No. 19 Florida at Oklahoma

 
* When: Tuesday, 9 p.m. (ET)
* Where: Noble Center / Norman, Okla.
* Records: Florida (11-5, 2-1) / Oklahoma (11-5, 1-2)
* Series/Last meeting: Tied 3-3. The Gators defeated the Sooners 85-63 in their first SEC match-up on Feb. 18, 2025 in Gainesville to snap a three-game losing streak in the series. Walter Clayton Jr. scored 18 points to lead a UF squad that was without forward Alex Condon (ankle) but still shot 45.2% from the floor and made a dozen 3-pointers. Defensively, the Gators limited the Sooners to just 38.8% overall, with a sticky 26.9 over a first half when the home team built a 22-point lead at the break. Florida, in fact, had more 3-pointers in the first half (9) than Oklahoma had field goals (7). The Gators were so far ahead that Clayton did not play over the game’s final 10 minutes. Fellow senior guards Will Richard and Alijah Martin each added 14 points. The win was UF’s fifth straight and OU’s sixth consecutive loss.
* TV: ESPN2 (Karl Ravech and Jimmy Dykes)
* Radio: Gator Sports Network from LEARFIELD / Stations list
  (with Sean Kelley, Brian Hogan and Steve Egan) 
* Ticket info

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Projected Starters

 

Florida	Position	Height / Weight	Class	Statistics
Alex Condon	F	6-11 / 230	Junior	14.5 pts / 8.5 reb
Rueben Chinyelu	C	6-10 / 255	Junior	10.9 pts / 10.6 reb
Thomas Haugh	F	6-9 / 215	Junior	17.2 pts / 6.6 reb
Xaivian Lee	G	6-4 / 185	Senior	11.6 pts / 4.3 reb
Boogie Fland	G	6-3 / 185	Sophomore	11.6 pts / 2.4 reb / 3.5 ast

Oklahoma	Position	Height / Weight	Class	Statistic
Tae Davis	F	6-9 / 215	Senior	12.4 pts / 6.6 reb
Mohamed Wague	C	6-10 / 225	Senior	7.2 pts / 7.2 reb
Derrion Reid	G	6-8 / 226	Sophomore	12.4 pts / 6.6 reb
Xzayvier Brown	G	6-2 / 182	Junior	15.2 pts / 3.1 reb
Nijel Pack	G	5-10 / 188	R-Senior	16.4 pts / 3.4 reb / 3.2 ast

The Setup

No. 19 Florida and Oklahoma face off in yet another key early game in the Southeastern Conference season. … The Gators, back in the Associated Press Top 25 after being knocked out last week, rebounding nicely from their disappointing league-opening loss at Missouri by putting together back-to-back home wins over ranked opponents (No. 18 Georgia and No. 21 Tennessee) that were not close. UF beat the Bulldogs 92-77 and followed it with a 91-67 thrashing of the Volunteers. The Sooners opened SEC play with a home defeat of Ole Miss, but got swept last week by Mississippi State (by 19) and Texas A&M (by 7), both on the road. … This will mark just the second game between UF and OU as SEC brothers, though the Gators and Sooners played four times from 2017-22 (twice at Norman, twice on neutral floors, with Oklahoma winning three times) before last year’s debut as conference foes. 

Tale of the Tape

Florida	Statistics	Oklahoma
85.2	Scoring	84.4
.458	Field-goal percentage	.473
.279	3-point percentage	.347
70.9	Scoring defense	72.9
.408	Field-goal percentage defense	.417
.320	3-point percentage defense	.347
12th	KenPom.com overall ranking	54th
24th	KenPom.com offensive efficiency	36th
7th	KenPom.com defensive efficiency	108th
60th	KenPom.com adjusted tempo	253rd
15th	NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) ranking	63rd
9th	Overall strength of schedule ranking	190th

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The Breakdown

About the Gators: After pounding Tennessee 41-30 on the glass, including a 12-6 difference on the offensive end, Florida is now the No. 1 offensive-rebounding team in the nation at 43.6% as as the No. 2 defensive rebounding team at 23.1% (behind only Michigan State). UF is solidly into the national top 10 in defensive efficiency (93.4 points per possession) and inching closer toward getting back into the top 20 on the offensive end. Still holding the Gators back, of course, is that 27.9% from the 3-point line, but they made nine (of 30) against the Volunteers which equaled the second-most against an opponent from a power conference this season. It was only the sixth time this season UF hit at least 30% from deep in a game. … Florida got sensational individual performances from point guard Boogie Fland and center Rueben Chinyelu. Fland’s all-around breakout game was a long time in coming and much needed for his confidence and team’s morale. He finished with a season-high 23 points, broke out of an atrocious 3-point shooting slump by hitting three of six and added five assists and four steals. Chinyelu, especially given the opponent, was a man among boys in posting 17 points, 16 boards and getting anywhere he wanted in the post on his way to hitting eight of 12 shots. … Forward Thomas Haugh had 13 points, went 8-for-8 from the free-throw line and had five steals, with forward Alex Condon adding 11 points, seven boards, three assists and three blocks. … Both Haugh and guard Xaivian Lee have hit at least one 3-pointer in each of the last 11 games. … Urban Klavzar, whose 15 points were his most in nine games, hit a trio of 3s for the second straight game and has five games with at least three 3s. … Florida is 3-4 in Quadrant 1 opportunities (and 5-5 in Q1 and Q2 combined) with this game representing a ninth chance (and a 10th coming Saturday at unbeaten Vanderbilt). 

About the Sooners: They’re in the fifth season under Porter Moser, who led Loyola Chicago to unfathomable heights, including the 2018 Final Four, but whose lone trip to the NCAA Tournament at OU came last season when the Sooners finished near the bottom of the SEC standings at 6-12. His record stands at 95-64 overall and 27-48 in league play. The best win this season (and lone Quad 1) came at Wake Forest, with losses at Gonzaga and on a neutral floor against Nebraska, two of the best teams in the country, as well as against Arizona State at Phoenix and two road SEC games at Mississippi State (by 19) and Saturday at A&M. … Oklahoma is 8-0 at home this season. … Offensively, the Sooners have bee mostly solid (though have struggled in SEC play), making 58% from 2, are a top-50 offensive-rebounding team and don’t beat themselves with turnovers. On defense, OU is not particularly disruptive and rate 137th nationally in rebounding. … Remember when Nijel Pack’s whopping million-dollar NIL deal in 2023 to leave Kansas State for Miami was all the rage? Probably peanuts for what he got to jump to OU, but that’s college hoops in 2026. Pack, who will turn 26 this spring, is in his sixth collegiate season, leads the team in scoring and 3-point shooting percentage (45.0). … Guard Xzayvier Brown tops the SEC in free-throw shooting (93.9%). … Tae Davis, in his first season after two at Notre Dame (and one at Seton Hall), leads the team with 46 offensive rebounds, just 13 fewer than the 59 he has on the defensive end. … Alabama transfer Derrion Reid is at 58% from the 2-point area and just shy of 37% from 3. … Mohamed Wague, in his second season since coming from Alabama, is shooting 65.6% from 2, ranks 28th nationally in offensive rebounding (15.7%) and is a top-70 shot-blocker with 26 on the season. … Senior guard Jadon Jones (6.8 ppg, 3.2 rpg) and freshman forward Kuol Atak (7.4 ppg) play the bulk of reserve minutes. 

 

Numbers of Note 

* .571 — Golden’s winning percentage against opponents ranked in the AP Top 25, based on a 20-15 record, that ranks first in school history. Yes, even ahead of Billy Donovan. Golden’s 20 wins over top-25 teams in his four seasons is tied with Mike White (20 in his seven seasons) for second-most in program history. Donovan is first with 64 over his 19 seasons.  

* 33.9 —Haugh’s minutes per game, which leads the SEC and ranks 70th nationally. 

* 2017 — The year the Gators went to Norman and handed the Sooners their worst home loss in 95 years, an 84-52 annihilation in the Big 12/SEC Challenge. Sophomore center Kevarrius Hayes came off the bench to score 20 points and grab nine rebounds, both career highs, to go with three blocked shots that keyed a UF defense that held OU to just 27.7% shooting. Fifth-year forward Canyon Barry, another reserve, scored 15 points, while junior forward Devin Robinson had 13 points and senior point guard Kasey Hill tallied 12 points, eight assists and a pair of steals. The Oklahoma coach was former Florida coach Lon Kruger. 

 

Bottom Line

Will last week’s stellar play travel?

Email senior writer Chris Harry at chrish@gators.ufl.edu. Find his story archives here.