GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Thomas Haugh scored 22 points, Rueben Chinyelu posted his 17th double-double of the season, and the seventh-ranked Florida men’s basketball team earned at least a share of the Southeastern Conference regular-season championship with a 111-77 romp over 20th-ranked Arkansas on Saturday night.
It tied the worst loss of Arkansas second-year head coach John Calipari’s long career, a 34-pointer against Duke in 2018 during his 15-year run at Kentucky that followed nine seasons at Memphis and eight at Massachusetts.
The Gators (23-6, 14-2 SEC) closed out an unbeaten February with their ninth consecutive win and locked up their first regular-season title since 2014. They remained two games ahead of second-place Alabama (22-7, 12-4), which is ranked 17th, with two to play.
Florida can wrap up the outright title at home Tuesday night, when Mississipi State visits Gainesville, but the Gators didn’t wait to celebrate.
With a sold-out crowd and ESPN’s “College GameDay” on hand, Florida turned Billy Donovan Court into a party spot. Fourth-year head coach Todd Golden, who led the program to its third NCAA Division I tournament title (and first since 2007) last season, was front and center as the team doled out hats and T-shirts and cut down nets.
It wasn’t Golden’s first time in the spotlight Saturday night, either.
He and Calipari got double technical fouls early in the second half after screaming at each other near midcourt. Calipari’s assistants pulled him away. Golden turned and riled up the 11,000-plus in attendance.
It was one of the few highlights in a game that was pretty much over early.
The Gators dominated on both ends of the court, making plays inside and out, and built a 30-point lead with 13 minutes to play. The biggest surprises were bench players Urban Klavzar and Isaiah Brown. Klavzar hit his first four 3-pointers and finished with 14 points, and Brown scored 11, thanks partly to a pair of 3-pointers.
It was Florida’s big men who controlled the tempo most of the way, though. Chinyelu, Haugh and Alex Condon had their way inside, helping the Gators outrebound Arkansas 51-31 and win the battle in the paint.
Billy Richmond III led the Razorbacks (21-8, 11-5) with 22 points, including 14 in the first 15 minutes. Darius Acuff Jr., who leads the SEC in scoring and assists, finished with 17 points and six assists.
Florida guard Boogie Fland, facing his former team, was one of seven Gators in double figures and helped end Calipari’s six-game winning streak in Gainesville.
Florida has won six in a row against ranked teams and scored at least 90 points in each of those. It’s the second-longest such streak in D-I men’s college basketball history. The longest mark is shared by UNLV and Loyola-Marymount, both in the 1989-90 season.