What Happened
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Sophomore forward Thomas Haugh flirted with a triple-double, sophomore guard Denzel Aberdeen equaled his career high of 20 points and the wounded, third-ranked Florida Gators used a wicked blitz of defense and 3-pointers to start the second half and overtake 22nd-ranked Mississippi State for a 81-68 victory in their Southeastern Conference game Tuesday night at Humphrey Coliseum.
Haugh, who was spectacular off the bench in Saturday’s upset of No. 1 Auburn, made it two special performances in a row. He scored 16 points, grabbed nine rebounds and a carded a career-high eight assists in career-high 37 minutes. He needed to be great, also. Just 30 seconds into the game, starting forward and reigning SEC Player of the Week Alex Condon went down with an ankle injury when he landed on the foot of MSU’s RJ Melendez when while trying to jump for a baseline inbound pass. Condon was carried to the locker room by team trainers, leaving the Gators to fend without out two starters — fifth-year guard Alijah Martin (hip pointer) was a game-day scratch — averaging a combined 26 points and 13 rebounds a game.
Condon was diagnosed with a high-ankle sprain and did not return, with the Gators appearing to have dodged an injury bullet.
Aberdeen, making his third consecutive start and matching the 20 points he scored against Texas A&M in the SEC Tournament last season, made a trio of 3s and grabbed four rebounds in a career-high 36 minutes. Senior guard Walter Clayton Jr. had 19 points and nailed four 3s for a second straight game. Senior guard Will Richard had 10 points, with three 3s, and sophomore center Rueben Chinyelu stepped up for the beaten-up front court with 10 points and six rebounds.
UF, which won its third straight, shot 46 percent for the game — but 55 in the second half — and went 14 of 36 from deep (38.9 percent), while tallying 19 assists (giving them 61 over the last three games).
The first half was a defensive joust, with both teams shooting at 36 percent and State taking a 34-33 lead to the locker room. The Gators wasted no time taking control in the second half. Aberdeen and Richard both hit 3s to start 9-0 run and force a Bulldogs timeout. Out of the stoppage, Clayton and Haugh hit 3s, then Aberdeen flushed a run-out on the break, forcing another MSU timeout. The UF spurt was 17 points. The Gators’ lead was 16, at 50-34, and soon swelled to 20 (and eventually to as high as 24), with the Bulldogs chasing the rest of the game.
Sophomore guard Josh Hubbard led State with 19 points, but the Bulldogs, who came in as the No. 19 offense in the nation in overall efficiency, were held by the undermanned Gators to 41.4 percent from the floor, seven of 27 (25.9 percent) from distance and committed 15 turnovers that turned into 20 UF points.
What it Means
Back-to-back road wins against ranked teams without Martin and then losing Condon. This team is truly something when it comes to mental toughness. Make that a fifth Quadrant 1 victory, per the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET), for the postseason resume, with at least four more such opportunities coming in the regular season. When the rest of the SEC games are completed Wednesday night, UF will be no worse than tied for third place in the league standings, as it jockeys for SEC and NCAA tournament seeding.
In the Spotlight
Quick-healing prayers for “Condo.” And while you’re at it, same for “A-Mart,” too.
Staggering Statistic
The Gators have defeated consecutive ranked opponents on the road for the first time in the Associated Press ranking era, which dates to the 1948-49 season. The two wins over ranked teams away from home marks the first time since UF defeated No. 24 Virginia at Orlando and No. 25 Wisconsin at New York City in the second and third rounds, respectively, of the 2017 NCAA Tournament.
Up Next
Florida (21-3, 8-3), after playing three of the last four on the road, gets two straight at home, starting with Saturday’s night’s house call from South Carolina (10-13, 0-10), which has lost 10 straight (all in league play) heading into its Wednesday night home date against 19th-ranked Ole Miss. The Gators defeated the Gamecocks, one of their three SEC-assigned home-and-home opponents for 2025, on a driving bank shot by Richard with 4.2 seconds that lifted UF to a 70-69 victory on the road last month. Mississippi State (17-7, 5-6) plays host to rival Ole Miss on Saturday.
Email senior writer Chris Harry at [email protected]
