Mississippi State forward Sergej MacUra (11) and Florida center Rueben Chinyelu (9) fight for the ball during the first half of an NCAA men’s basketball game at Exactek Stadium at the Steven C. O’Connell Center on Tuesday, March 3, 2026 in Gainesville, Florida. (Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun) Alex Condon scored a season-high 26 points and added seven rebounds and three assists, and No. 5 Florida beat Mississippi State 108-74 on Tuesday night in Gainesville, Fla., to claim the Southeastern Conference regular-season title for the first time since 2014.
In the home finale, the Gators (24-6, 15-2) played without leading scorer Thomas Haugh, but led by 12 points at halftime and won 10 straight to claim the title, with only No. 16 Alabama losing 98-88 at Georgia.
Xaivian Lee had 19 points, six assists, five boards and four steals before fouling out. Boogie Fland and Urban Klavzar each received 10 points.
Rueben Chinyelu had 11 points and 16 rebounds for his 18th double-double of the season, a school record, and the Gators reached 90 points for the 15th time this season.
Florida concludes the regular season with a game against Kentucky on Saturday afternoon.
The Bulldogs (13-17, 5-12), 21 1/2-point underdogs in the road finale, got 21 points and five assists from Josh Hubbard but lost for the seventh time in nine games.
Jayden Epps had 14 points and four assists and Ja’Borri McGhee had 12 points.
Mississippi State hosts Georgia on Saturday afternoon.
In their first matchup against the reigning national champions, the visitors built a 15-8 lead for seven straight after McGhee’s layup at 14:18. Five points from Hubbard made it 20-12 in just over a minute.
Trailing 24-14, Florida mounted a strong comeback and moved to within a point after reserve CJ Ingram hit deep shots, one from the top and a second from the left corner.
The Gators kept rolling, going on an 18-0 run over six minutes and outscoring Mississippi State 33-11 at the end of the first half to eventually take a 32-24 lead.
Behind Condon’s 13 points and 54.3 percent shooting (19 of 35), Florida led 47-35 at halftime.
Fland hit a 3-pointer at 15:32 of the second half to take a 63-45 lead, and the home team gradually increased its lead.
The Bulldogs cut the deficit to 67-56 on Hubbard’s driving layup with 12:51 to play, but they couldn’t get any closer as the Gators continued to reach triple figures in back-to-back wins.
–Field level media
