Florida vs. UConn score, takeaways: No. 18 Gators’ doomed by cold shooting as No. 5 Huskies prevail

Basketball

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Image Credit: UAA

It was a special night Tuesday inside Madison Square Garden as winners of the last three national championships met in the 2025 Jimmy V. Classic, a rare occurrence that had not happened in 21 years. The only problem? It was more special for the No. 5 UConn Huskies, which put together a complete-game effort to prevail 77-73 over the No. 18 Florida Gators and avenge their loss in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

Florida fell to 5-4 on the season; however, three of those losses have come to what are presently considered top-five teams — all away from home. Still, the Gators played the same game they have all campaign, struggling early, surging out of halftime and falling apart late as their shots did not fall.

Head coach Todd Golden has stressed patience to this point — and his Florida teams have regularly gotten better as seasons progress — but it’s crystal clear to any unbiased observer that UF has major problems scoring the basketball as it ranks among the bottom teams nationally in shooting. No help is on its way, either, so Golden will need to figure out how to make due with the roster he compiled.

Let’s take a look at what went wrong inside the World’s Most Famous Arena with some Fastbreak Takeaways.

It was over when … senior guard Boogie Fland committed a 5-second violation trying to inbound the ball for a potential game-tying 3-pointer with 9.4 seconds remaining. The Gators had just forced a turnover in front of their bench following an extended back and forth with the Huskies in which UF sought to create a last-gasp opportunity. As soon as it did, it gave the game away. The contest was truly over about 90 seconds earlier, though, as senior G Xaivian Lee air-balled a step-back 3-pointer well beyond the arc with 1:40 remaining. Florida was already trailing by six, and UConn immediately made two free throws on the other end to take a three-shot lead.

The Gators exploded out of the break with three dunks and five blocks in the first 4:29 of the second half, including a second alley oop from Lee to junior forward Thomas Haugh, cutting their deficit to a point. Haugh flipped the script moments later with a 3-pointer, pushing Florida back into the lead with 12 minutes to play on the back of a 7-0 run. UConn answered with an extended 12-3 scoring stretch to go up eight with 4:29 to play, and it never trailed again.

First half focus: Florida committed three turnovers in the first 5 minutes but overcame its miscues with a 12-0 run to take an 18-11 lead as junior center Rueben Chinyelu twice finished strong at the hoop and Lee completed a traditional 3-point play with two steals already in the contest. While the Gators entered the bonus midway through the period, the Huskies quickly retook a 4-point lead with a 12-1 run as UF went 1 of 15 from the field over an 8-minute stretch and missed multiple free throws. This as senior G Boogie Fland was benched having committed three fouls in his first 6 minutes of court time. Florida only shot 30% and scored just two points on 11 offensive rebounds in the opening 20 minutes.

Exceptional efforts: Haugh again starred for the Gators with 18 points on 7 of 12 shooting with 3 of 5 makes from beyond the arc. His four turnovers and four fouls were quite costly, however. Chinyelu was dominant defensively in the paint while grabbing 11 rebounds, six from the offensive glass. His touch around the rim lacked, though, and he missed all four of his free throws while scoring 8 points. Senior F/C Alex Condon scored 14 points with nine boards and four dimes, but he missed a bunch of shots around the rim, too.

Better than usual: Lee was being slurped throughout the ESPN broadcast, but the reality is that he scored better than usual despite continuing to disappoint in the grander scheme of the game. He posted a team-high 19 points with five assists, no turnovers and two steals (both of which came early in the first half). However, Lee went 5 of 14 from the floor and 1 of 7 from downtown with multiple attempts that came nowhere close to finding the bottom of the hoop. This included not only bad misses from deep but flashy takes to the hoop in which he brought the ball below his waist, resulting in blocks, turnovers and/or fastbreak points the other way. His eight free throws inflated a performance that was technically second-best of the season despite his continued poor efficiency.

Odds & ends: Florida fell to 2-6 all-time against UConn, 1-2 under Golden and 2-2 in neutral sites … the Gators fell to 29-68 all-time against top-five teams, 6-5 under Golden and 3-6 at neutral sites … UF this season is 1-3 when trailing at halftome, 0-3 when trailing with 5 minutes left and 0-3 when opponents shoot 45% or better from the field

What it means: Florida’s season-long struggles continued as it played the same game it has multiple times already this campaign. The Gators start the second half having put themselves in a hole with poor shooting and turnovers, climb out of it with a barrage of two-end effort to take the lead and then try as hard as they can before ultimately failing to hold on to that advantage down the stretch.

The truth is that Florida does not have enough capable shooting to beat the toughest opponents it is facing this season. During its national championship run, the Gators could count on their guards making crucial baskets down the stretch. This season, Florida is fortunate when anything outside the paint finds the bottom of the net. UF shot 4 of 15 from downtown on Tuesday after entering the game already ranked 348th out of 361 teams nationally in 3-point shooting.

Golden, for some reason, decided to sit junior G Urban Klavžar, who only attempted three shots in 17 minutes. This as Fland was horrific, ultimately fouling out in the game while playing sloppy basketball in the 22 minutes he saw the court.

Even the Gators’ strong frontcourt struggles to find the bottom of the basket. Senior C Micah Handlogten has no touch, Chinyelu has limited touch, Condon is inconsistent and Haugh is playing more outside, given his wing positioning. UF had 16 offensive rebounds in the game but only six second-chance points, which is rather unfathomable. Florida shot 42.4% from the floor after entering the game 278th nationally.

What’s next? Seeking to avoid a .500 start through 10 games, Florida returns to the court Saturday in the 2025 Orange Bowl Basketball Classic when it faces George Washington in Sunrise, Florida. The game will tip at 2:30 p.m. ET and air live nationally on ESPN2.