How Gators G Boogie Fland is Treating First Matchup with Former Team, Arkansas

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- Boogie Fland has had Feb. 28 circled on his calendar for quite some time.

Not because it's a ranked matchup for the Florida Gators. Not because College GameDay is in town. Not because it's Florida's last weekend home game of the season.

Saturday's matchup inside Exactech Arena will be the first time he faces Arkansas, where he began his career before transferring to Florida this offseason.

“It’s gonna be very special to share the court with all of them again," he said. "Looking forward to this.”

Boogie Fland spent one season at Arkansas before transferring to Florida. | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

Fland originally was not supposed to end up at Florida. He initially declared for the NBA Draft, while entering the NCAA Transfer Portal. Meanwhile, the Gators had a new guard duo of transfer Xaivian Lee and returning contributor Denzel Aberdeen.

Instead, Aberdeen transferred to Kentucky, and as a result, Florida targeted Fland. One secret visit to Brooklyn, plus Fland exiting the draft, plus Fland visiting Gainesville eventually equaled the former Razorback becoming a Gator.

Fland said the decision was a "no-brainer" after his visit. He also said he still has a good relationship with his former teammates and former head coach John Calipari.

“I mean there wasn’t much disappointment (on Arkansas' side)," Fland said. "It was more respect because I told them in advance what it is. I was straightforward, transparent. You kind of respect it, honestly."

This situation, although being on the other side, is nothing new for Florida, though. Consider Florida being like Arkansas two weeks ago when facing Aberdeen, a meeting that included "traitor" chants and boos from the home crowd.

Fland won't have to face boos as the Gators are at home, but there will be emotions to battle.

“Welcome to college basketball in 2026," Golden said. "It’s a thing, going up against your former school and where you started your career, but it can’t be the main thing. It can’t be something we’re concerned about or something that he allows affect the way he approaches the game or plays."

Fland will also have another personal challenge in Saturday's game as Florida looks to continue its push for its first regular-season SEC title since 2014 and a push for a higher seed in the NCAA Tournament: Darius Acuff.

Acuff, averaging 22.2 points per game as a freshman, creates one of the best one-on-one battles with Fland, one of the nation's best defending guards. Fland said he "respects" but doesn't feat Acuff. Golden said the one-on-one battle cannot be bigger than the task at hand.

"That’s not something I think he nor I need to be thinking about going into the game. It’s not about Boogie. It’s not about his matchup with Arkansas," he said. "This is the two best teams in the league right now competing on ESPN with GameDay here. There is a lot more to play for."

Florida head coach Todd Golden has the Gators in a position to win its first regular-season SEC title since 2014. | Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

While the calendar had the date circle, Fland agrees. Since the Gators' loss to Auburn on Jan. 24, Florida has kept a focus on the immediate opponent, treating every game like a national title, while ignoring national hype and future opponents. The result has been an eight-game winning streak, headlined by big home wins over Alabama and Kentucky and double-digit road wins over South Carolina, Georgia and Texas.

Fland has also had some big performances. Inconsistent play hurt him early in the season, but as Florida has built its resume, so has Fland.

Across the Gators' winning streak, he is shooting just under 50 percent from the field, headlined by a 22-point performance against Texas (7-for-10 from the field, 2-for-3 from deep) on Wednesday after making a trio of 3-pointers against Ole Miss last week.

Fland had five combined 3-pointers in his previous 11 games before his five over the last two.

His defensive prowess continued. Across the win streak, he is averaging 2.5 steals per game, headlined by an eight-steal effort against Alabama.

So, while the talk will be about Fland facing his former team, the focus is simple: “Keep doing what I was doing. Keep doing what we doing."

"It’s just another game honestly," Fland said. "This one just has different meaning."