Image Credit: UAA
Dropping seven spots in the latest top 25 polls, the No. 10 Florida Gators on Tuesday night did nothing to suggest they deserved to be slotted higher. Florida eked out a 78-76 win over the visiting Florida State Seminoles, blowing a nine-point lead late in the contest before holding on late at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center in Gainesville, Florida.
Head coach Todd Golden has some tough decisions to make about how the Gators are playing at this early juncture, and he will not have much time to make them, considering the difficult schedule awaiting the reigning national champions.
Let’s take a look at what went down in the third game of the season with some Fastbreak Takeaways.
It was over when … junior forward/center Alex Condon hit two free throws, pushing the Gators ahead by 5 points with 5 seconds remaining.
Florida entered the bonus early, with 13:27 to play, tying the game less than 90 seconds later. Sophomore guard Boogie Fland then came alive, scoring eight of the team’s 15 points over an extended stretch as the Gators went on an 11-0 run to take a 66-57 lead. Three late turnovers by Condon and two missed 3-pointers by senior G Xaivian Lee gave the ‘Noles enough extra possessions to go on a 6-0 run and trim their deficit to one with 84 seconds left.
Junior G Urban Klavžar drained a corner 3-pointer to push Florida ahead by four, but FSU quickly scored a basket and followed by going 1 of 2 from the free-throw line to create a one-point margin with 18 seconds to play. Fland drained two more gimmies, and the visitors missed an ensuing 3-point attempt, creating the game-ending scenario.
First half focus: UF led by seven after the first 5 minutes, but FSU answered with a quick 7-0 run to even the contest and another to take its first lead with 8 minutes remaining in the period. While the Gators were able to retie the game, they found themselves down three at the break. Florida shot just 2 of 14 from downtown across the first 20 minutes, which coupled with 11 turnovers, wasted its massive 28-15 advantage on the boards.
Exceptional efforts: Fland finally broke out for Florida, turning on his boosters in the second half on the way to 18 points, 5 rebounds and 4 steals. He did not shoot particularly well but made clutch baskets when it counted and hit 6 of 8 free throws, four of which came late in the contest.
Junior F Thomas Haugh again stood as the Gators’ top performer overall, posting his first double-double of the season with 20 points and 13 rebounds to go along with 3 assists and two blocks. Junior C Rueben Chinyelu followed suit with a double-double of 10 points and 16 boards. The duo’s 29 rebounds were seven fewer than the entire Seminoles team, though Chinyelu needs to figure out how to better take advantage of his second-chance scoring opportunities.
Inauspicious starts (continued): The play of Condon, Lee and Klavžar remains confounding at this early juncture of the season. Condon did OK from a scoring perspective but played incredibly sloppy basketball with six (!) turnovers for the second straight game. He was the worst-rated player on the court Tuesday night, and as was the case at the end of the 2024-25 season, he continues to get outplayed on both ends by Haugh.
Lee’s shooting has officially become problematic. He’s started his Florida career 11 of 31 from the floor (.355) and 5 of 29 from long range (.172) after going 2 of 13 and 1 of 10 from those respective distances against FSU. Perhaps worst of all is Lee settling for deep shots and not attacking the basket, only taking six free throws in three games.
Klavžar is hardly any better. Though his late triple came through in the clutch, he’s 3 of 13 from downtown (.231), hardly proving worthy of being the first backcourt player off the bench each game. The Gators will simply. Not survive with this level of play from two of their three primary guards.
Odds & ends: Florida improved to 48-29 all-time against Florida State with a 24-9 mark in the O’Dome and five straight wins in the series … UF has won nine straight home games and stands 31-2 in the O’Dome over the last two-plus seasons
What it means: The Gators were dominant in most phases Tuesday night but only won by a basket against a far inferior team from a talent perspective. Florida dominated the boards 58-36, dished 15 assists against seven, ran through FSU on the fastbreak (22-11) and scored more points in the paint (36-28). Where UF failed was careless turnovers (18) and long-range shooting (6 of 31, .194). That is not a sustainable way to play basketball in this day and age, and it will cost Florida against better competition.
Golden has some tough decisions to make about his rotation and on-court assignments. When Lee transferred, he was told that he could spend some time at shooting guard, sharing ball-handling duties with Fland. What has become clear is that he is unable to measure up to this level of competition and would do much better with the rock in his hands; Fland seems to be more comfortable as a shooter, which should make the differentiation of responsibilities rather simple.
Klavžar as the first guard off the bench must be reevaluated; however, Golden basically didn’t play anyone else in the game. Sophomore CJ Ingram was the only other guard to touch the court (1 minute, mind you) with brothers sophomore Isaiah Brown and redshirt junior AJ Brown not even getting a chance. It remains mystifying, and again, it’s not a sustainable setup if the Gators are going to find success this season.
What’s next? Florida will continue battling in-state competition when it faces Miami on Sunday at 8:30 p.m. ET. The game will take place at a neutral site as part of the 2025 Jacksonville Hoops Showdown and air live nationally on ESPN.
