No. 7 Florida Blows Out No. 20 Arkansas in 111-77 Final to Clinch Share of SEC Regular Season Title

Pure domination, that’s what was on full display in Gainesville on Saturday night as the 7th-ranked Florida Gators cruised to an easy victory over the 20th-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks to clinch a share of the SEC regular season title for the first time in 12 years.

Gators Offense Clicks on All Cylinders in Win

After struggling out of the gates to start the season in non-conference play, the reigning national champion Gators have returned to form over the past two months since the start of the conference season. Tonight’s win marked Florida’s 9th straight win, and currently gives them a 14-2 record in SEC play, a record that not even last year’s championship squad possessed.

Of course, this year’s team is arguably a much more balanced team, as every player for the Gators could do no wrong on offense in this game. Florida saw over seven players finish in double figures in the game, with four of those players scoring more than 14 points in the blowout win. The Gators would stay red hot throughout the game as they shot 58% from the field in the first half, and would end the game shooting 57% overall in an almost flawless shooting night.

The two biggest contributors in the win for Florida were both star junior Thomas Haugh, and rebounding machine Rueben Chinyelu. Haugh would lead the way in scoring for the Gators with 22 points, while Chinyelu would finish with a monster double-double of 12 points and 16 rebounds in the win. Chinyelu has quietly put together the greatest rebounding season in Gators’ program history, as he recently set a new record for offensive rebounds in a season for Florida.

Darius Acuff Jr. and Arkansas Offense Can’t Keep Pace

It’s not often you see an offense as high-powered as Arkansas’s get thoroughly outplayed, but it was unfortunately just one of those kinds of nights for the Razorbacks in the loss. Much of Arkansas inefficiency on offense was due in part to the team’s lack of production from its most crucial player in star freshman Darius Acuff Jr, who managed to score 17 points on a highly inefficient 6-for-19 shooting from the floor.

Despite finishing the game with 77 points overall as a team, many of the points scored by the Razorbacks came against the Gators’ second unit, as Florida pulled out most of their starters soon after increasing their lead to 37 in the second half. While Arkansas ineffectiveness on offense was most notable in their poor shooting on offense overall, it was the free throw line that would provide the most pain to the Razorbacks as they shot just 54% from the charity stripe tonight.

While there weren’t many bright spots in a loss of this magnitude, there was at least one that Arkansas can point to in this game. That bright spot was the play of guard Billy Richmond III, who put together another strong game for the Razorbacks tonight. Richmond III would finish with a team-high 22 points and six rebounds in the loss. This game would mark Richmond III’s 5th-straight 20-point outing, further highlighting an impressive late-season push by the sophomore.

Florida Solidifies Themselves as the Kings of the SEC this Season

After falling just short of clinching a share of the SEC regular season title in perhaps the greatest single-season performance by a conference in NCAA history, the Gators have finally ascended atop the SEC once again. It’s been a long time coming for Florida, as they last held the SEC regular-season crown back in 2013-14, a season which also saw the Gators advance to their 5th final four in program history.

Now that the SEC is in the bag for Florida, the question remains about their chances at snagging their second straight national championship come April. The Gators currently possess the fifth-best odds to win the title according to BetMGM, sitting just behind title favorite teams like Arizona, Duke and Michigan. If tonight’s performance proves anything, it’s that you shouldn’t bet against this Gators team come March.