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Final score, recap, highlights from Florida's preseason win vs Stetson
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- Final score, recap, highlights from Florida's preseason win vs Stetson
Florida basketball beat the Stetson Hatters, 85-68, on Oct. 27 to take the second of two preseason exhibition games for the Gators ahead of the 2026-27 campaign. Their performance was a bit more encouraging than the previous one against the Baylor Bears.
In that first exhibition game, guards Urban Klavžar and Denzel Aberdeen put up putrid performances; Todd Golden was not pleased. Both bounced back to lead the Orange and Blue with 24 and 22 points, respectively, looking much more like the players they are expected to be heading into the regular season.
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Klavžar improved from his previous 0-for-7 (0-for-5 from 3-point range) to go 8-for-14 overall with a 6-for-12 effort from beyond the arc. Aberdeen upped his 3-for-17 (0-for-10 from 3) to a 9-for-12 showing from the floor with a 4-for-5 mark from downtown. The two led all scorers in the game. Alex Condon (15) and Thomas Haugh (14) also finished in double digits.
Thiago Sucatzky and Alex Doyle paced the Hatters with 18 apiece on 8-for-14 (0-for-1 from 3) and 6-for-9 (all from 3) shooting, respectively.
Florida finished a much-improved 51% (33-for-65) shooting overall from the floor and 41% (11-for-27) from outside the arc, against Stetson's 40% (26-for-65) and 36% (9-for-25) effort, respectively. The Gators held the edge on the glass with 40 total rebounds against the Hatters' 36, though only barely outrebounded their opponents on the offensive end, 17-16.
Golden's gang scored 18 points in transition against two for the visitors and outmuscled Stetson in the paint for 36 points against their 28. Florida also won the assist battle, 17-12, had eight turnovers against a dozen for the Hatters, and held the lead for 36:23 while the opposition only led the game for 34 seconds.
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The Achilles' heel for the Gators was the free-throw line, where they shot 53% (8-for-15), including 1 of 5 in the second half. Against Baylor, they shot 63% (22-for-35) from the charity stripe, so Golden has his work cut out heading into the regular season on that front.
Speaking of the regular season, Florida tips off the 2026-27 campaign on Nov. 2, against the Miami Hurricanes in the Orion180 Tip-Off Classic at Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Florida. The game begins at 6 p.m. ET and will be televised on ESPN2.
Florida vs Stetson score
| Half |
H1 |
H2 |
Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stetson |
40 |
28 |
68 |
| Florida |
42 |
43 |
85 |
Florida vs Stetson live updates, analysis
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FINAL: Florida 85, Stetson 68
08:50 PM ET, October 27 2026, Adam Dubbin
The Gators wrap up the game with a 10-point run to give them a 17-point victory. Todd Golden should be happy overall with his team's performance, with improved shooting — particularly from a pair of players he was displeased with in the first exhibition. Free-throw issues, however, remain a concern.
Aberdeen remains on fire from outside
08:48 PM ET, October 27 2026, Adam Dubbin
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Florida's transfer guard is now 4-for-5 from downtown after draining a corner three off a turnover with 2:00 remaining to put the Gators up by 17 as the game begins to wind down.
Gators open up their largest lead of the game
08:44 PM ET, October 27 2026, Adam Dubbin
With 2:58 remaining, Klavžar drains his sixth 3-pointer in 11 tries to extend Florida's lead to 12. Combined with his short jumper in the paint, that gives the Gators a 5-point run after the Hatters ran off four straight of their own.
Stetson is not giving up, but their energy is gradually depleting after showing much heart and hustle through the first 35 minutes of the game.
Florida's lead back to 10 at 8:22 mark
08:32 PM ET, October 27 2026, Adam Dubbin
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Domen Petrovic scores his first two points of the preseason on a layup to put the Gators back up by double digits; that is only the fourth point scored tonight by Florida's bench.
Golden's gang is shooting 49% (26-for-53) from the field and 41% (9-for-22) from 3-point range for the game so far, showing a marked improvement over their numbers against Baylor. Still, the free-throw shooting is a concern at an even 50% (7-for-14) — including a 0-for-4 effort in the second half.
Florida leads by 8 with under 10 minutes remaining
08:28 PM ET, October 27 2026, Adam Dubbin
Lloyd had a chance to extend the lead back to double digits, but missed a pair of free throws with just over 10 minutes left on the clock. Chinyelu gets the ball down low, but is unable to capitalize as the Hatters continue to be pesky in the paint on both ends of the floor.
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Stetson cuts lead to 7 with 11:33 remaining
08:24 PM ET, October 27 2026, Adam Dubbin
The Hatters keep hanging tough, not allowing the Gators to pull away in this one. Stetson finally gets its first points in transition on a Sucatzky after Collin Kuhl hits one of two from the charity stripe. The score is 61-54 with a bit over a quarter of the game remaining and Sucatzky now leads all scorers with 18 points.
Florida leads by 10 at media break
08:17 PM ET, October 27 2026, Adam Dubbin
A Doyle 3-pointer snaps the Gators' 7-point run, but Condon answers with a layup to extend the lead back into double digits with 13:36 remaining in the game. Klavžar's 16 points match Sucatzky's 16 for the game high.
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Florida leads 59-48 with 14:04 remaining
08:14 PM ET, October 27 2026, Adam Dubbin
The Gators go on a 7-point tear over 1:20 a quarter of the way through the second half for their first double-digit lead of the night. Five of those points came courtesy of Haugh on a dunk and a 3-pointer, while Chinyelu chipped in a pair with a jumper.
Free-throw woes continue for Florida
08:09 PM ET, October 27 2026, Adam Dubbin
After shooting 22-for-35 (63%) against Baylor, Florida is just 7-for-12 (58%) tonight after Haugh misses both free throws attempted by the Gators in the second half at the 17:32 mark.
Meanwhile, Klavžar remains hot from outside.
HALFTIME: Florida 42, Stetson 40
07:49 PM ET, October 27 2026, Adam Dubbin
Aberdeen misses a desperation heave from inside the half-court line at the buzzer and Florida takes a 2-point lead into the locker room at the half. Stetson's Thiago Sucatzky leads all scorers with 14 points, while Aberdeen's 13 paces the Orange and Blue with 20 minutes elapsed.
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All five starting Gators have scored and are responsible for 40 of Florida's 42 points in the first half. Lloyd is the only bench player to have scored, adding two of his own on a fast-break dunk.
Florida, Stetson battle back and forth in final minute
07:46 PM ET, October 27 2026, Adam Dubbin
Florida stretched its lead back out to six with a 5-point run, but Stetson responded with five straight of their own to whittle it back down to one with under a minute remaining. Then Aberdeen drained a 3 with 0:22 remaining in the half to give the Gators a 4-point buffer.
Stetson cuts lead to 1 with 3-plus minutes left in half
07:41 PM ET, October 27 2026, Adam Dubbin
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The Hatters ran off five straight points, including Doyle's second 3-pointer of the night, to cut the Gators' lead to one with 3:06 left in the first half. Stetson is only 4-for-13 from beyond the arc, but for some reason it feels like they've been better.
Meanwhile, Klavžar added a 2-pointer to lead the Gators with 10 points. Florida's shooting 40% to Stetson's 45% so far, and leads the rebound battle by a narrow 20-17 margin — including a nine-to-six edge on the offensive glass.
Urban Klavžar heats up, helps push lead to 9
07:29 PM ET, October 27 2026, Adam Dubbin
Klavžar, who is typically proficient from 3-point range, finally hit his first tre of the preseason at the 9:28 mark and added a second with 8:32 left in the half after going 0-for-5 from downtown against Baylor. The Gators now lead by nine as Klavžar and Aberdeen both have eight points to lead the way, while Haugh has six, Condon has four, and Chinyelu and Alex Lloyd both have a pair with 12 minutes elapsed.
Gators lead by 3 at second media break
07:20 PM ET, October 27 2026, Adam Dubbin
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Stetson snapped Florida's scoring streak with a three-point play by Alex Doyle on a foul by Chinyelu — his first of the game. Florida has the ball at the 11:42 mark after Chinyelu misses a shot but rebounds his miss, leading to the media timeout.
Florida scores 8 straight points to extend lead
07:18 PM ET, October 27 2026, Adam Dubbin
At the 12:32 mark, Haugh failed to complete a three-point play, but the Gators still stretched their lead to six. Aberdeen has been a prominent figure on the court, making all three of his shots while adding and an assist and three defensive rebounds, while playing in all seven minutes so far.
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Florida leads 10-7 at first media timeout
07:10 PM ET, October 27 2026, Adam Dubbin
Denzel Aberdeen paces the Gators with six points on 2-for-2 shooting from beyond the arc — already a notable improvement over his 0-for-10 effort against Baylor — at the 15:23 mark. Rueben Chinyelu and Alex Condon have also chipped in a pair apiece.
And we're off!
07:04 PM ET, October 27 2026, Adam Dubbin
Stetson wins the tip-off, but Magnus Entenmann turns it over on a traveling violation. Rueben Chinylu hands it back to the Hatters with a bad pass.
Florida's starting lineup vs Stetson
07:01 PM ET, October 27 2026, Adam Dubbin
It's almost game time!
06:56 PM ET, October 27 2026, Adam Dubbin
Boogie Fland will not play vs Stetson
05:58 PM ET, October 27 2026, Adam Dubbin
What channel is Florida vs. Stetson on today?
05:05 PM ET, October 27 2026, Adam Dubbin
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TV Channel: SEC Network+
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Livestream: ESPN+
Florida vs. Stetson will be broadcast nationally on the SEC Network+ on Tuesday, Oct. 27. Ryan Urquhart and Brittany Davis will call the game inside the O'Connell Center. Streaming options for the game include ESPN+ .
Stream Florida vs. Stetson on ESPN+
Time to get hyped!
05:01 PM ET, October 27 2026, Adam Dubbin
This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Final score, recap, highlights from Florida's preseason win vs Stetson
