An opening-game loss to Arizona followed by wins over North Florida, Florida State and Miami have put the Florida men’s basketball team at 3-1.
What to make of the defending national champion Gators?
Here are four things we’ve learned:
1. Florida is an elite rebounding team.
“Florida has got some big boys,” Florida State coach Luke Loucks said as he sat down at the podium following the Seminoles’ 78-76 loss to the Gators on Nov. 11.
The Gators can roll out Thomas Haugh (6-foot-9) and Alex Condon (6-11) at forward and Rueben Chinyelu (6-10) at center. Off the bench is 7-1 center Micah Handlogten.
The Gators are tied with Weber State for most rebounds per game nationally (52.7) and are tied for eighth in rebounding margin (plus-17).
Florida outrebounded FSU 58-36.
“To me, that was the difference,” said Loucks. “When you get that many possessions and second looks at the basket, it’s really tough (to defend).”
Haugh leads the Gators at 19 points per game.
2. The Gators are woeful from 3-point territory.
A total of 361 teams play Division I basketball and through Nov. 17, the Gators ranked — wait for it, folks — 354th in 3-point shooting percentage (23.73%, 28 of 118).
Yikes.
The only teams worse than UF are Southeastern Louisiana, Georgetown, UAB, Michigan State, Rider, Western Kentucky and East Carolina.
Game by game, the Gators shot 7 for 27 (Arizona), 6 of 32 (UNF), 6 of 31 (FSU) and 9 of 29 (Miami).
Yikes.
The focus has been on transfer guards Boogie Fland and Xaivian Lee, who are 2 of 17 (11.8%) and 6 of 34 (17.6%), respectively.
Fland shot 34% from 3-point territory last year for Arkansas and Lee shot 33.4% in three years for Princeton.
“I think it’s going to loosen up for them in the next couple weeks as they start to get more comfortable and find more opportunities to pick their spots,” Golden said.
Golden was quick to point out, accurately so, that Fland and Lee are doing everything else well.
“Just imagine how good we’re going to be when they start making shots,” Golden said.
Hint: Really good.
3. Rueben Chinyelu is fun to watch.
Chinyelu doesn’t stray far from the bucket (no 3-point attempts), but when big No. 9 gets the basketball in the low block, it’s entertaining to watch him dip, spin, grind and plow through defenders on his way to the hoop.
Every time he scores, it provides juice to the crowd and bench.
In his second year with the Gators, Chinyelu averaged 6.0 points and 6.6 rebounds per game in 2024-25, but is at 9.5 points and 9.0 rebounds through four games.
Against Miami, Chinyelu had 16 points and 12 rebounds in 26 minutes and was a team-high plus-16.
“(Chinyelu) been awesome the last two games,” Condon said. “He’s being the guy he is in practice every day.”
Said Golden: “Last year, he was probably underrated a little bit – we didn’t throw it to him much with his back to the basket. He’s done a great job (this season) picking his spots of when to attack in the post. When he does that, he’s pretty automatic (54.5%). In real time, you’re seeing a guy really maturing as a basketball player and become more than a defender and rebounder. He’s become a skilled finisher around the rim.”
4. Urban Klavzar’s bench scoring will be key
Klavzar, a 6-1 guard, provided a boost against Miami by scoring 15 points and hitting four of his seven 3-point attempts; he was 3 of 14 in the first three games.
Off the bench last year, Klavzar scored 10 points against Oklahoma and was 3 of 3 from long range in the win at Auburn.
“I just have to stay ready to shoot because we were playing three guards and I know (Lee and Fland) and even (Haugh) can get me open,” Klavzar said. “I’m just trying to be more confident every day.”
The Gators will need Klavzar’s instant offense, particularly against Duke on Dec. 2 and Connecticut on Dec. 9. UF’s bench is averaging 22 points per game, tied for 260th nationally.
“I certainly think he’s capable,” Golden said. “When he’s playing with confidence, he’s really hard to stop. He hit some daggers (against Miami).”
Contact O’Halloran at rohalloran@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: What have we learned about Gators’ men’s basketball team through four games?
Reporting by Ryan O’Halloran, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
