Stock Report After Gators Basketball's Loss to UConn

The Florida Gators lost another heartbreaker this season, falling 77-73 to the No. 5 UConn Huskies on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden. The same ghosts haunted them that night, as they were inefficient from the free-throw line and from the three-point line.

Nonetheless, a pair of Gators showed they can play with the best on Tuesday, while others took steps in the wrong direction, which leads to the next stock report for Florida.

Trending Upwards

Xaivian Lee

This is the Lee that Todd Golden hoped to have this year. He drove with intention, scored at all three levels, and made quick decisions with the ball in his hands. Even more importantly, his performance not only came against one of the best teams in the country, but against one of the best defenses in the country, too.

Lee ended with a team-high 19 points on 5-for-14 shooting. Unfortunately, his 3-point shooting still looked rough, but he made an impact elsewhere, grabbing five rebounds and dishing out five assists.

Alex Condon

The big man tallied 14 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three blocks on the night. Most of his damage came in the second half, though. Condon played with physicality and touch around the rim, which gave his team a chance down the stretch. Additionally, four of his nine rebounds came on the offensive end.

Trending Downwards

Micah Handlogten

Handlogten had an ineffective 13 minutes against UConn. He finished 1-for-5 from the field and grabbed just six rebounds. Defensively, he also struggled to hold his own against UConn big Tarris Reed Jr.

Golden said he viewed him as an extension to the starting lineup, but he played nothing like a guy who could start. Golden needs more out of him off the bench moving forward.

Urban Klavzar

Klavzar had an impressive set of games heading into the Duke and UConn matchups. However, while taking one step forward, he quickly took two steps backwards. He recorded only three points and two assists in 18 minutes in the contest. He was also 1-for-3 with no 3-point attempts and just 1-for-2 at the line. The whistle was blown twice on him, too.

If the Gators are going to start winning the big games, Klavzar must be more productive in his minutes from the reserves.

Bench Depth

Florida’s bench depth was described as deep entering the 2025-26 season. Unfortunately for them, that did not match how it performed against the Huskies. Three players entered from the bench. Those three players combined for 2-for-9 from the floor, 2-for-4 from the free throw line, seven rebounds, three assists, and two turnovers.

It is hard to win games when you can't rely on guys off the bench to have an impact.