NO. 1 FOR A REASON: Gators Beat No. 14 Miami 77-67 in a Physical Season Opener

By Staff Reports

The No. 1 team in the country played like it.

The Florida Gators opened the 2026-27 season Monday night in Tampa with a physical 77-67 win over No. 14 Miami — a game with two technicals and three flagrant fouls that felt like March, not November.

Senior forward Thomas Haugh, the SEC’s preseason Player of the Year, was the best player on the floor: 19 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block — the ninth double-double of his career. Florida built a 10-point halftime lead, then slammed the door with defense, holding Miami to just three field goals over the final 12 minutes, including a brutal 1-for-19 stretch.

Miami’s Acaden Lewis led all scorers with 24 in his Hurricanes debut, and Rueben Chinyelu grabbed 14 rebounds for Florida. It was also a little redemption: the Gators were knocked out of last year’s NCAA Tournament in this same building.

Update: The Gators are already 2-0. Florida smashed Jacksonville 88-57 in Thursday’s home opener — Rueben Chinyelu poured in a career-high 21, Alex Condon nearly posted a triple-double (12 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists), and Florida owned the glass 52-25. Next up is the real early test: a trip to rival Florida State on Tuesday.

So the question everybody in Gainesville is asking: is Florida really the best college basketball team in the country this year? The target on their back says everybody else gets a vote. Tell us in the comments.

Sources: FloridaGators.com; AP via TSN; Sports Illustrated; MiamiHurricanes.com; Reuters Top 25 roundup (Nov 6, 2026); AP via theScore; Gators Wire recap (Nov 5, 2026).