Florida’s title defense hit a nerve-racking moment Tuesday night, but the #10 Gators ultimately found a way to outlast Florida State 78-76 at the O’Connell Center, extending their winning streak over their in-state rivals to five games.
The victory came down to clutch performances and pure grit, particularly on the glass where Florida dominated 58-36. But it was the final minutes that had Gator faithful holding their breath.
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Double-Double Dominance
Thomas Haugh and Rueben Chinyelu controlled the paint with authority. Haugh put up 20 points and 13 rebounds for his second career 20-point double-double, while Chinyelu posted a career-high 16 boards to go with 10 points.
“It was huge,” head coach Todd Golden said of Chinyelu’s performance. “He bounced back. Hadn’t played his best in the first couple of games, but Rueben understands and our team understands how important he is to our success.”
Chinyelu himself stayed humble about the effort: “Just playing my game and just being me. Trusting my teammates and knowing that we are here to play, enjoying the process and just doing what I do to help my team.”
The double-double duo marked a historic achievement—Florida had multiple players record double-doubles in back-to-back games for the first time this century.
The Three-Point Struggle and Fland’s Heroics
Florida’s Achilles heel nearly cost them. The Gators limped to a 6-of-31 showing from beyond the arc—part of a season-long struggle that has them shooting just 19-of-90 (21.1%) from three-point range.
Enter Boogie Fland.
Trailing early in the second half, the sophomore guard delivered when it mattered most, scoring 14 of his 18 points after halftime. His two critical three-pointers—including one that banked off the side of the rim and backboard before dropping through—sparked an 11-0 run that gave Florida a 66-57 cushion with 8:37 remaining.
“It felt good, just opens the floor, gets my teammates more involved and it settles the game down,” Fland said of finally seeing shots fall.
Golden didn’t mince words about Fland’s impact: “Obviously huge. We don’t win the game without them.”
A Test of Nerves
But this rivalry game wasn’t going to be decided easily. Florida State clawed back, cutting the lead to one point in the final minute. The defending national champions nearly squandered their nine-point advantage in the closing stretch.
“They went on a little run and it was just credit to our team, we stayed composed,” Haugh explained. “Boogie was doing a great job out there today. He was playing confident with the ball and we were able to get it done in the end.”
Free throws from Fland and Alex Condon ultimately sealed it.
Defensive Excellence and Historical Context
While the offense sputtered from distance, Florida’s defense rose to the occasion. The Gators held FSU to 33% from the field and 27% from three-point range.
“Thought we did a great job defensively tonight,” Golden noted. “The rebounding was fantastic. We have to be a team that punishes our opponents on the glass the way we play. And plus-22 on the glass gave us the buffer to survive a bad perimeter shooting night.”
The victory improved Florida to 31-2 at home since the start of the 2023-24 seasonand gave Golden his fourth consecutive win over FSU to open his tenure—matching the all-time record by a Florida coach.
For Haugh, now 3-0 against the Seminoles in his career, the rivalry’s significance isn’t lost: “We know the rivalry in this game. We knew coming in that we were going to give them our best game, they were going to give us their best game, that’s how it is.”
Looking Ahead
The Gators have little time to celebrate. They’ll face Miami on Sunday night at 8:30 p.m. in Jacksonville, broadcast on ESPN.
If Florida hopes to make a deep run in their title defense, they’ll need to find answers for their three-point shooting woes. But Tuesday night proved they have the defensive intensity, rebounding prowess, and clutch gene to win even when the shots aren’t falling.
As Fland put it with quiet confidence: “It’s the beginning of the season, we know we’re not hitting right now, but once we start hitting, we’re going to play better.”