New-look Boogie Fland leads Florida to 91-67 rout of Tennessee

Edgar Thompson, Orlando Sentinel on Jan 10, 2026

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida’s Boogie Fland was feeling it — and it had been a while.

Too long for him and the Gators, whose point guard personified the team’s season-long backcourt struggles.

But Fland shed his signature dreadlocks earlier in the week and found his footing Saturday as the unranked Gators raced to a double-digit halftime lead and never looked back to trounce No. 21 Tennessee ,91-67, at a sold-out O’Connell Center.

“He looks great; he looked great before,” coach Todd Golden said of Fland’s new ‘do. “Sometimes, these things can be mental. Just gave him an opportunity to kind of start fresh, and he played fantastic from start to finish.”

With a crowd of 10,182 looking on, including Florida legends Vernon Maxwell and Mike Miller, who is now Fland’s agent, the sophomore scored a season-high 23 points and had five assists and four steals.

“It was big. It was a step in the right direction,” Fland said. “That little slump, it tests you mentally. But you got to be ready in basketball. The ups and downs are going to come with it, and life in general.

“I battled through it. My teammates had my back, and now we’re here.”

The Gators (11-5, 2-1 SEC) should soon be back in the Top 25.

A Jan. 3 loss at Missouri dropped the reigning national champions out of the rankings, but Florida picked up back-to-back conference wins at home as the Gators have won 15 straight and 37 of 39 in the O’Dome.

“It’s awesome,” Golden said. “It’s what you think about with big-time college basketball. That makes the guys play better. It gives us more confidence.”

Fland’s breakout performance could provide the ultimate boost.

If the Gators can build on it, Golden’s squad could reassume its position as SEC favorites.

Looking to find his missing mojo, Fland cut his hair for the first time in five years leading up to a visit from the Vols (11-5, 1-2). Despite the new look, he experienced his same old struggles early on.

Fland exited the game with 12 minutes left in the first half, saddled with two fouls and 0 of 2 from the field as Florida trailed 12-10. The Gators took their first lead at 17-16 on a driving layup by Xaivian Lee running the point.

But after an ill-advised 3-point attempt by Lee, Golden replaced him with Fland. A pair of assists and a steal helped the Gators stake a modest 26-21 lead. Once Tennessee tied the game at 26-26, Fland suddenly came alive.

A step-back 3 was the first of four field goals, including another 3, as the Gators staked a 41-28 halftime lead. The 6-foot-3, 185-pound Fland then scored nine points during the first seven minutes of the second half, culminating with his third 3 to leave him 8-of-12 shooting as Gators led 60-36.

Fland wasn’t the only Gator who suddenly found his range for a team entering the day last among power conference teams in 3-point shooting, at 27.7%. UF started 2 of 14 from beyond the arc but hit six of its next 10 3-point attempts.

Fland led six Gators in double figures, including center Rueben Chinyelu, who recorded his eighth double-double with 17 points on 8-of-12 shooting and 16 rebounds as UF held a 41-30 edge on the boards.

“As good a performance as I’ve seen in a long time,” 71-year-old Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said of Chinyelu. “Totally dominated the game. They have a national championship front line.”

Reserve guard Urban Klavzar scored 15 points, star forward Tommy Haugh had 13, Alex Condon added 11 points to go with seven rebounds and Lee finished with 10 points and three assists.

Meanwhile, the Gators had just nine turnovers while forcing 18 to generate 30 points in the latest lopsided decision in the series.

“Turnovers kill you,” Barnes said. “They don’t need any help.”

Favored by 4.5 points, Florida has won three of the last four meetings against Tennessee, beating the Vols at their own game.

“Since Coach Barnes has been there, I think of them as probably the toughest program in the league,” Golden said. “We’re constantly competing to have that title.”

Last season it was one extreme or the other between the Gators and the Vols, with Florida winning by 30 points at home (73-43) and losing by 20 points in Knoxville (64-44). UF won the rubber match in the SEC Tournament, 86-77, during the Gators’ postseason run to the national title.

Golden’s squad performed like a title contender again. The new-look Fland resembled the player everyone expected when he transferred from Arkansas for Gainesville.

“Everybody’s gonna say it’s the ‘do,” he joked.

Fland wasn’t yet ready to declare his new look would be a difference-maker for the Gators.

“Let’s see,” he said.