Defending champion and No. 3-ranked Florida will feel like it is back in the NCAA Tournament when the Gators open their season Monday against No. 13 Arizona at Las Vegas.
Florida brings a 12-game winning streak into the matchup, including the last six victories during a March Madness run that culminated with wins over a pair of No. 1 seeds in Auburn in the national semifinals and Houston in the final. The victory over the Cougars secured the Gators’ third title in school history.
Florida lost three players to the NBA in Walter Clayton Jr., Alijah Martin and Will Richard, while the returning big men include 6-foot-9 Thomas Haugh, 6-11 Alex Condon and 6-10 Rueben Chinyelu, all of whom are set to start.
A pair of transfers are expected to fill out the backcourt in Arkansas’ Boogie Fland and Princeton’s Xaivian Lee.
The departure of Clayton, Martin and Richard means that coach Todd Golden will have to replace more than 45 points per game, plus more than 12 rebounds. Clayton ran the offense with an average of 4.2 assists per game.
“I think the big thing for us this year is to emphasize getting the ball more to our front-court players,” said Condon, who averaged 10.6 points with a team-best 7.5 rebounds last season.
“A lot more of the scoring is going to come out of us this year. We talked about how we had great guards last year, but this is our year (for the big men) to prove ourselves.”
Florida went 36-4 last season after opening the schedule on a 13-game winning streak.
Arizona will be out to overcome the departures of Caleb Love and Carter Bryant, as well as KJ Lewis and Henri Veesaar, who transferred. Tobe Awaka, Jaden Bradley, Anthony Dell’Orso and Motiejus Krivas all return.
Wildcats coach Tommy Lloyd also put together one of the top recruiting classes in the country for a team that saw its 2024-25 season end with a Sweet 16 loss to No. 1-seeded Duke.
In its debut season in the Big 12, Arizona finished 24-13 overall and 14-6 in conference play.
“We have a number of freshmen that are ready to play, so we’re going to put the best players out there that we can no matter what year in school they are,” Lloyd said. “I think they have a real maturity about them, and physically, I also think they are ready.”
Brayden Burries and Koa Peat represent the top talent in the freshmen class, with both lined up to potentially start against Florida.
The Wildcats’ recruiting class also includes Bryce James, son of NBA star LeBron James, although redshirting this season is not out of the question.
“My job is to respect him as a person and help him with his own journey,” Lloyd said. “… Let’s just help this kid develop into a great young man, and I think that’s what his family wants, and what he wants, and we’re gonna help him with that.”
Florida and Arizona have met four times, all since 2001, with each team winning twice. Arizona won the most recent meeting 65-64 in December 2021 at Tucson, Ariz.
–Field Level Media
