Florida’s front-court bullied Oklahoma inside, turning a 7-6 deficit into a 22-point halftime laugher and keeping the Gators surging up the SEC ladder.
Norman, Okla. — Thomas Haugh poured in 21 points, Rueben Chinyelu posted his SEC-best ninth double-double with 19 points and 12 boards, and No. 19 Florida steamrolled Oklahoma 96-79 on Tuesday night, cementing a third consecutive victory and sending an unmistakable message to the rest of the league.
The Gators (12-5, 3-1 SEC) scored 60 of their 96 points in the paint, the highest single-game total by any Sooners opponent this season. The 6-foot-10 Chinyelu shot 8-for-9 inside the arc, routinely finishing over single coverage while guards Boogie Fland (15 points) and Xaivian Lee repeatedly collapsed the defense off high ball screens.
First-half blitz flips the script
Oklahoma (11-6, 1-3) briefly led 7-6 on Xzayvier Brown’s four-point play. From that point forward Florida ripped off a 40-17 surge, holding the Sooners to 26 percent shooting (5-of-19) over the final 16 minutes of the half. The Gators’ ball pressure forced eight first-half turnovers, converting those into 14 fast-break points and a 46-24 halftime cushion that grew to 72-45 on Urban Klavzar’s wing triple with 11:23 left.
Key numbers that explain the rout
- 60-22 — Florida’s mammoth edge in paint scoring, the widest gap in any SEC game this season AP Top 25.
- 54% — Gators’ overall field-goal mark (38-71) despite an off-night from three (6-22, 27%).
- 21 minutes — OU’s leading scorer Nijel Pack was limited to just 21 minutes after three first-half fouls; he finished with five points on 2-of-8 shooting after pouring in 24 versus Texas A&M three nights earlier.
What it means for both teams
Florida’s rebound from a 0-1 SEC start is now complete. Wins over then-No. 7 Tennessee, No. 17 Georgia and Oklahoma give the Gators a 3-1 mark against Quad-1 opponents this month, bolstering NCAA seeding projections and quieting skepticism that followed a mid-December slide that briefly dropped them from the national polls.
For Oklahoma, the loss is the third straight since an opening SEC triumph at Mississippi. The Sooners entered January with top-20 NET metrics but have since tumbled to 1-3 in league play, intensifying pressure on Porter Moser’s rotation to find consistent shot-making beyond the arc—where they still shot 63 percent (10-16) Tuesday yet couldn’t dent the deficit.
Up next
Florida visits No. 10 Vanderbilt on Saturday in a measuring-stick clash that could vault the Gators into the AP’s top 15 with a road upset. Oklahoma returns to Lloyd Noble Center to host No. 18 Alabama the same day, desperately needing a resume-boosting win before the league slate toughens further.
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