Oklahoma head coach Porter Moser, who famously guided Loyola-Chicago on a Cinderella trip to the Final Four seven years ago, has since faced the challenge of leading the Sooners through a tough transition. After three seasons competing against elite Big 12 programs—including 2023 national champion Kansas—Oklahoma shifted last summer into the expanded Southeastern Conference, widely regarded in 2025 as the strongest college basketball league in twenty years.
This year, the Sooners have struggled against SEC opponents, suffering defeats to Alabama (ranked No. 4), Texas A&M twice (No. 7), Auburn (No. 1), Tennessee (No. 6), and Missouri (No. 15). On Tuesday night, No. 2 Florida added to that list, cruising past Oklahoma with an 85–63 win at a packed Exactech Arena. The Gators controlled the game so thoroughly that most of their starters were able to rest well before the final buzzer.
Moser's post-beatdown postmortem was as much about the Gators (23-3, 10-3), winners of five straight, as it was his team. The OU coach was that impressed.
"They have the pieces to win it all. … [They] defend very hard, protect the rim, shoot; they got good positional size, five guys who have great range. I think they're one of about five or six teams that can be playing that last weekend [in the Final Four], no doubt," Moser said. "Your head just explodes with the level of these handful of teams and Florida is absolutely right there with the best in the league."
Oklahoma coach Porter Moser
The Sooners (16–10, 3–10), now on a five-game skid, couldn’t withstand Florida’s relentless efficiency on both ends of the floor. Even without rebound leader and third-leading scorer Alex Condon—who missed his third straight contest with a low-ankle sprain—the Gators dominated. Offensively, five players reached double figures, highlighted by Walter Clayton Jr.'s 18 points. Florida shot 45.2 percent overall, drained 12 three-pointers, and committed only six turnovers. Defensively, they held Oklahoma to 38.8 percent shooting, including just 26.9 percent in the opening half, when UF built a commanding 22-point advantage.
Florida’s perimeter shooting was especially decisive: the Gators knocked down nine threes in the first half, compared to only seven total field goals for Oklahoma.
"I thought we did a really good job of being pretty systematic with our effort tonight. After the first four minutes I thought we played really well, sharing the ball, shot the ball really well in the first half, defended at a very good level, which we needed to do," UF coach Todd Golden said. "Oklahoma is a very good offensive team. They're very hard to guard. They run good stuff. They play together. They go undersized a little bit, which makes them a little harder to guard, especially for us, a team that likes to stay big. So, holding them to 26, 27 percent in the first half, I thought set the tone."
Oklahoma coach Porter Moser acknowledged the Gators’ shooting range: "The depth of their 3s, they kept pulling out farther and farther," Moser said, estimating that three or four UF players can shoot from 27 feet. "They put you in a trick bag."
Clayton himself connected twice from near the Gator logo, but the decisive stretch came during a 17–2 run in just over four minutes. Urban Klavzar, Denzel Aberdeen, Alijah Martin, and Will Richard (who hit back-to-back threes) fueled the surge, turning a modest six-point lead into a 20-point margin with five minutes left in the half.
"We got multiple guys shooting it well from all over the court," Clayton said.
Walter Clayton Jr. delivered an efficient performance, hitting six of nine shots from the field and sinking four of seven attempts from beyond the arc. Over his 27 minutes, he avoided turnovers entirely—a first for him in SEC play this season. With more than 10 minutes remaining and Florida ahead by 23, his night was finished early.
Will Richard added 14 points, including three three-pointers, while Alijah Martin—back for his second game after missing time with a hip pointer—matched that total. Martin also grabbed five rebounds in 27-plus minutes and posted a team-best plus-31 in on-court rating.
"I felt almost 100 (percent)," Martin said. "I don't think I have any limitations right now."
Alijah Martin (15) attacks in the second half for two of his 14 points.
Center Rueben Chinyelu contributed 11 points, while Urban Klavzar added a career-high 10, including two three-pointers. Klavzar has now connected on nine of 14 attempts from long range in conference play.
Florida’s offensive firepower was on full display, with nine first-half threes from five different players fueling a 46–24 advantage. The Gators have now hit at least 10 triples in each of their last five victories, totaling 63 makes at a 42.0 percent clip.
The relentless perimeter shooting proved overwhelming. "It's deflating," Moser said.
Defensively, Florida has been just as impressive during this five-game stretch, holding opponents to 44.1 percent overall and only 31.0 percent from deep. On Tuesday, they stifled one of the SEC’s more inventive offenses, limiting everyone except standout freshman Jeremiah Fears.
Fears, a projected first-round NBA draft pick, scored a game-high 22 points on 7-of-15 shooting with four threes. The rest of the Sooners combined to go 12-for-34 from the field and 3-for-12 from beyond the arc.
"We knew we wanted to come in and have effort and intensity from the jump," Will Richard said. "So, it's definitely big for us to come in and guard them like that, starting the game off, instead of trying to feel our way into the game."
Florida managed all of this without Alex Condon, one of the SEC’s premier big men, who supported his teammates from the bench in a walking boot. Porter Moser acknowledged the impact of his absence:
"That's like taking another punch at my gut; throwing some salt on the wound," the OU coach said. "Yeah. It's scary how good they could be."
Email senior writer Chris Harry at chrish@gators.ufl.edu
