GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Two months into the 2025-26 college basketball season, no one is going to confuse these Florida Gators with the '24-25 edition; the one that raised trophies and hung banners.
But dismiss the championship pedigree that runs through the UF locker room at your own risk. Especially when they're playing at the O'Dome.
Junior wing Thomas Haugh was spectacular in posting his third double-double of the season, scoring 21 points, grabbing 12 rebounds, dishing five assists and adding four blocks and three steals, as the Gators, in their first game since falling out of the Associated Press Top 25 poll, bludgeoned 18th-ranked Georgia 92-77 Tuesday night at Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center.
"I felt like this was the first game where we played a really good team where we had a little bit of an advantage playing at home," said UF coach Todd Golden, whose team had lost to Arizona in Las Vegas, TCU at San Diego, Duke at Cameron Indoor, UConn in New York City and Missouri on the road for its Southeastern Conference opener. "I know we have a really good team and we just couldn't find a way to get one of those games. … I thought tonight was an opportunity where we knew we'd have the crowd behind us."
Forward Thomas Haugh(10) attacks the Georgia defense on his way to 21 points.
The Bulldogs came in on a seven-game winning streak while leading the nation in points per game at 99.4 and fast-break points per game at 27.0. They left with a season-low output on the scoreboard and got boat-raced in transition 35-10.
"They play fast, but I think we're a very good transition team," said Haugh, who went 8-for-15 from the floor and knocked down two of his five 3-point attempts. "It was like a track meet in the beginning – up and down, up and down – but I think we were able to outlast that."
Yes, they were.
Junior forward Alex Condon matched Haugh with 21 points to go with eight rebounds and a couple blocks. Backup junior guard Urban Klavzar hopped off the bench to hit a trio of 3-pointers on his way to 11 points, with junior center Rueben Chinyelu adding 10 points. Sophomore point guard Boogie Fland had eight points, eight rebounds and six assists. Backup center Micah Handlogten had 11 rebounds, with six on the offensive end. Reserve wing Isaiah Brown had nine points, six rebounds and three steals in 13 terrific minutes off the bench.
"This was a really important game for us to get some rhythm," Condon said.
And confidence.
Isaiah Brown (20) and Micah Handlogten(right) combined for 15 points, 17 rebounds, three blocks and three steals off the bench.
The Gators (10-5, 1-1), in bouncing back from Saturday night's 76-74 loss at Missouri, returned to their dominant rebounding ways by blasting the Bulldogs (13-2, 1-1) on the boards, 56-35, including a 22-11 margin on the offensive glass. UF shot 46.7 for the game, thanks to 58 points in the paint, while struggling again from the 3-point line at 6-for-25 (24.0%). The Gators' defense limited UGA to 41.4% overall, just four of 19 from distance (21.1%) and just six assists. Georgia guard Jeremiah Wilkinson, who ripped Auburn for 31 points Saturday and came at a team-high 18.3 points per game, went 1-for-9 on his way to two points while playing on a sore ankle.
"Their 22 offensive rebounds [were] loud, and they slow down your offensive tempo. They extend their possessions. We played most of the game on defense, and then we got a little bit eager offensively," said Bulldogs coach Mike White, who fell to 1-7 against Golden and the program he led for seven seasons (2015-2022). "They're so talented on the glass ... [and] the six assists for us was tough to overcome."
Georgia's 6-foot-11, 260-pound sophomore center Somto Cyril, who came in averaging 10 points on 81% shooting, 6.4 rebounds and league-leading 2.8 blocks a game, was ejected with 10:14 to go in the first half for throwing a punch at Chinyelu and the Gators leading just 22-21. UF, though, could not immediately take advantage of his absence, as the two teams played even to halftime, with the Gators leading just 41-40 at the break, and the Bulldogs scoring a dozen points off seven Florida turnovers.
"We just kind of talked about it at halftime," Golden said. "That, 'It's got to be now.' It was time for us to step up against a good team in a big moment and find a way to get to the finish line."
Urban Klavzarwent 3-for-7 from 3-point range to improve to a team-best 36.3% on the season.
UF played a much cleaner second half – six turnovers, leading to just four points – and made hay on the boards minus Cyril.
The Florida lead was 47-45 two minutes out of intermission when the Gators went on a 12-2 run to open a 10-point margin. The Gators were up seven with just 12 minutes remaining when a baby hook by Haugh kicked in a 17-2 blitz – highlighted by two 3s by Klavzar and one by Xaivian Lee (6 points, 5 assists) – and a 76-55 lead with six minutes to go.
"We just kept playing good defense around the perimeter," Brown said.
While things got a little sloppy in the late minutes, with Georgia drawing within 10 with two minutes to go, the drama ended there.
"Just really proud of my team. It was a game that we needed," Golden said. "We know our ceiling's not as high, with our inconsistent perimeter shooting, but to beat a really good Georgia team at home here by 15 is a really good win for our program."
And another big-time opportunity coming Saturday. Against No. 18 Tennessee. Also at home.
