Florida routs No. 18 Georgia to avoid 0-2 SEC start

Edgar Thompson, Orlando Sentinel on Jan 6, 2026

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Coach Todd Golden’s suddenly unranked Florida Gators were desperate for a win.

Avoiding a loss to former coach Mike White’s No. 18 Georgia Bulldogs was critical for a Florida team riding a 13-game winning streak at the O’Connell Center and 0-1 in SEC play.

The Gators found their offensive flow and applied the defensive clamps against the high-scoring Bulldogs during a convincing and pivotal 92-77 win Tuesday night at the O’Connell Center.

“Tonight was a game that we needed,” Golden said.

Florida (10-5, 1-1 SEC) was coming off an SEC-opening loss at Missouri and with more losses than the 2025 national title team.

“Everyone brought the juice from the start,” veteran power forward Alex Condon said. “No one was feeling sorry for themselves. No one was being selfish, just playing really together as a team.”

The Gators faced a new challenge from the Bulldogs, losers of 12 of the past 13 meetings entering Tuesday.

Georgia entered with a nation-leading average of 99.4 points — or 14.9 more per game than a Florida squad struggling mightily with outside shooting and backcourt playmaking.

A reported crowd of 9,563 welcomed White with boos as the Bulldogs arrived as 9.5-point underdogs, but also in the top 25 against an unranked Florida team at home for the first time since 1996.

Yet, the Bulldogs (13-2, 1-1 SEC) tied their season low in points, including just two by leading scorer Jeremiah Wilkinson on 1-of-9 shooting, and could not contain the Gators’ frontcourt. Veteran forwards Thomas Haugh and Condon each had 21 points and the Gators finished with 56-35 rebounding edge.

“It’s how we’re built and who we are,” Golden said. “We were super physical tonight.”

The Bulldogs were not entirely themselves, either.

Georgia played more than 30 minutes without 6-foot-11, 260-pound sophomore center Somoto Cyril, the Bulldogs’ leading rebounder and shot blocker, to further the Gators’ front-court advantage. Officials ejected Cyril with Florida leading 22-21 with 10:14 remaining in the first half after he elbowed the head of Florida center and fellow Nigerian Rueben Chinyelu after the two players became entangled chasing a rebound.

With Cyril out, the Gators responded with a Condon layup, Chinyelu dunk and Haugh dunk before Wilkinson scored his only points on a falling floater to end an 8-0 UF run.

“That was a big part of the game,” Condon said. “It’s just good Rueben kept his head. The game was upwards from there for us.”

Haugh led the Gators with a brilliant all-around performance, also finishing with 12 rebounds, five assists, four blocked shots and three steals in 39 of 40 minutes.

“He’s turned himself into one of the better players of America,” Golden said. “It’s a testament to work, his belief, his coachability.”

But the Gators’ backcourt and defense came alive during the second half to lift the Gators.

Starting guards Boogie Fland and Xaivian Lee ended the first half shooting 0 of 7. Florida led 41-40, with 26 points by Haugh and Condon on 11-of-14 shooting.

A layup by Lee early in the second half were his first points. Fland missed his first five shots, but two free throws put him in the scoring column with 17:08 remaining to push Florida’s lead to 51-45. A Chinyelu dunk made it 53-45.

A pair of driving layups by Fland that sandwiched a tip-in by Condon soon followed to give the Gators a 59-47 lead, UF’s biggest lead at the time, before a basket by Georgia guard Blue Cain. Cain’s late 3-pointer keyed the Bulldogs’ 88-83 win Feb. 25, 2025, against Florida, the eventual national champions Gators’ last defeat and the Bulldogs’ only win against Florida since 2019 in Gainesville when White was UF’s coach.

Georgia cut the lead to 59-52 on a 3-pointer by Kanon Catchings, but the Bulldogs missed seven of their next eight shots as Florida’s defense tightened its grip.

Florida hit four of their next six field goals. Following a put-back by Chinyelu, Lee hit a 3-pointer from the top of the arc to give Florida a 69-54 advantage.

Georgia was just 34.3% from the field during the second half after shooting 48.6% during the game’s first 20 minutes.

UF, which shot 46.7% on the night, led by as many as 21 points when guard Urban Klavzar hit a corner 3-pointer, one of three 3s during an 11-point night off the bench.

Georgia cut the lead to 10 on a pair of free throws by Cain with 2:01 remaining, but it could get no closer as White fell to 1-7 against his team for seven seasons before Golden arrived after the 2022 season.

The decision was Golden’s 19th top-25 win in four seasons, one away from catching White for second all time behind Hall of Famer Billy Donovan.

“This was an opportunity for us to get a big win,” Golden said. “Our guys delivered.”