No. 7 Florida enters March red hot after rout of No. 20 Arkansas

Edgar Thompson, Orlando Sentinel on Feb 28, 2026

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. — On the eve of college basketball’s biggest month, Florida coach Todd Golden’s red-hot Gators looked like a team ready for another deep postseason run.

With a 111-77 win Saturday night against No. 20 Arkansas, the No. 7 Gators ended a flawless February 8-0 and poised for another memorable March — the time when championship teams find their stride.

Florida’s one-sided showing already earned Golden’s squad a title. The win dropped Arkansas (21-8, 11-5 SEC) out of the conference race and left the Gators (23-6, 14-2) two games ahead of Alabama (22-7, 12-4) with two games to go, ensuring Florida at least a share of the school’s eighth regular-season league title.

The Gators can clinch Tuesday night at home against Mississippi State.

Saturday night’s high-stakes matchup pitting two national championship-winning coaches became a showcase of the Gators’ improved depth, versatility and killer instinct.

“There wasn’t a guy out here they could stop,” Golden said. “We just kept scoring and scoring and scoring.”

Seven Gators scored in double figures for the first time since 2017, including a team-leading 22 points by Thomas Haugh, as UF shot a blistering 54.8% from the floor. Center Rueben Chinyelu recorded his 17th double-double, with 12 points and 16 rebounds as Florida held a 51-31 advantage on the glass. Led by guard Urban Klavzar’s 14 points, the Gators outscored the Razorback reserves 33-23 as coach John Calipari lost for the first time in Gainesville since 2018 while at Kentucky.

The 34-point margin of defeat tied the largest of the 67-year-old Hall of Famer’s career.

Despite six consecutive wins on Florida’s home floor, Calipari has endured some beatings in the O’Dome, including four double-digit defeats in a six-game stretch from 2013-18.

No Calipari loss in Gainesville came close to Saturday night’s as a sellout crowd of 11,076, national TV audience and 16 NBA scouts looked on while the Gators moved to 42-3 at home during the past three seasons.

Arkansas put up fight early on. A jumper by star freshman and SEC-leading scorer Darius Acuff Jr. gave his team a 16-11 lead.

But the Gators answered an 8-0 Razorbacks’ run with a 12-0 run, capped by a 3-pointer by Klavzar for a 23-16 lead.

The Gators built a 24-point lead during the first half and never led by fewer than 19 points the rest of the way.

Another Klavzar 3-pointer pushed the Gators’ lead to 30 points for the first time, at 73-43 with 13:22 remaining.

The only drama remaining the rest of the way involved Florida point guard Boogie Fland, who transferred from Arkansas in May. The 6-foot-3 sophomore scored 14 points and had four assists and no turnovers, but he left the game with 5:12 remaining after he landed hard on the floor and headed to the locker room with trainers.