No. 7 Florida Gators men's basketball clinched at least a share of the Southeastern Conference regular-season championship Saturday with a 111-77 win over No. 20 Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball at the O'Dome, securing the program's first league title since the 2013-14 season and its eighth overall (1989, 2000, 2001, 2007, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2026).
Florida (23-6, 14-2 SEC) extended its winning streak to nine games and closed an unbeaten February, improving to 14 wins in its last 15 contests. The Gators remain two games ahead of No. 17 Alabama with two regular-season games left and can claim the outright title with a win Tuesday against Mississippi State. The result also locked up the No. 1 seed in the SEC Tournament.
The 34-point margin tied the worst loss of Arkansas head coach John Calipari's career. Florida built a 53-34 halftime lead after first-half runs of 12-0 and 14-1 and pushed the advantage to 30 with 13 minutes remaining. UF shot 56.5% from the field and 8 of 19 (42.1%) from three-point range while holding the Razorbacks, which entered leading the SEC in field-goal percentage (51.6%) and shooting 35.2% from deep, to 40% overall and 31% from three.
Seven Gators scored in double figures. Thomas Haugh led with 22 points. Rueben Chinyelu recorded his league-best 17th double-double with 12 points and 16 rebounds. Alex Condon had 17 points, and Boogie Fland 14, all in the second half. Xaivian Lee finished with 13 points and five assists. Urban Klavzar (14 points, four 3-pointers) and Isaiah Brown (11 points, two 3-pointers) provided 25 combined points off the bench.
Florida did what it’s been doing all season, winning the rebounding battle 51–31 and taking over inside. Entering the game, UF led the nation in rebounding margin (+14.1), averaged 45.2 total rebounds and 15.8 offensive boards per game, ranked third in second-chance points (16.2), sixth in two-point defense (.448), and seventh in defensive rebounding percentage (75.4). Over the past eight games, the Gators have shot .519 from the field compared to opponents' .374 and outscored teams by 20.5 points per game.
Under head coach Todd Golden, Florida is 50-19 overall and 27-6 in SEC play over the past two seasons, positioning itself for a potential second consecutive No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
