded 51-31. The Gators pushed every make and miss up the court, creating wide-open transition layups and dunks.
Sophomore guard Boogie Fland played against his former squad for the first time, and locked down his replacement Darius Acuff Jr., who averages 22.2 points on 50% shooting, but was unable to get anything going for the Razorbacks.
For a team which relies heavily on Acuff’s ability to create, the on-ball defense of Fland was demoralizing. Although Acuff finished with 17 points, he was 3-for-12 from the field in the first half with only 7 points. Every other bucket came when the game was far out of reach.
After going scoreless in the first half, Fland had an inspired offensive performance in the last 20 minutes. He finished with 14 points, one of seven Gators to hit double digits.
Isaiah Brown has solidified his role as the eighth man going into March. He played his best game of the season, contributing 10 of his 11 points in the first half. He even had an 8-0 run of his own with two 3s and a two-hand jam going coast to coast to close out a dominant finish in the first 20 minutes.
“Zay Brown’s been unbelievable for us,” Alex Condon said. “I think just playing with an elite level of confidence. They’re going under screens on him still and Zay’s a great shooter so when I hand off the ball to him, I’m just saying, ‘Shoot it, shoot it, shoot it,’ and he went on a little scoring stretch in the first half. Zay’s a big guy, he’s a really good defender and a really coachable kid as well.”
Depth is one of the most important factors when it comes to college basketball tournaments. It was not just the increased scoring of Brown or the defense of Fland, all eight Gators in the rotation contributed meaningful minutes.
Rueben Chinyelu was the typical animal on the glass with 16 rebounds (10 in the first half) and 12 points, his 17th double-double of the season. Haugh had a game-high 22 points to add to his SEC player of the year case. Condon added 17 points and 6 rebounds, a great one-two punch running the offense with Haugh.
“The fact that he [Chinyelu] did it in 23 minutes is also a ridiculous stat, but best rebounder in the country,” Golden said. “There’s no argument about that. I think he’s the best defensive player in the country as well. What I was really happy about, he had an incredible segment on GameDay today. They did a great feature on him, and it’s the recognition that he deserves.
“This guy was a bit of an unsung hero for us last year. This year, people appreciate and understand the value that he brings to our team. He’s just a guy that continues to wear opponents down, frustrating opponents.”
Urban Klavzar hit back-to-back 3s that propelled Florida’s dominance of the late first half. He hit his first four 3s, finishing with 14 points. Xaivian Lee drove downhill with confidence, finishing multiple of his signature left-handed scoop and scores on his way to 13 points.
For coach John Calipari and the Razorbacks, Billy Richmond was a bright spot in an otherwise embarrassing outing for the hall of fame coach. Richmond leveraged his speed to attack Haugh off the dribble, and when the smaller Brown drew the assignment, he knocked down pull up jumpers. He finished with a team-high 22.
Florida is playing its best basketball of the season and it could not be better timing. It made a talented Arkansas team look deflated on both sides of the floor. There have been no signs that an SEC team is capable of dethroning the reigning champions come tournament play. Florida is in a league of its own having won two league championships and the national title since last March.
Up Next
Florida returns to the O’Connell Center against Mississippi State (13-16, 5-11) in its last home game of the season at 8 p.m. Tuesday (SEC Network, 103.7-FM).
Category: College Basketball, Feature Sports News, Gators Men's Basketball
