The Florida Gators recorded their first SEC win of the 2023-24 season after dismantling the Razorbacks 90-68 inside the O’Dome on Saturday evening. Sophomore guard Riley Kugel led the way with a team-high 20 points on 8-14 shooting and 2-3 from three-point range. The 6’5, 207-pound guard also added five rebounds (2 offensive), two steals, and one block while turning the ball over just once.
“The way he attacked the game, you could tell from the jump that this guy was going to have a good effort and a good night,” Head Coach Todd Golden said on Riley Kugel’s performance postgame. “He just played incredibly well, obviously the offense was really good, but he continues, when locked in like that, to be an elite defender.”
It hasn’t always been a ‘good effort and a good night’ for the Orlando native throughout the season. Kugel logged just four minutes in Florida’s last matchup against Ole Miss while not making an appearance in the second half of a blowout loss.
“I’m going to keep it simple; Riley and I were just not on the same page the day of the game against Ole Miss,” Golden said to the media when asked about Riley Kugel’s four-minute appearance against Ole Miss.
“I think we’re back on the same page,” Golden added. “I expect him to play really well [on Saturday against Arkansas], and that’s really the depth that I’m going to go into it.”
Kugel bounced back in a big way against Arkansas, leading the Gators in scoring with 20 points off the bench across 27 minutes while recording a plus-minus of 21, the third highest in the game.
“It felt good just to be back out there with the guys. Good team win,” Kugel said postgame.
While Kugel wouldn’t go into much detail on not seeing eye to eye with coach Golden during Wednesday’s game against Ole Miss, he ensured the media that “everything is perfectly fine.”
“Everything is perfectly fine; we are on the same page. Time for the next game,” Kugel said.
Golden agreed that they are on the same page moving forward.
“We met, made sure we had a good understanding of what the expectations were moving forward, and it was just kind of a reset, recalibration, and it was needed, and you know it happens, it’s a long season, things can go up, they can go down, but the reality is we are not the best version of ourselves unless Riley Kugel is playing well,” Golden said after the Arkansas game.
“Tonight, he did it in all phases,” Golden said on Kugel’s 20-point performance. “I thought he was more active on the glass, only had two, but was doing a good job, in that regard. Did a good job taking care of the ball and he played a complete game tonight, for sure.”
“When he plays like that, our ceiling gets a lot higher,” Golden added.
The Florida Gators will travel to Tennessee to take on the No.5 ranked Volunteers on Tuesday night.