Lander's Layup Line: Gators Playing its Best Basketball at the Right Time

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- The Florida Gators were 13-0 at the end of their non-conference schedule and looked dominant in many areas, making them one of the top-ranked teams in the country.

However, a loss to Kentucky to begin SEC play gave fuel to the fire for the “Gators have played nobody” crowd, who felt that they were just pretenders for the NCAA Tournament.

Fast forward nearly two months, and it’s safe to say that the 2025 Florida Gators look far from pseudo-contenders as they are playing some of their best ball down the home stretch.

Florida currently is riding a six-game winning streak in the SEC that includes wins on the road over No. 1 Auburn, No. 24 Mississippi State and LSU. They also collected wins over South Carolina, Oklahoma and Vanderbilt at home.

This winning streak is their longest in the conference since 2017, and it’s easy to see how they’ve achieved it. During this run, the Gators are shooting 49.7% from the field, 40.7% percent from three and tallying 18.3 assists per game. Insane offensive efficiency.

That last number shouldn’t be understated either. Efficient ball movement and multiple players being involved makes life miserable for opposing defenses. And, where there are assists, there must be points. Florida has now had five-straight games with at least five players scoring in double-figures, the longest streak in program history.

It isn’t the usual suspects doing all the damage, though. Over the last six games, the Gators have been down one of their main starters each time, and it’s given others ample opportunities to contribute.

For Auburn, there was no Alijah Martin. For Mississippi State, there was no Martin or Alex Condon. Against South Carolina, Oklahoma and LSU, Condon was absent.

With these two missing, Denzel Aberdeen, Thomas Haugh, Urban Klavzar and Rueben Chinyelu all were relied upon more than usual, and they didn’t disappoint.

In Five out of the last six games, Aberdeen has scored in double-digits with 20-point efforts in two of them. Haugh logged at least 16 points in four out of the last five and has dished out at least three assists in five of the last six, which includes an 8-assists outing in the win over Mississippi State.

“Tommy is one of the guys that delivers the heartbeat for this team and the passion with which he plays, the consistency, being as coachable as he is – to go out on the floor and do what the coaches want him to do – is everything,” Gators head coach Todd Golden stated after the win over Mississippi State.

As for the other two, Chinyelu poured in a career-high 19 points against LSU, and Klavzar has knocked down 10 of his last 17 three-point attempts off the bench.

“Rueben just did a great job imposing his will, finishing around the rim and cleaning up the glass,” Golden said after the win against LSU.

Golden has been getting great production up and down the roster and it’s directly correlated with winning basketball. In fact, it’s led to arguably their best stretch of basketball all season long. Now, with Condon likely to return Tuesday, Florida could see even better play down the stretch.

It’ll be difficult to reproduce this type of production the rest of the way, but if they can, then it’s hard to envision when their next loss will come.