Notable
* Florida posted a dominant 111-77 win vs. #20 Arkansas to claim its eighth SEC regular season championship in program history. Seven Gators scored in double figures, led by Thomas Haugh with 22, and Rueben Chinyelu tallied his 17th double-double of the season with 12 points and 16 rebounds.
* After falling into an early 16-11 deficit, Florida ripped off a 12-0 run, including a pair of Urban Klavžar 3-pointers, that the Gators then extended into a 20-4 stretch to flip the score into a double-digit 31-20 lead.
* In addition to Haugh and Chinyelu as noted above, Florida got double figures from Alex Condon (17), Boogie Fland (14), Klavžar (14), Xaivian Lee (13) and Isaiah Brown (11). It was Florida’s first game with seven double-figure scorers since 2/14/2017 at Auburn (W, 114-95).
* The Gators 111 points set a team record for most points in regulation vs. a ranked opponent. It was also the most points UF has ever scored in a home SEC game.
* Florida’s 34-point margin of victory marked its largest-ever win against a top-25 opponent (previously 31, most recently 1/19/2013 vs. #17 Missouri, 83-52). It was also the largest margin by either team in series history (previously Florida’s 90-60 win, 2/18/2012 at Arkansas).
* The Gators’ 111 points marked the team’s most since:
* In any game: 111-105, 2OT vs. Gonzaga (at Portland), 11/24/2017
* In regulation: 116-74, Gardner-Webb, 11/13/2017
* vs. SEC opponent: 114-95, at Auburn, 2/14/2017
* Home game vs. SEC: Most ever
* Chinyelu’s 17th double-double brings him within one of matching Florida’s 50-year-old program record (18, Bob Smyth, 1975-76).
* It was his ninth game this season with 16+ rebounds.
* Chinyelu’s 122 offensive rebounds this season rank among the top 25 offensive rebounding totals by an SEC player this century.
* Klavžar has hit a 3-pointer in 19 straight games and is shooting 25-for-49 (.510) during the Gators’ current winning streak. He also posted a team-best +31 plus-minus in tonight’s game.
* Fland has shot 6-for-11 (.545) from 3-point range over the last three games.
* Brown scored 10 of his 11 points in the first half.
* Florida claims at least a share of the SEC regular season championship, the team’s eighth all-time and first since 2014.
* In addition to a share of the title, the Gators also clinched the SEC Tournament’s #1 seed. Only Alabama or Arkansas could catch UF in the standings, and the Gators own the tiebreaker in any scenario.
* The Gators notched their ninth straight win overall, which is the fifth-longest SEC winning streak in program history and the longest since their record 21-game win streak in 2014 and 2015. Florida has won 14 of its last 15 games overall.
* Todd Golden earned his 99th win as Florida head coach, moving into sixth place in program history.
* Golden’s 99 wins surpasses Bruce Pearl (98, Tennessee) for third-most over first a coach’s four seasons at an SEC school trailing only Kentucky’s John Calipari (123) and Tubby Smith (110).
* The Gators improve to 7-0 this season vs. ranked SEC opponents, and Todd Golden now sits 25-15 (.625) against top-25 foes as Florida’s coach (includes win vs. coaches #25 Texas A&M).
* Six straight wins vs. AP-ranked opponents is the longest active streak in Division I. Via ESPN research
* Florida has won 14 straight games vs. ranked SEC opponents, including last season’s SEC and NCAA Tournaments, setting an SEC record (Kentucky, 13, 2002-05). Via ESPN research
* That ties for the longest such streak vs. in-conference opponents in NCAA history (14, UCLA, 1963-76; 14, NC State, 1972-75).
* Florida’s eight straight home wins vs. AP-ranked competition ties the program record for longest such streak (2/2/2000 through 12/5/2002). Via ESPN research
* Florida has six players averaging double-figures this season, tied for the most in Division I (Miami-Ohio, Queens University). Via ESPN research
* Florida’s 14 games this season with 90+ points set a new program record for 90-point games, surpassing the team’s 13 in 2023-24. Via ESPN research
* UF’s 90 points in six straight wins vs. AP-ranked opponents is tied for the third-longest streak within a season in AP Poll history (UNLV, 9; Loyola Marymount, 7; both in 1989-90). Via ESPN research
University of Florida SEC Championship Notes
* Florida athletics earned its second SEC title today, as the Gator women won the team’s ninth SEC Indoor Track & Field crown tonight in Bryan-College Station, Texas. Women’s Indoor Track & Field and Men’s Basketball both won their last SEC title before today in 2014.
* Men’s basketball is the second Gator team to win its eighth SEC crown this season, joining women’s cross country which won the 2025 SEC Championship in Knoxville, Tenn., on Halloween.
* The win is Gators Athletics’ 269th overall SEC title – which leads all league programs by more than 100 titles. Tennessee is next with 164 titles.
* This is the 48th consecutive season Florida has won a SEC title – the longest current streak among the league programs.
Head Coach Todd Golden
Opening Statement…
“Great night for our program. Today with GameDay here, there’s a lot of distractions – all great distractions, but distractions – and I thought our guys handled the moment and the opportunity like professionals. They were great and locked in all day. As a staff, we felt really good about our opportunity tonight with the way our guys approached practice and the way they handled walkthrough today and just the mentality that they had displayed. I thought Arkansas kind of got us on our heels early with their speed, and once we kind of got comfortable and got our legs underneath us, we never looked back. I thought we played a great game in all phases, held them to 40 (percent) from the field, 30 (percent) from 3, only gave up four made 3s, probably fouled too much in the second half, but fantastic on the glass. A little too loose with the ball in the second half, but the game was pretty much decided by that point. Just really proud that we can call ourselves SEC champions.”
On the defense being able to run Arkansas off the 3-point line…
“That was big part of our scout. I think Jonathan Safir who had the scout tonight did a great job of identifying the ways that they could beat us and ways that if we could guard them, that it would be hard for them. That was a big part of it, not letting (Darius) Acuff who has obviously been phenomenal, he’s a great player. We did a really good job on limiting his opportunities from three. And then X (Xaivian Lee), along with Urb (Klavžar) and Boog (Fland), did a great job on (Meleek) Thomas. He’s been a great scorer, coming on lately and provided some 3-point shooting for them. Limiting those guys to one make between them was a big reason why we’re able to win the way we did.”
On when the conversation turns back to business after celebrating…
“Tonight and tomorrow we’ll be off. Monday, we get back. Our next goal is to be the lone outright champs. As of right now, ‘Bama won tonight against Tennessee, so if we don’t take care of our business, they can still potentially tie us. We don’t want that to happen. We want to win on Tuesday night on our home floor to get the lone championship. I just told the team, we’re playing for a lot. We got a lot to still accomplish. This can’t be the best thing that happened to us this year. Not only are we playing to be lone champs on Tuesday, but I told the guys, we’re playing to become the best seed possible. Because of the way we played in the month of February, we’ve opened up a lot of opportunities for ourselves down the stretch, and if we take care of business and play really well, there’s not a seed out there that is unattainable for us. There’s other teams competing for it, but we have a lot that’s under our control down the stretch here.”
On Chinyelu’s performance tonight, his ninth game with 16 rebounds or more…
“I mean, that’s a ridiculous stat. The fact that he did it in 23 minutes is also a ridiculous stat, but best rebounder in the country. I mean, 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. He gets frustrated too sometimes, and we got to keep him centered, but the guy plays so hard and every one of his teammates values what he brings to the table. He’s just become an incredible winning player for us.”
Junior C Rueben Chinyelu
On the advantage in the frontcourt based on rebounding numbers…
“We were just trying to play to our strengths and take advantage of whatever shows up, and I think that’s what we did. We came out ready to get the rebounds and to make the plays that will help the team. Everybody was just out there playing, doing what they have to do to get us where we need to be and that’s beautiful to see, it’s amazing, I was just proud of that moment. That’s what we stand for and that’s what we do so we’re going to go out there and keep doing that.”
On how it feels to see perimeter guys playing so well after early criticism…
“When you know your identity and you know who you are, no one can change that from you and I think we understood that in the beginning of the season when it wasn’t going our way. In life you’re going to hit adversity, it comes in different ways, different weather, so just knowing who you are and not getting lost in that moment because we believe in the guys because we have seen them. We worked out with them this summer, we have seen what they can do, what they are capable of. We knew they were going to pick it up so we never fumbled or got doubts, doubt their ability of what they can do because they do that every day and they show it, they put in the work. Just knowing who you are and standing on that and don’t make a little adversity change you or make you flip, so that’s something that I’m proud of. I see that from all my teammates and that’s things that I look and say you have to have the heart to go hit adversity and just go through it and try to prevail.”
Junior F Alex Condon
On becoming SEC regular season champions…
“Yeah, it’s good. It’s the one we didn’t have yet so we’re all pretty excited about that. I feel like in the scale of things it’s a small accomplishment for us this year, this is the smallest one we wanted to achieve. We got it done, it’s good, but now on to the next thing, SEC tournament and closing out the season on the right way, we really want that one seed and we’ve gotta play the right way to get it.”
On the impact of Isaiah Brown…
“Zay Brown’s been unbelievable for us. 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 and Zay’s a big guy, he’s a really good defender and a really coachable kid as well. Everyone’s super proud of Zay. Tommy shouted him out five times tonight. We’re all super proud of him, he’s awesome.”
Junior F Thomas Haugh
On celebrating this tonight and then being able to turn back on the focus…
“It’s another quick turnaround. Obviously, we’re gonna celebrate this, but we play Mississippi State on Tuesday so we’ve got to be ready, locked in for that. We don’t want to share the SEC, too. We want the whole thing to ourselves so we gotta go get that game Tuesday.”
On what it means to be here after starting the season 5-4…
“It means a lot. It shows this team, just the adversity we overcame. In the beginning of the year teams were doubting us. 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.”
