Arkansas Basketball In The SEC Part 3 - Florida

Arkansas will begin its’ 30^th season in the SEC this fall. It is hard to believe that is has been that long. At Arkansas Fight, we are starting a series looking back at Arkansas basketball since entering the SEC. Each week, we will take a look at each SEC team and their history with Arkansas. We’ll dive in to the biggest games and outstanding performances. Next up is Florida.

Arkansas All-Time Record versus Florida: 12-26

Home: 8-7 Away: 2-14 Neutral: 2-5

Now we all know that the Florida series has been a pretty lopsided one. The Hogs haven’t won in Gainesville since 1995 and have only beaten the Gatos 3 times since 2008. Despite that, there have been some big games and great upsets.

Biggest And Best Games Of The Series

February 5, 2013 – First Huge Upset Of The Anderson Era

#2 Florida 69 @ Arkansas 80

It was year 2 of the Mike Anderson era and #2 Florida was in town for a midweek contest. The year before, Arkansas had upset some ranked teams, but they didn’t compare to what the Hogs did that night. It was a balanced attack with eight different players scoring 7 points or more. Arkansas was ahead by 17 at half and held on to win by 11.

February 18, 2006 – Hogs Beat Eventual National Champs

#10 Florida 81 @ Arkansas 85 OT

Florida had one of the best rosters in recent history during their back-to-back national championship run. Joakim Noah, Al Horford, Corey Brewer, Taurean Green, and Walter Hodge. All great players. Arkansas came into the game 16-8, but just 5-6 in SEC play. This win started a 5 game winning streak that would help earn a NCAA Tournament bid. Johnathan Modica and Ronnie Brewer combined for 46 points as the Hogs edged the Gators in OT.

March 9, 2018 – Resume´ Builder In The SEC Tournament

Arkansas 80 vs. #23 Florida 72

This was one of the more complete games an Arkansas team played under Mike Anderson. Efficient offense, holding Florida to 41.7% shooting, and committing just 6 turnovers. Florida had no answer for Jaylen Barford. He had 27 points and 10 rebounds. The win was capped off with a breakaway Daniel Gafford windmill dunk. This is one of my favorite wins in recent memory.

January 26, 2002 – Nolan’s Final Overtime Win

#5 Florida 92 @ Arkansas 94 OT

This Florida team featured 5 future NBA players. Udonis Haslem, Matt Bonner, David Lee, James White, and Orien Green. The Arkansas roster had just 1 future NBA guy in Jannero Pargo. The senior guard Pargo would carry the Hogs to a win with his 35 points off the bench. It was his career high. Those 35 points outscored the entire Arkansas starting lineup who managed just 26 points. Michael Jones and J.J. Sullinger added another 26 points off the bench Pargo capped off his great game with a pull-up jumper with 2.7 seconds left to give Arkansas the win.

Outstanding Performances

Mason Jones – January 9, 2019

The legend of Mason Jones was born against Florida. Jones was just a freshman, but scored 30 of Arkansas’ 51 points in the loss. It was one of the more frustrating losses I can remember, but we learned then what the potential of Mason Jones was.

Dusty Hannahs – March 10, 2016

Hannahs ended the 2015-16 season by nearly carrying the Hogs to a win in the SEC tournament. The team was not good, but help was on the way the next season. Hannahs scored 33 of Arkansas’ 61 points, but the Hogs lost by 7.

Todd Day – January 22, 1992

Todd Day didn’t have an incredible game in Arkansas’ first ever matchup with Florida back in 1992. Day had just 12 points, but those 12 points made him the all-time scoring leader in Arkansas history.