Florida Gators

What Happened

Sophomore guard Riley Kugel came off the bench to score 20 points and lead five Florida teammates into double-figure scoring, as the Gators won their first Southeastern Conference game of the season Saturday afternoon by trouncing Arkansas 90-68 at sold-out Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center. Whatever issues Kugel had that limited his court time to less than four minutes in Wednesday's road loss at Ole Miss clearly were ironed out, as the preseason All-SEC selection had his finest all-around game in six weeks. Kugel finished 8-for-14 from the floor, grabbed five rebounds, had two steals and even banked in a fall-away, end-of-shot-clock 3-pointer late in the game, for good measure. Kugel wasn't the only standout. Grad-transfer point guard Zyon Pullin filled the box score with 15 points, four rebounds and eight assists, while grad-forward Tyrese Samuel had his sixth double-double of the season with 17 points and 11 boards. Junior guard Will Richard shook out of his early SEC slump with 13 points and junior guard Walter Clayton Jr. had 11. UF shot 49.3 percent for the game, including 9-for-25 from the 3-point line, while limiting the Razorbacks to 37.7 percent and five of 15 from deep. The Gators crushed the Hogs on the glass 48-31, with a 15-9 edge oN the offensive end. Arkansas was led by 14 points from backup guard Layden Blocker. Arkansas was up 7-5 three minutes into the game when UF took off on a 24-3 run -- fueled by a couple highlight plays by Kugel -- to take a 19-point lead. The Hogs used a mini-run of seven straight points to close within 10 and, briefly, twice draw within single digits before a late-half flurry of five straight, including a wicked baseline slam by Kugel, that sent the Gators to the locker room with a 46-33 lead. It took just over three minutes into the second half for UF to swell its advantage to 20, with Richard starting the period with a 3 and Samuel throwing down a lob in transition from Pullin for a 57-37 lead.   

What it Means

The Gators needed this one badly. Yes, to avoid falling to 0-3 in SEC play (which the Razorbacks did), but also for their confidence, as well tangible validation that the program is moving in the right direction (which it is). That said, look around the SEC. Teams in this conference are going to cannibalize one another. 
 

In the Spotlight

Kugel, who went scoreless against Ole Miss in missing all three of his field-goal attempts, had his first 20-point game since he had 25 and 24 points in back-to-back outings (both losses) in November against Baylor and at Wake Forest, respectively. He'd totaled 42 points the previous seven games. This is the version of Kugel the Gators were banking on coming into the season. What if this version is here to stay?  
 

Staggering Statistic

The 22-point margin was the largest for the Gators in a home game in their series against the Razorbacks. 
 

Up Next

Florida (11-5, 1-2) hits the SEC road again, this time to Tennessee to face the fifth-ranked Volunteers at Thompson-Boling Arena, where the Gators have lost six straight, dating to 2016. UT won Saturday at Georgia, rallying from 11 points down with six minutes left for the 85-79 victory. Meanwhile, Arkansas (9-7, 0-3) on Tuesday plays host to Texas A&M (10-6, 1-2), which upset sixth-ranked Kentucky earlier in the day.