GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Thomas Haugh had 21 points, 12 rebounds and five assists, and Florida dominated No. 18 Georgia in the second half to win 92-77 on Tuesday night and stretch their home winning streak to 14 games.
Alex Condon added 21 points, and Boogie Fland chipped in eight points, eight rebounds and six assists for the defending national champion Gators, who beat the Bulldogs for the 13th time in their past 14 meetings.
This one featured Florida
playing as an unranked team for the first time since entering the 2024 NCAA Tournament. The Gators dropped out of the AP Top 25 following a loss at Missouri to open Southeastern Conference play.
It surely provided extra motivation against Georgia (13-2, 1-1 SEC), which entered with its highest ranking since 2003 and with the nation’s top scoring offense. The Dawgs came up well shy of their season average, 99.4, and finished with a season low in points.
Florida (10-5, 1-1) was a 9 ½-point favorite, according to BetMGM, and pulled away in the second half.
Marcus Millender led the Bulldogs with 18 points. Leading scorer Jeremiah Wilkinson finished with two points on 1-of-9 shooting.
Georgia's biggest issue came in the first half when 6-foot-11 center Somto Cyril was ejected for throwing a forearm into Florida’s Rueben Chinyelu.
Officials ejected Cyril midway through the first half after watching replays and seeing him swing at Chinyelu following a made basket. The two Nigerians were jockeying for position in the paint under during the play.
The 6-foot-11 Cyril entered the game averaging 10 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.9 blocks. He was shooting a team-high 81.1% on the season.
Georgia plays at South Carolina on Saturday.
Florida hosts No. 21 Tennessee on Saturday.
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