Florida is aiming to protect a 12-1 home record when they take on Arkansas Saturday with SEC regular-season title hopes on the line for both teams. Coming off a thrilling second-half drumming of Texas, the Gators will be focused on replicating their suffocating defense, which held the Longhorns scoreless in the last seven minutes of the second half and blocked eleven shots.

The clash will be a true test of Florida’s vaunted defense, as Arkansas has been an extremely potent offense this season, averaging over 90 points per game and shooting at a high clip. It’ll be a fight of conflicting styles, as Arkansas thrives on measured, half-court execution — while the Gators intend to push the pace and score in transition.

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If the Gators are to secure the win on Saturday, they’ll need a strong performance from Thomas Haugh, who on Wednesday became the program’s 59th member of the 1,000-point club. Haugh joins his fellow front-court running mate, Alex Condon, as the program’s two most recent members. It’s fair to say Florida’s bigs and paint prowess have been the story of the season.

Because of this, Florida will look to find an edge is on the glass. Winning the rebounding battle has been a staple during the Gators recent run. The Gators rank near the top of the national table in rebounding margin, lifting as high as plus-15 during one point in the season. Arkansas averages ten fewer rebounds per game over the last ten games.

The Gators four offensive rebounds in the first half of Wednesday night’s game in Austin resulted in seven second-chance points. Crucial buckets that kept Florida in the thick of the competition while Texas was rolling. Creating second-chance points and erasing them on the other end has become Florida’s identity and they’ll look to carry this front-court physicality into Saturday’s matchup.

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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Gators poised to clinch share of SEC regular-season title Saturday