Florida picked up a 77-67 win over No. 14 Miami to open the 2026-27 campaign and start the season 1-0. It was necessarily a pretty win, but the Gators were willing to meet the physicality of Miami and then some to ultimately make Monday night in Tampa a relativley stress free afair. Florida never trailed by more than three and didn’t trail after the 11:38 mark in the 1st half.
These are our four biggest observations stemming from Monday night.
Florida knocks off Miami to open the 2026-27 season
Thomas Haugh is him
The Preseason All-American and SEC Preseason Player of the Year acted the part as he racked up 19 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, two steals, a block, and no turnovers. According to the account @BetweenThe Nums, Haugh is the just the second player in the last 30 years to have a stat line like that or better against an AP Top 15 opponent, joining Cooper Flagg’s performance against Auburn in 2024.
Thomas Haugh tonight:
— Greg Harvey (@BetweenTheNums) November 3, 2026
19 PTS | 10 REB | 4 AST | 2 STL | 1 BLK
0 Turnovers
The only other player in the last 30 years to have such a stat line (or better) against an AP Top 15 opponent was Cooper Flagg on 12/4/2024 vs Auburn. pic.twitter.com/nE32d7xqdZ
Florida’s defense creates a high floor for this team
Shots weren’t falling at a rate that Florida fans would have liked, but what we did see was a grimy defense that made life a nightmare for Miami. In the second half, Miami was held to 9-31 shooting and had just 12 points over the final 10 minutes of play. Rueben Chineylu had three blocks, and Boogie Fland wound up with four steals.
Guard play needs to create buckets
Fland had 12 points as the second leading scorer, but it was off 2-for-9 shooting. Denzel Aberdeen was 3-for-9 for seven points, and Urban Klavzar was 3-for-7 off the bench for nine points. Isaiah Brown was a bright spot with seven points in 14 minutes off the bench. It just didn’t feel like, though, Florida’s guards could power through and create in a physical, grimy game like what went down last night, which only feeds the perception that guard play could hold this team back.
Nobody likes three-hour basketball games
Officially, the length of this game was 2:43. It didn’t help that Miami was called for 27 fouls while Florida was whistled for 21. Throw in constant monitor reviews and a host of other delays, and this game just felt like it dragged at times. It went so long that ESPN kicked the game over to ESPNews so that it could start the Manning Cast for Monday Night Football.
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