SETUP: Florida, ranked No. 2 nationally and riding a five-game winning streak, heads to Baton Rouge for a matchup with LSU. This marks the Gators’ third straight contest against a team near the bottom of the SEC standings. Florida is fresh off an 85-63 rout of Oklahoma on Tuesday, their second consecutive victory by 20 points or more. LSU, after struggling early in conference play, has found momentum with back-to-back wins—first upsetting Oklahoma on the road, then defeating winless South Carolina 81-67. The Gators are aiming to strengthen their case for a top SEC Tournament seed and a possible No. 1 NCAA Tournament seed, while LSU is almost certain to be among the eight teams competing in the expanded Wednesday round of the league tournament in Nashville next month.
SERIES: LSU holds a 66-53 advantage in the all-time series, though Florida has claimed three straight and five of the last six meetings. Their most recent clash in Gainesville ended 82-80 in favor of the Gators, despite nearly slipping away. Florida built a 20-point lead with 15 minutes left, but LSU stormed back by shooting 63 percent in the half while Florida endured a cold stretch, missing 10 of 11 attempts and finishing at 34 percent for the period. With 9.9 seconds remaining, UF forward
Alex Condon hit one of two free throws to give Florida a two-point edge. LSU’s Jordan Wright had a chance to tie with a close-range floater but missed.
Walter Clayton Jr. led Florida with 21 points, while
Tyrese Samuel added 15 points and seven rebounds.
ETC: This game renews the coaching battle between Florida’s
Todd Golden and LSU’s
Matt McMahon. Both were finalists for the Florida job in March 2022 after
Mike White
departed for Georgia. At the time, Golden was coaching at San Francisco and McMahon at Murray State. Their teams met in the NCAA Tournament’s opening round in Indianapolis, where Murray edged out San Francisco 92-87 in overtime. The following day, Golden was named Florida’s head coach. Since then, he has gone 3-0 against McMahon.
Tale of the Tape
Florida’s victory on Tuesday, combined with Alabama’s loss at Missouri the following night, created a tie between the Gators and Crimson Tide for second place in the SEC standings. Florida’s next two contests are on the road against teams near the bottom of the conference, while Alabama hosts ranked opponents Kentucky and Mississippi State.
One more regular-season win will match Florida’s total of 24 from last year, along with 11 SEC victories—their highest since recording 12 in 2020. Statistically, UF is one of only three programs ranked in the top 10 nationally in both offensive and defensive efficiency, joining Duke (2/4) and Houston (7/3). They are also among five teams in the top 20 in both categories, alongside Auburn (1/11) and Iowa State (18/12).
Frontcourt injuries have dropped Florida to No. 10 in offensive rebounding (37.7 percent). Against Oklahoma, the Gators played half the game with four guards, which affected rebounding numbers. Defensively, UF ranks third in effective field-goal percentage defense (44.2), fourth in 3-point defense (28.4), and 16th in 2-point defense (45.2). During their five-game winning streak, the Gators have shot 51 percent overall and 42 percent from beyond the arc, averaging 12.6 made 3-pointers per game. Opponents have shot 44.1 percent from the field and just 31 percent from deep during that stretch.
Sophomore forward
Alex Condon (10.6 ppg, 7.8 rpg) continues to recover from a low-ankle sprain sustained early in last week’s win at Mississippi State. Todd Golden noted that Condon’s status is not ruled out, listing him as either “questionable” or “doubtful.” Backup forward
Sam Alexis (4.9 ppg, 3.6 rpg), who injured his ankle in the same game, will miss his third straight contest.
Walter Clayton Jr. remains on track for potential first-team All-America recognition. Ranked No. 8 nationally and No. 2 in the SEC, he averages 17.3 points, shoots 37 percent from 3-point range in conference play, and posts 4.6 assists to 2.4 turnovers. Clayton’s streak of consecutive games with at least one 3-pointer has reached 49, a school record. He has hit at least four 3s in three of his last four outings, including 18 points on 4-for-7 shooting from deep against Oklahoma.
Fifth-year guard
Alijah Martin, who scored 14 points and grabbed five rebounds against OU, said he is nearly fully recovered from the hip pointer that sidelined him for two games. With additional treatment, he is expected to return to the starting lineup against LSU, while
Denzel Aberdeen shifts back to his bench role. Despite a rough 1-for-9 shooting night versus OU, Aberdeen averaged 14.4 points, made 12 3-pointers, and committed only four turnovers across his five-game stretch as a starter.
Guard
Will Richard, after just his second game without a 3-pointer this season, bounced back with three triples, finishing with 14 points, eight rebounds, and two steals against Oklahoma while playing extended minutes at the “4” spot. He is shooting 38.8 percent from long range in SEC play.
Sophomore guard
Urban Klavzar (4.4 ppg) posted career highs in points (10) and minutes (23) against OU, hitting two of four from deep. He is now 9-for-14 on 3-pointers in SEC play, giving Florida five guards with distinct skill sets for opponents to prepare against.
Thomas Haugh, in his second career start, shot 1-for-5 and missed both 3-point attempts but contributed with effort plays, finishing with seven points, six rebounds, two assists, and four drawn fouls. Center
Rueben Chinyelu has scored in double figures in three straight games, after doing so only four times in the first 23 contests. He is shooting 59.6 percent from the field.
Micah Handlogten,
the 7-foot-1 center who opted not to redshirt, played his second game back, recording two points, five rebounds, and two assists in 16 minutes while making his only field-goal attempt.
The Tigers
Now in their third season under Matt McMahon, LSU is still searching for its first NCAA Tournament appearance with him at the helm. Last year, the Tigers finished with a 16-16 record and earned an NIT bid, but were eliminated in the opening round at home against North Texas. While another NIT berth is possible this season, the program’s ambitions remain higher, especially given its last NCAA showing in 2021 and the subsequent dismissal of Coach Will Wade due to NCAA violations.
The 2024-25 Tigers opened strong with an 11-2 mark in non-conference play but stumbled early in SEC competition, dropping their first three games and 10 of the first 11 overall. Recently, they’ve managed to string together two wins, including a road upset of Oklahoma. That victory marked their first Quad 1 win in 10 attempts this season.
