Florida hopes GameDay shot is a good omen for tonight's clash against Arkansas

College GameDay is in Gainesville today and one of the Rowdy Reptiles left the O'Dome with a little more money in his pocket after nailing the half court shot to end the broadcast.

Blake Cox drained the half court shot as his time was running out to collect $19,000 dollars, which should definitely help with books and tuition. 

Cox was pumped as expected and did a solid post-shot celebration while being mobbed by fellow students, likely hoping he'll buy pizza for all of them with his new winnings. It's the second year in a row that a Gator student has hit the shot. Last year it was done on March 1, 2025, before the Gators played Texas A&M. 

Successful half-court shot on College GameDay brings back great memories

Florida won that game over the Aggies, 89-70, and it was the first of a 12-game win streak that culminated with a 65-63 win over Houston in the national championship game. Could history repeat itself?

There are a few differences between last year and this year. For starters, the Gators were coming off of a  disappointing loss to Georgia before ESPN came to town. This year, however, Florida is arguably the hottest team in the country, having won eight straight and doing it in dominating fashion.

Florida won those eight games by an average of 23.4 points. Seven of the wins have been by double digits and five of those wins have been by 19 points or more. The closest game was a nine-point win over Kentucky on February 14. The oddmakers have taken notice of the Gators' hot streak and Florida's odds to repeat as champion are around -1000, putting them in the top five favorites along with Michigan, Arizona, Duke and Houston.

The Gators will host Arkansas tonight at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN. Florida is looking for its third-straight win over the Razorbacks.