Jan. 6, 2026, 9:26 p.m. ET
Florida basketball earned its first SEC win of the 2025-26 season Tuesday night, beating the Georgia Bulldogs, 92-77, at the O’Connell Center in Gainesville.
Neither team shot the ball particularly well, with Florida outshooting Georgia, 46.7% to 41.4%. Once again, the Gators’ guards struggled to find the net, but the frontcourt carried the team to a win.
Thomas Haugh had 21 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, four blocks and three steals, while Alex Condon added 21 points, eight rebounds and two blocks. Rueben Chineylu didn’t have his normal night on the glass, posting just four boards, but he showed a nice touch around the rim with 10 points. Micah Handlogten had a solid game off the bench with 11 rebounds (six offensive) and three blocks. Handlogten was also 3-for-5 from the field, which is a good sign for a player who’s struggled to score.
The frontcourt had a relatively easy night once Georgia lost starting center Somto Cyril to a flagrant foul. Mismatches were abundant, and both Condon and Haugh played like this was a must-win game for Florida.
Boogie Fland and Xaivian Lee went a combined 4-for-19 from the field, including a 1-for-8 night from beyond the arc. Both are better scorers when they attack the hoop, at least right now. Fland drew a couple of fouls in the second half, going 4-for-4 from the stripe, and both found other ways to contribute, combining for 11 assists, 11 rebounds and four steals.
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Todd Golden has remained firm that he wants his players to take open shots — because they’ll eventually fall, right? — but this could be a turning point.
Urban Klavzar had a nice game off the bench, draining 3-of-7 from deep, but his plus-minus was only plus-7 over 25 minutes on the court. Isaiah Brown also contributed nine points with a plus-11 plus-minus over 13 minutes.
It’s no secret that Florida’s guards have struggled to put the ball in the bucket this season. Lee had a string of games where he scored 15 or more, but that doesn’t seem likely against SEC-caliber defenses. Neither is losing confidence in taking the 3-point shot, but maybe they need to. Fland and Lee have proven themselves as solid distributors, the former more so as of late.
Much like football teams establish the run game to open up passing opportunities, Florida needs its backcourt to be a passing threat rather than a shooting threat. Many of Florida’s early scores came off big-to-big assists, but things opened up once Fland and Lee started dishing it. Establishing a 10-point cushion leaves room for missed shots. Staying inside a four or five-point margin does not.
The exception here is Urban Klavzar, who is most dangerous as an offscreen perimeter shooter. Sure, he has his bad shooting days, but his shot is the most pure of anyone in the backcourt.
Florida doesn’t like the full-court press
Mike White and Georgia opted to alternate between a full-court press and zone defense, and Florida struggled against it. Fland and Lee couldn’t handle the pressure, turning the ball over twice each in the first half. Lee, in particular, seems overwhelmed by the aggressive defense, but Fland is the guy who brings it up more often.
Florida State ran it to some success, and so did Missouri. With Georgia following suit, it’s hard to imagine other SEC teams won’t realize it’s worth a chance while scouting the Gators. Zone has been the tough one for Florida through most of the non-conference schedule, but things might be changing a bit.
The man-to-man defense started to fall apart in the second half, but that’s likely because Georgia lost its big man to a flagrant foul ejection. The Bulldogs went back to it after seeing the Gators’ lead increase to 20 points and made it (kind of) a ball game down the stretch.
Once Georgia lost Cyril, it was Florida’s game to lose
Even though the first half was decided by just one point, Florida held most of the momentum after Georgia center Somto Cyril was ejected at the 10:30 mark. Florida immediately went on an 8-0 run, and the mismatch game was easy to play. Georgia fought back a bit at the end of the first half, cutting off the fast break, but that’s tough to do when shooting 34.3% in the second half.
As expected, the Gators won the rebound battle; however, a 21-point margin is inflated by the loss of Cyril. Had the big man stayed in the game, this might have been more competitive over the final 15 minutes, but the matchups were too much in Florida’s favor.
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