With two massive SEC wins against Alabama and Texas A&M to establish themselves as the leader in the clubhouse the Florida Gators (17-6, 8-2 SEC) will look to complete a sweep over the Georgia Bulldogs (17-6, 5-5 SEC) on Wednesday. After beating the Aggies Sunday the Gators now have the number one spot in the SEC standings and now have the tiebreak over Texas A&M should this come into play. This puts Florida in the driver’s seat for an SEC regular season title so long as they take care of business in the games they need to and that starts with the road game at Georgia.
There was a time where things were looking great for the Bulldogs as they got up to #22 in the AP Poll following a win at Arkansas, but recently they have taken some losses that have dropped them to 5-5 in SEC play, currently 11th–though they are right in the blender of the middle of the league. Though they’ve lost 3 of their last 4, those losses have come to Texas, Tennessee, and Texas A&M, three of the better teams in the league, and they did bounce back with a win over LSU–so perhaps their record is more of a result of the schedule more than anything else.
This will be the second meeting of the season between the Gators and Bulldogs with the Gators winning round one by a score of 92-77, stopping a 7-game Bulldogs winning streak. The drama in this one started early as Somto Cyril, Georgia’s 6’11”, 260 pound starting center, was thrown out of the game just 7 minutes in for an unsportsmanlike foul. Georgia is an undersized roster as it is, though Cyril is their one large piece in the frontcourt. With him out for a majority of the game the Bulldogs were vulnerable on the inside and when it came to rebounding and the Gators were more than happy to take advantage.
Another huge storyline of this game was Florida’s ability, led by Boogie Fland, to completely neutralize scoring weapon Jeremiah Wilkinson. Wilkinson, one of the top scorers in the SEC averaging 17.1 points on the season, was held to just 2 points on 1-9 shooting with the Gators making it a clear focus to try and make him uncomfortable. As the ball was being forced out of his hands the secondary scorers and playmakers for Georgia were unable to shoulder the offensive load, and it was a difficult scoring night for a team that’s trying to play in the 80’s and 90’s.
Since then, the biggest issue that Georgia has faced is their defense slipping. Mike White is a defense-first head coach and much of what the Bulldogs do offensively is predicated on their defense–forcing misses and steals that allow them to get in transition and get points before it slows to a half court game and a style of play where they are much less comfortable. While Georgia has good foot speed that allows them to pressure the ball and fly around in rotation they don’t have length that can deter shots around the rim or bulk outside of Somto Cyril to bang with the SEC’s bigger forwards. Before the first matchup with Florida Georgia’s defensive rebounding was having some difficulties, and those problems have only gotten worse. The Bulldogs are now down to 335th in the country in defensive rebounding percentage, suggesting the Gators could have yet another absolutely dominant game on the offensive glass. Surprisingly, Georgia is actually 31st in the country in offensive rebounding percentage so they can create extra opportunities on the other end, but when it comes to securing their own glass they are serious issues.
One player that is really heating up as of late is 6’9” Kanon Catchings, a slim shotmaking forward who took some time getting his feet under him this season but has been playing his best basketball as of late, something that really started when he had 12 points against the Gators but has only increased even more in the last few weeks. Catchings has had 23, 14, and 22 points in his last three games and there is no secret to how those points are coming–he’s a combined 11-20 from deep. With a high release point and some favorable matchups against players who want to help on the inside, Catchings can be a matchup issue, and given Georgia’s shooting issues as a team–Catchings is one guy the Gators need to key in on. Right now the Bulldogs are 275th in the country in three-point percentage and Catchings is the only player on a hot streak, outside of the consistent Marcus “Smurf” Millender, of course, and those will be the two players Florida needs to lock in on.
Making Jeremiah Wilkinson’s life difficult once again will also be a Florida priority, and the task will largely fall once again on Boogie Fland who has seemingly made it his mission to be the best point guard defender in the SEC. Don’t let the 2 points against Florida make you forget that Wilkinson is a consistently productive player, though we’ll see if the Gators can replicate the off-night experience.
After what we have seen the last week it appears the Gators are playing their best basketball of the season while the Bulldogs may be going the other way, and even though the game is in Athens it will be Florida expecting to win and carry on the momentum. Florida is a tough matchup for Georgia with the amount of size they have and the ability of Boogie Fland to eliminate opposing point guards, but we’ll see if the Bulldogs can come with a fresh plan of attack.
Florida and Georgia will tip off Wednesday, February 11th at 7 PM ET and it will be televised on ESPN 2.
Florida Gators guard Isaiah Brown (20) dunks the ball during the game against the Saint Francis Red Flash at Stephen C. O'Connell Center on December 17, 2025 in Gainesville, Florida. Gator Country Photo by Kan Li.