Mar 04, 2026
3 min read
The Mississippi State Bulldogs came out fighting, but they simply weren't strong enough to take on the Florida Gators on their home field.
How Florida basketball changed Mississippi State.
The final home game of the 2025-26 season for Florida basketball ended with a 108-74 victory over the Mississippi State Bulldogs for the Gators' 10th win.
The team was missing its leading scorer, Thomas Haugh, but that didn't matter as team-mate Alex Condon filled the void with a monster performance.MSU may have the SEC's second-leading scorer in Josh Hubbard, but the rest of the roster hasn't been good enough to keep up with Florida's dominance on both ends of the court.
The final result set a program record for most 100-point games against SEC competition in a season with three.The excitement doesn't stop there - check out the key takeaways from Florida's Senior Night win below.
The Gators started slow, then took over
The balance of the starting line-up was a little different than usual, with Micah Handlogten starting while Haugh was off, and the team looked a little out of sync.The Bulldogs came out strong in the first eight and a half minutes, taking an early 10-point lead that was built into a 6-0 run with McGee and Hubbard showing off.
Florida quickly got back into the game, scoring 18 straight points to tip the scales in favor of the Bulldogs, taking an eight-point lead before the Bulldogs fought back.This development appeared to demoralize MSU, as the Gators continued to play flat-throttle at halftime, taking a 14-point lead at the corner.
Through the first 20 minutes, the Gators shot 54% overall (19-35-19) and 38% (3-for-8) from beyond the arc, and outrebounded the visitors 23-15 (8-3 offense), allowing zero second-chance points in the process.Points in the paint, on the other hand, were nearly even with UF leading 28-26;The home team was more productive in transition, scoring 13 points to MSU's four.
Amazingly, Florida took the lead in the first half with only 10 seconds left over Mississippi State.
Animal mode activated Condon, the Gators' boat
The Bulldogs came out of the locker room in a 2-3 zone, but couldn't slow down the Gators' offense, especially with Brown in place of Handrogten.MSU stayed on track for the first few minutes of the first half, but then the floodgates opened and the road cleared.
Florida went on separate runs of seven, eight and nine straight points in a 12-minute stretch ending around the 8-minute mark, after which the two teams traded the ball back and forth until the Gators went on another 8-point run, pushing the lead to over 30. Golden began to dig deeper than 30, and Olive-4 began to go deeper to the markRioux made his appearance, which pleased the crowd.
The undisputed story of the game was Alex Condon's 26 points on 12-of-19 shooting (2 from 5 feet), along with seven rebounds and three assists in 26 minutes of action.Five other Gators also finished in double figures to lead the team to a 34-point victory.
Haugh's presence is clearly missed, but depth rules the day
When you lose your team's leading scorer who averages 17.1 points over 33 minutes a game, it certainly shows on the court – even if the final score is unaffected.It certainly showed in the opening minutes that Haugh is a critical cog in the Gators' game plan, but it also showed the roster's ability to absorb a lost player.
Condon has shouldered a heavy scoring load in his teammate's absence, but having guys off the bench like CJ Ingram - who had a season-high nine points, three assists and two rebounds - could provide significant minutes that promises to be a stretch for this team come championship time.If the Gators can break the century mark and go plus-30 without their top offensive threat, the sky is the limit.
The road back to a national title is tough, but this team appears ready for any attrition that comes its way.
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