No. 7 Florida clinched a share of the SEC title with an authoritative 111-77 win over No. 20 Arkansas on Saturday night, marking an accomplishment that even last year’s national title team never claimed. The Gators can clinch the outright league crown on Tuesday with a victory over Mississippi State or an Alabama loss to Georgia.
It is Florida’s first regular season SEC title since 2014, when the program was coached by Billy Donovan. The outcome marked Florida’s biggest win ever against a ranked opponent.
The Razorbacks (21-8, 11-5 SEC) entered with the nation’s No. 4 scoring offense led by star freshman Darius Acuff. But the Gators (23-6, 14-2) made everything hard on the visitors, who never found a shooting rhythm inside a rocking Exactech Arena.
Arkansas did not hit its second 3-pointer until the 10:12 mark of the second half. It took Acuff 19 shots to reach 17 points as his streak of nine straight 20+ point performances came to an end. Florida has made a habit of eviscerating the competition during its run through the SEC, and its dominance of the Razorbacks was especially impressive in a chippy game.
Both coaches received technical fouls at the 17:27 mark of the second half as the officials adjudicated a call at the review monitor. Florida big Rueben Chinyelu earned a flagrant foul coming out of the review, and Arkansas’ Meleek Thomas picked up a flagrant of his own less than a minute later.
It wasn’t the game’s last review, as the lopsided SEC showdown devolved into a stop-and-go affair. But the outcome was never in doubt. Florida led 53-34 at halftime, scored first in the second half and then never led by less than 20 the rest of the way.
Seven players reached double figures for Florida, led by Thomas Haugh with 22. In his only scheduled meeting this season against his former team, Florida guard Boogie Fland finished with 14 points.
Florida’s dominant gear on display
Of Florida’s 14 SEC victories, 12 have come by double digits. The Gators have now scored 90-plus points in six straight games against ranked opponents, which is the third-longest streak in a single season in AP poll history and the longest of anyone since the 1989-90 season.
The Gators have found a dominant gear as their guards have started to find a rhythm. Florida hit 42.1% of its 3-point attempts (8 of 19) against Arkansas as its outside shooting continued to improve. UF has hit eight or more 3-pointers in five of its last six games.
Urban Klavzar continues to be the team’s top perimeter marksman. The Slovenian junior hit 4 of 7 from beyond the arc against Arkansas, marking the third time in the past five games that he’s hit four or more 3-pointers.
Chasing a No. 1 seed
Florida only recently busted through to the No. 2 seed line in CBS Sports Bracketology. Now, the Gators are already knocking on the door of the No. 1 seed line.
What makes the race for the final No. 1 seed particularly interesting is the improvement of Florida’s resume. The Gators are already ahead of the current fourth No. 1 seed, UConn, in predictive metrics and have been for a while. Resume metrics are going to carry more weight in the race for a No. 1 seed, though, and that’s where the Huskies still have the edge for now.
But Florida is gaining ground. If the Gators win their final two regular season games and then sweep through the SEC Tournament, their case for a No. 1 seed will be strong. An early-season head-to-head loss against UConn could be the most significant hurdle come Selection Sunday if both teams win out.
