Records: Florida 21-3, 8-3 SEC; Mississippi State 17-7, 5-6 SEC
Next Up: Saturday, Feb. 15, 8:30 p.m., South Carolina, SEC Network
Notable
* Florida went on a 17-0 run over the first five minutes of the second half, forcing six turnovers that led to 11 of those points. The 17-0 run was the Gators’ second-largest of the season, trailing only the 27-0 run vs. Wichita State. Four different Gators hit a 3-poonter during the run (Aberdeen, Richard, Clayton, Haugh).
* Florida has posted top-25 road wins in consecutive games for the first time in program history. The Gators have collected ranked wins in consecutive regular season games on 10 occasions in program history (see list below).
* Denzel Aberdeen matched a career high with 20 points, while Thomas Haugh flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 16 points, nine rebounds and a career-high eight assists. He added two steals and two blocked shots.
* Haugh is the first SEC player to post 15+ points, 8+ rebounds, 8+ assists and multiple blocks and steals since John Wall in 2010.
* Aberdeen is averaging 14.3 points over the last three games since entering the starting lineup for his first career starts.
* Florida played down two starters as Alijah Martin (hip) missed his second straight game, and Alex Condon exited 30 seconds into the contest and did not return (ankle).
* Condon suffered a right ankle sprain – x-rays were negative.
* The Gators had five players in double figures for the second straight game.
* Walter Clayton Jr. added 19 points and had six assists with one turnover.
* Urban Klavžar knocked down a 3-pointer for the third straight game.
Top-25 Wins in Consecutive Regular Season Games
* 2/8/2025 at #1 Auburn, 90-81; 2/11/2025 at #22 Mississippi State, 81-68
* 12/10/2013 vs. #13 Kansas, 67-61; 12/17/2013 vs. #15 Memphis (at NYC), 77-75
* 2/1/2011 vs. #23 Vanderbilt, 65-61; 2/5/2011 vs. #10 Kentucky, 70-68
* 2/10/2007 at #20 Kentucky, 64-61; 2/14/2007 vs. #25 Alabama, 76-67
* 11/17/2005 vs. #19 Wake Forest (at NYC), 77-72; 11/18/2005 vs. #16 Syracuse (at NYC), 75-70
* 1/7/2003 at #7 Mississippi State, 74-66; Jan. 11, 2003 vs. #20 Georgia, 66-63
* 2/18/2001 at #15 Tennessee, 88-82; 2/21/2001 vs. #12 Ole Miss, 75-55; 2/24/2001 vs. #14 Alabama, 89-68
* 3/2/1974 vs. #7 Alabama, 64-61; 3/9/1974 vs. #5 Vanderbilt, 80-77
* 2/13/1971 vs. #8 Kentucky, 74-65; 2/15/1971 vs. #13 Tennessee, 56-55
* 2/15/1969 vs. #4 Kentucky, 82-81; 2/17/1969 vs. #17 Tennessee, 65-63
Head Coach Todd Golden
Opening statement…
“I am incredibly proud of our team. Really, incredibly proud of our program. I thought our coaches have done a great job preparing our players, instilling a level of mental toughness and physical toughness all year. I feel like over the last couple weeks, it’s really come together for our team and the way we play. This last three-game stretch after the Tennessee loss, beating Vandy, beating Auburn, coming in against a very, very good Mississippi State team and controlling the game, getting a lead as big as 24 in the second half after losing Condo [Alex Condon] 30 seconds into the game, not having A-Mart [Alijah Martin] tonight. Our team has continued to show a great ‘next man up’ mentality. I’m just very proud. We’ve got to keep it going. It’s not going to be easy, but this team has shown great resolve over the last week and a half.”
On the second half run…
“I thought we played pretty well offensively in the first half. I thought we played pretty well defensively. We did not make shots in the first half. We were 6-for-20 from three, but we got good looks. We were playing the right way. We played how we wanted to. Defensively, we held them to 33. Our issue was rebounding. We were minus-10 in the first half on the glass, and the conversation at halftime was, ‘Offensively, we’ve been good enough. We’ll make some shots. Defensively, we’ve been good enough. But we are not going to win this game if we allow them to outrebound us again in the second half.’ That was going to be the determining factor, and the fact that we finished only minus-11, so only a one-rebound disadvantage in the second half, I thought was huge. In the first five minutes of the second half, we did a great job of getting misses and not allowing them to get second chances. We were able to get out in transition, which we weren’t able to do in the first half.”
On Thomas Haugh’s performance…
“He’s a very good player, I don’t know what to tell you. He’s obviously been coming on all year. We’ve talked about this a lot, obviously he’s a starter-level player. We just have a very good team this year, and we have multiple guys that can do it. But Tommy is one of the guys that delivers the heartbeat for this team and the passion with which he plays, the consistency, being as coachable as he is – to go out on the floor and do what the coaches want him to do – is everything. For him to go 16 [points], nine [rebounds] and eight [assists] with two blocks and two steals, that’s an elite effort for him tonight.”
Junior G Denzel Aberdeen
On the shooting picking up in the second half…
“They were the same looks as the first half. All good looks. No matter if you missed, guys were saying, ‘Keep shooting!’ That’s what we did. The ones we missed in the first half, we hit them in the second half.”
Sophomore F Thomas Haugh
On the 17-0 run to start the second half…
“I think we played really good defense. We got two kills in that run, six straight stops. That sparked it. And then just being able to hit shots. Hit a bunch of 3s to put the nail in the coffin.”
