The belief is that Gator Boys don’t get hot; they stay hot. But entering SEC play, the Gators were anything but hot as they failed to pick up a signature non-conference win despite being on the precipice of breaking into the elite.
After picking up its third straight Quad One win in blowout fashion, the Gator Boys have gotten hot and this Saturday will be a test of whether or not they can stay hot.
Florida blows out Oklahoma
We wouldn’t go as far as saying Tuesday’s game was over the moment it started, as Oklahoma did have a lead four minutes in, but it snowballed in a hurry and quickly stopped being in doubt. Florida’s lead went from 12-10 with 14:20 to play in the first half to 25-15 with 7:50 to play. From there, it was a decisive 21-9 run to close out the half to give Florida a 25-point halftime lead.
Even though Oklahoma outscored Florida in the 2nd half, it was never actually close, and Florida cruised to a 96-79 victory. Some of the typical ailments still lingered, such as Florida shooting 6-22 from three, but the Gators only committed seven turnovers and collected 17 offensive rebounds to the 11 Oklahoma got.
Rueben Chinleyu continued his hot run of play with 19 points, 12 rebounds, and a block. Thomas Haugh led all scorers with 21 points, and Urban Klavzar had a big night off the bench with 13 points.
As it stands, this counts as a Quad One win for the Gators sine Oklahmoma is 65th in NET, and any road win against a top 75 NET team gets you a Quad One win.
Looming test against Vanderbilt
This version of Florida looks like the squad we saw last year march to a national title. It’s not just that Florida has now won three straight Quad One games; it’s that they have blown out Georgia, Tennessee, and now Oklahoma in three straight games.
But the looming test for Florida is this Saturday at Vanderbilt. The Commodores have established themselves as the team to beat in the SEC and are undefeated on the year at 16-0. The AP Poll hasn’t done them justice, as Vanderbilt is 7th in NET and 5th in KenPom.
Florida is now up to 11th in KenPom.
In a vacuum, Saturday’s game is just a standard game against a top-level opponent. But given the backdrop of the non-conference slate, when Florida hung around with Arizona, Duke, and UConn only to fall short in the end, it feels like a game Florida needs to win to prove it can actually get over the hump in 2026.
Tip-off on Saturday in Nashville is at 2PM on ESPN.