UF guard Xaivian Lee (1) nails one of his four 3-pointers on his way to 20 points.

About the Gators: The season began with Florida ranked No. 3, but an opening loss in Las Vegas to Arizona — still undefeated and now ranked second — set a rocky tone. The Gators followed with four straight wins, though unevenly played, before surrendering a 10-point second-half lead to TCU last week. Concerns over 3-point shooting and turnovers eased, at least temporarily, in the win over Providence, where Florida hit a season-high 12 shots from deep and committed just eight turnovers (only four in the final 36 minutes) after 19 giveaways against the Horned Frogs.

Florida opened the year ranked in the top five nationally in both offensive and defensive efficiency, per KenPom.com, but has since dropped more than 20 spots offensively (largely due to poor 3-point shooting) and now sits just outside the top 10 defensively. Forward Alex Condon (15.7 ppg, 8.8 rpg), who missed the Providence game for precautionary reasons after a blow to the head against TCU, will be a game-time decision. If unavailable, Micah Handlogten (5.3 ppg, 7.0 rpg) will make his second start in two seasons.

The most encouraging sign from San Diego was the breakout of shooting guard Xaivian Lee, who had been struggling at 22.6% overall and 15.6% from 3. Against the Friars, Lee posted a UF career-high 20 points, went 4-for-9 from beyond the arc, grabbed seven rebounds, and dished four assists. If the cross-country trip helped restore his confidence to Princeton levels, the payoff was significant. Center Rueben Chinyelu has recorded four double-doubles in his last five games, shooting 59% from the field and improving his free-throw percentage to 70% (up from his career mark of 53.9). Point guard Boogie Fland delivered his best offensive game as a Gator, hitting four 3-pointers. Forward Thomas Haugh struggled from the floor (3-for-9 overall, 1-for-5 from 3) but still produced 16 points, 12 rebounds, and five assists in 34 minutes, while converting 9 of 11 free throws. Backup guard Urban Klavzar (10.6 ppg) averaged 19.0 points in San Diego, making seven of 15 from deep, raising his season percentage to 38% after starting at 21.4% through the first four games. Reserve guard Isaiah Brown (3.4 ppg, 2.6 rpg) contributed efficiently, hitting all three of his shots in 12 minutes.

About the Blue Devils: Now in his fourth season, coach Jon Scheyer has compiled a 97-22 record at his alma mater, winning his first ACC title last season and leading Duke to the Final Four in 2022 — just the program’s second in the previous nine years. The Blue Devils are unbeaten through eight games for the first time since 2017-18, when they opened 11-0. Statistically, Duke is elite across the board, ranking top-five in both offense and defense, boasting the second-best 2-point percentage in college basketball (65.2) and the nation’s best effective field-goal percentage defense (40.0).

Forward Cameron Boozer, who chose Duke after a recruiting battle with Florida and Miami, may not yet be drawing the same spotlight as Cooper Flagg, but he has no discernible weaknesses and is projected as a top-3 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. Boozer is shooting 65.4% from 2-point range, nearly 39% from 3, leads the team in assists, and ranks among the top 150 in advanced metrics, including top-60 in usage. The son of former Duke star and 13-year NBA veteran Carlos Boozer, he impacts the game everywhere on the floor. Point guard Caleb Foster, a starter for most of his three seasons in Durham, is hitting 52% from 2 and nearly 50% from 3, while posting a 20.6% assist rate. Isaiah Evans adds efficiency as an inside-out scorer and is an excellent shot-blocker at the guard spot, while freshman forward Dame Sarr has been similarly effective (59% from 2, nearly 36% from 3).

Off the bench, 6-8 freshman forward Nikolas Khamenia (7.0 ppg, 4.1 rpg) joins Boozer and his younger brother, 6-4 guard Cayden Boozer (7.2 ppg, 3.1 apg), as members of the 2025 McDonald’s All America Team.

Numbers of Note

• 14 — Duke held a 14-point lead over Houston with under eight minutes remaining in the 2025 Final Four, but ultimately fell 70-67. The Blue Devils were still ahead by nine with 2:15 left before Houston’s NCAA-best defense clamped down, closing the game on a 15-3 run. That included a stunning 9-0 burst in the final 33 seconds, completing one of the most dramatic comebacks — and collapses — in Final Four history. Note: Two nights later, Florida trailed by 12 in the second half of the national championship game and rallied to win 65-63.

• 1937 — The last time Duke played in Gainesville. This upcoming contest marks the 11th meeting between the programs since then, with four at Cameron Indoor Stadium and six at neutral sites. Two of those came in the NCAA Tournament, including the 1994 Final Four in Charlotte, where the Blue Devils prevailed 70-65.

• 2000 — Just 15 months after suffering a 30-point defeat at Cameron, the fifth-seeded Gators, in their fourth season under Billy Donovan, faced the No. 1-seeded Blue Devils in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA East Region at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York. UF stunned the tournament’s top overall seed 87-78 by scoring the final 13 points over the last four minutes. Freshman point guard Brett Nelson led with 15 points, outplaying All-America freshman Jay Williams, now an ESPN analyst. Sophomore forward Mike Miller added 10 points. The victory was Florida’s first ever against a No. 1-ranked team and propelled the Gators to just their second Elite Eight in program history. They went on to defeat Oklahoma State in the regional final, then beat North Carolina at the Final Four in Indianapolis to reach the NCAA title game for the first time, where UF fell to Michigan State 89-76.



Bottom Line 

This matchup represents a significant challenge for the Gators, but it’s part of the broader process and plan for the 2025-26 season — a campaign that remains very much a work in progress.

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