Gators clinch SEC regular-season title with rout of Arkansas
The line snaking deep into the heart of No. 7 Florida’s campus, one that needed to be told to go home Friday night, was probably the first sign. The pop after Isaiah Brown’s dunk, one that forced No. 20 Arkansas’ second timeout of the first half, was another. Seeing is believing, though, so this took a bit more.
Standing atop a ladder, net trimming in hand and celebratory gear hanging from his shoulders, Florida’s star, Thomas Haugh, let out a definitive roar — one easily heard throughout the college basketball ecosystem. What predated that: Florida, 111. Arkansas, 77. What that means: Southeastern Conference regular-season champs, No. 1 seed in the SEC tournament, all housed in Gainesville.
“We’re playing really good basketball right now,” Gators coach Todd Golden said, offering a correction. “We’re playing as good basketball as anybody in America.”
Remember, last season, Florida didn’t accomplish that second part despite its national championship run. In fact, it had not since 2014. Surely the Gainesville residents couldn’t care less, but throttling a ranked foe to amend a singular shortcoming?
That feels good.
“It’s the one that we didn’t have yet,” said Florida forward Alex Condon, who added 17. Haugh cut in: “We don’t want a share of the SEC, we want the whole thing to ourselves.” That could come Tuesday against SEC cellar-dweller Mississippi State.
As has been the standard this season, Haugh led Florida (23-6, 14-2 in the SEC) with 22. The moments, however, belonged to his supporting cast, which had six members score in double digits, Florida’s most this campaign. Brown was far from the only star in that group, though an eight-point run by an eighth man who averages 5.3 points per game is the type of movement that transforms a team into a monster in March. Behind his theatrics, Florida tore off a 20-5 run that sent Arkansas (21-8, 11-5 in the SEC) into halftime down by 19.
Back when Florida wasn’t “blasting these dudes,” in Golden’s words — when the Razorbacks took an early 16-11 lead — it was another from the bench, Urban Klavzar, who sent the O’Dome into the state of euphoria. His four three-pointers were an encapsulation of why Florida’s transformed into the No. 1 seed-circling beast it now is. Even when Florida struggled, its size posed opponents issues, stymying any effort on the boards (51-31 Saturday night, Gators) while pulling defenses in. “If you avoid Florida’s contact, you cannot beat that team,” Arkansas coach John Calipari simplified.
Before, Florida was just the worst three-point shooting team to find itself in the top 15 at any point this decade. But time, bizarrely, passes. The Gators have strung together three games shooting above 42% from deep, and scored at least 90 in their last six ranked showdowns.
The reason for the swing: “When you know your identity, and you know who you are, no one can take that from you,” Florida center Rueben Chinyelu explained, moonlighting as a sports psychologist. “Don’t get lost in the moment.”
That was especially hard when the second half dissolved into a bit of a party. Shirts came off in the front row of the student section, with fans already prepared, their chests adorned with “GO GATORS” lettering. This result seemed so certain that it wasn’t necessary to go topless for the full 40. Those shirts, now removed, flew through the air when Arkansas’ Nick Pringle missed his second set of free throws of the second half. Mi Apa, a Gainesville Mexican staple, was now on the hook for a host of free food.
By that point, after Golden and Calipari exchanged technical fouls for some barking while the Gators led by 37, the typically animated Calipari resigned himself to his seat and said he wished the game “would’ve gone faster.” Arkansas’ huddles became hushed support groups, and the Razorbacks slipped into the tunnel as the hats and shirts and confetti broke out.
And the night rolled on, players celebrating across the court and Drake blasting from the locker room, loud enough for it to be heard anywhere in the arena’s lower bowl. These things happen when you’re a conference champion that’s lost one game in seven weeks. Other things do too, which Golden will tell you he doesn’t want to think about.
“Didn’t lose in February,” he said, straight-faced. “Gotta try to not lose in March.”