SETUP:  No. 3 Florida and No. 12 Texas A&M square off in a Southeastern Conference matchup with major implications for seeding in both the SEC and NCAA tournaments. ESPN’s "College GameDay" will broadcast live from the O’Dome between 10 a.m. and noon.

Florida enters the contest after seeing its six-game winning streak end Tuesday in an 88-83 defeat at Georgia. The Gators trailed by 26 points in the first half, mounted a furious rally to take the lead with just over a minute remaining, but ultimately fell in the closing seconds.

Texas A&M, meanwhile, dropped its third straight game Wednesday night, falling 86-84 at home to Vanderbilt. It marks the Aggies’ first three-game skid of the season, and they’ll be eager to reverse course.

At present, UF sits alone in third place in the SEC standings—one game behind Alabama, one game ahead of Tennessee and Missouri, and two ahead of Texas A&M. With three regular-season games left, the race for one of the four coveted two-day byes in the SEC Tournament is tight. Auburn has essentially locked up the No. 1 seed, Alabama is well-positioned for the 2 or 3 slot, and the remaining spots are still in play among several top-20 programs. Florida, however, controls its path if it can capitalize.

SERIES: Florida leads the all-time series 10-9, thanks to snapping a five-game losing streak against the Aggies in their most recent meeting. That skid dated back to 2022, with the losses decided by a combined 10 points.

The Gators previously won four straight from 2017-20, but the teams did not meet in 2021 due to Covid. Texas A&M then strung together close victories: by one at College Station and by three in overtime at the SEC Tournament in Tampa in 2022; by three in Gainesville and by two at College Station in 2023; and by one at home in 2024. Six weeks later, the teams met again in the SEC Tournament semifinals at Nashville, where A&M built an 18-point first-half lead before Florida stormed back.

Sophomore guard Denzel Aberdeen delivered a career-best 20 points off the bench, hitting 4-of-5 from deep. Florida shot 56 percent overall and connected on eight of 15 three-pointers during a 53-point second half against one of the nation’s toughest defenses. Junior guard Will Richard added 19 points, graduate forward Tyrese Samuel contributed 15 points and six rebounds, and graduate point guard Zyon Pullin chipped in 15 points and five assists. The Gators advanced to the SEC championship game for the first time in a decade, where they fell to Auburn.

ETC: Florida has posted dominant home wins this season, defeating Tennessee and Georgia by 30 points each. Yet in road rematches, the Gators lost to Tennessee by 20 and to Georgia by five.

Tale of the Tape

What may have been Florida’s roughest 12 minutes of the season lined up with Georgia’s best, and the Gators paid the price. With just under eight minutes left in the first half, UF trailed 39-13, shooting only 25 percent while allowing the Bulldogs to hit 75 percent and forcing just three turnovers. Over the next 27 minutes, Florida flipped the script, outscoring Georgia 67-39 on 46-percent shooting, holding them to 41 percent, and forcing 14 turnovers to grab an 80-78 lead. But the final minute proved decisive, ending the Gators’ six-game win streak.

Florida left Athens with nearly identical offensive and defensive numbers to what it started with, making those 12 minutes even harder to swallow. Still, the focus now shifts to wins—especially quality ones. The last three regular-season games (Texas A&M, at Alabama, and Ole Miss) all present potential Quadrant 1 opportunities under the NCAA Evaluation Tool. Florida sits at 5-4 in Q1 contests, a modest tally for a team aiming for a high tournament seed.

Guard Will Richard, slowed recently by a sore toe, erupted in his Georgia homecoming with a career-high 30 points, five 3-pointers, five rebounds, and three assists. He scored 17 in the first half, keeping Florida within reach. His backcourt partners Walter Clayton Jr. and Alijah Martin combined for just six points on 2-for-11 shooting in the opening period, though Clayton finished with 18 points, three triples, five assists, and five turnovers. Martin added eight points, two rebounds, and three steals in 32 minutes. With Richard’s performance, all three starting guards have now posted 30-point games this season (Martin vs. Southern Illinois, Clayton at Kentucky).

Forward Thomas Haugh, making his fourth straight start, contributed six points, four rebounds, three assists, and two steals but missed all four of his 3-point attempts. Center Rueben Chinyelu saw his streak of four consecutive double-digit scoring games end, finishing with three points, four rebounds, and fouling out in 15 minutes.

Sophomore forward Alex Condon, returning from a low-ankle sprain suffered Feb. 11 at Mississippi State, showed some rust around the rim, going 1-for-7 from the floor. He logged 21 minutes, scored nine points, grabbed three rebounds, and drew a game-high six fouls while hitting 7-of-9 free throws.

Sophomore center Micah Handlogten added six points, nine rebounds, and two steals in 12 minutes, with six of his boards coming on the offensive end. Backup guard Denzel Aberdeen struggled, going scoreless in under eight minutes. Reserve guard Urban Klavzar played eight minutes and extended his streak of games with a made 3-pointer to seven, hitting 11-of-20 from deep in SEC play. Forward Sam Alexis (ankle) missed his fifth straight game.

The Aggies

Forward Andersson Garcia continues to be a major factor on the boards, collecting 65 offensive rebounds alongside 99 defensive. He has posted five games with double-digit rebounds this season, highlighted by a 16-board performance against Wake Forest.

Forward Solomon Washington gave Florida trouble in last year’s matchup, making his presence felt both on the glass and as a rim protector. His production has dipped during the current losing streak—scoreless against Vanderbilt and just five points total across those games—but earlier this season he strung together five consecutive SEC outings with double-digit scoring.



Junior forward Pharrel Payne, a 6-foot-9, 250-pound transfer from Minnesota, provides a powerful low-post option off the bench. Payne has been highly efficient, shooting 66 percent from the field and recently scoring 23 points on 9-for-13 against Vanderbilt. He has yet to attempt a three-pointer this season, but his rebounding balance is notable, with 69 offensive and 67 defensive boards. Payne also ranks among the nation’s top shot-blockers, sitting 46th overall.

Numbers of Note

• 7 — SEC programs currently hold more Quadrant 1 victories than Florida’s five. The Gators’ relatively light non-conference slate (ranked 216th nationally) and the strength of the league schedule contribute to that gap. Auburn leads with 15, followed by Alabama (10), Tennessee (9), Kentucky (9), Mississippi State (7), and both Missouri and Texas A&M with six each.

• 15 — Florida’s rank in free-throw shooting within the SEC, converting 69.4 percent. At Georgia, the Gators went just 18-for-29 (62.1 percent), with two misses apiece from Walter Clayton Jr. (83.0 percent), Will Richard (73.1), and Alijah Martin (62.5).

• 16 — Texas A&M’s position at the bottom of the SEC in free-throw shooting, hitting 69.3 percent at the line.

• 50 — Consecutive games in which Walter Clayton Jr. has made at least one three-pointer. He surpassed the previous program record of 41, set by Michael Frazier II nine years ago, and continues to extend the streak.

• 2019 — The last time Florida defeated Texas A&M at the O’Dome. On Jan. 22 of that year, with Billy Kennedy coaching the Aggies and Mike White leading the Gators, UF won 81-72. Guards KeVaughn Allen and Noah Locke combined for 58 points. Allen went 8-for-10 from deep, while Locke added seven triples on his way to a career-high 27 points. Florida trailed by 13 at halftime but shot 59 percent in the second half, including 11-for-15 from three (73.3 percent), to outscore A&M 48-26.



Bottom Line

With a trip to No. 6 Alabama up next, the importance of this matchup—especially in terms of NCAA seeding—cannot be overstated.