Florida vs. Arizona score, takeaways: No. 3 Gators outclassed by freshman Koa Peat, No. 13 Wildcats

Basketball

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Image Credit: UAA

It took just 40 minutes for the reigning national champions to get smacked back to reality as the No. 3 Florida Gators fell on opening night, 93-87, to the No. 13 Arizona Wildcats at the 2025 Hall of Fame Series in Las Vegas. While the Gators led by double digits in the first half, they were outplayed for the vast majority of the contest, falling to 0-1 on the season while hardly resembling the team that hoisted hardware seven months ago.

Florida’s retooled backcourt was largely ineffective, while two of its three frontcourt stars did their best to keep the Gators in the game — just not the one who received all the preseason honors.

Ultimately, UF had no answer for Arizona star freshman Koa Pete, the No. 11 prospect in the nation, who set program records with a game-high 30 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists in his first contest, an effort that may have legitimately been the greatest debut performance in college basketball history. Wildcats point guard Jaden Bradley was similarly dominant with 27 points of his own, the duo of backcourt standouts combining to post 61% of their team’s scoring without either attempting a single 3-point shot.

It’s just one game, of course, but head coach Todd Golden clearly needs to go back to the drawing board if Florida is going to line up and compete with some of the best teams in the nation.

Let’s dive into everything that happened Monday night with some Fastbreak Takeaways from the Gators’ first loss since February.

It was over when … Arizona made two free throws with 37 seconds left to pull ahead by five points. Bradley scored six straight in emphatic fashion to put the Gators down nine with 2:20 to play and seemingly end the game. However, Florida answered with a shocking 6-0 run over 37 seconds, cutting its deficit to 3 points with 44 seconds remaining. Sophomore guard Boogie Fland stole the ensuing inbounds pass but missed a wide-open corner 3-pointer — as did senior G Xaivian Lee seconds later in a similar opportunity — preceding the game-clinching gimmies.

Florida originally found itself down nine as it remained ice cold from the field through the break, going on a 1 of 8 shooting stretch. The Gators held tough and ultimately pulled off a 7-0 run – capped with the first basket by a UF guard in 19:39 of game clock spanning halftime — to tie the contest with 7:49 remaining. On the back of Peat’s dominance, the Wildcats answered with a 9-2 run to go back up seven with 4:37 to play as the Gators struggled to answer them shot for shot.

First half focus: Florida made seven straight baskets punctuated by a 3-pointer from junior guard Urban Klavžar to create an early 24-12 advantage with junior forward/center Alex Condon getting it done in all three phases, registering 3 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals in his first 7 minutes. Freshman G CJ Ingram made his debut with a triple on his first touch and a penetrating alley-oop to Condon on his second.

However, Arizona capitalized on multiple UF miscues with an 11-2 run that nearly erased that advantage. The Wildcats then extinguished it entirely by extending their scoring stretch for a massive 18-point swing to lead by six late in the period. The Gators cooled off massively, going 2 of 9 from the field entering the locker rooms while getting outscored 30-14 over the final 9:37. Zona badly outrebounded UF 21-12 in the opening 20 minutes.

Exceptional efforts: Junior forward Thomas Haugh was easily the most complete player on the court for the Gators, scoring a career- and team-high 27 points — the most in a UF opening game since 2017 — on 7 of 13 shooting while hitting 12 of 14 attempts from the charity stripe. He added a 3-pointer along with 4 rebounds, 2 assists, a block and a steal. Only one other player, redshirt senior center Micah Handlogten, shot better than 50% from the field as he made all five of his attempts for 11 points with a game-high 12 boards.

Inauspicious starts: Condon played exactly like he did at the end of the 2025 season: far below expectations and much worse than Haugh. While the Preseason All-America and Preseason All-SEC selection scored 11 points with 8 rebounds and 4 assists, he fouled out in 29 minutes, committed a game-high 6 turnovers and went 3 of 6 from the charity stripe. It was an unacceptable performance in most phases from a player who appeared as if he was not prepared for that level of competition or physicality.

Similarly disappointing was the play of Florida’s star-studded transfer backcourt. With Fland and Lee splitting both ball handling and scoring duties, neither played up to snuff. Fland finished 3 of 9 from the floor and 3 of 5 from the line with 9 points, while Lee shot 3 of 11 from downtown with 14 points and 5 boards, though he did dish a game-high 5 assists.

Odds & ends: Florida fell to 2-3 all-time against Arizona with a 1-2 record at neutral sites … the Gators broke a streak of six straight wins in season openers, falling ot 3-1 under Golden in such games … UF opened the season against an AP Top 25 team for just the seventh time in program history; it now holds a 2-5 record in those games … Florida on Monday played in Las Vegas for the first time in 40 years … the Gators returned their top four rebounders this season … Florida’s No. 3 ranking in the Preseason AP Top 25 was its highest since 2007

What it means: The Gators should learn some lessons from this game, among them that it may not be sustainable to start three frontcourt players who do not shoot from long range with a high level of accuracy. Klavžar being the primary guard off the bench may not be for long, either, considering he can neither create his own shot nor help facilitate. The long-range specialist went 2 of 6 from downtown with 8 points and 2 turnovers in 18 minutes. The Gators leaving 10 points at the charity stripe and going 7 of 27 combined from distance were the greatest and most correctable issues, but Florida still had a chance to win this game despite allowing 57 points to a pair of opponents and playing ineffectively on both ends.

What’s next? UF will play its first of four straight games in the Sunshine State when Florida hosts North Florida on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET. The game will air live nationally on SEC Network+.

This one is for the ladies: On the other end of the coin Monday was Florida women’s basketball, which dominated North Florida, 96-62. The Gators were blistering on both ends with sophomore point guard Liv McGill nearly registering a triple-double with 26 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists. McGill starred as a true freshman last season but was frequently inefficient as a shooter; if she can become more consistent, Florida could have a resurgence this campaign.