GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Thomas Haugh scored 22 points, Rueben Chinyelu had his 17th double-double of the season and No. 7 Florida earned at least a share of the Southeastern Conference title with a 111-77 romp over 20th-ranked Arkansas on Saturday night.
It tied the worst loss of Arkansas coach John Calipari's career, a 34-pointer against Duke in 2018. Calipari was with Kentucky at the time.
The Gators (23-6, 14-2 SEC) closed out an unbeaten February
with their ninth consecutive win and locked up their first regular-season championship since 2014. They remained two games ahead of No. 17 Alabama with two to play and can wrap up the outright title Tuesday night at home.
But they 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. Coach Todd Golden 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.
Golden and Calipari got double technicals 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, 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 two treys.
But it was Florida’s big men who controlled the tempo most of the way. Haugh, Chinyelu and Alex Condon had their way inside, helping the Gators outrebound Arkansas 49-30 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 college basketball history. The longest mark is shared by UNLV and Loyola-Marymount, both in the 1989-90 season.
Arkansas: Hosts Texas on Wednesday night.
Florida: Hosts Mississippi State on Tuesday night.
___
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
