![Florida Rueben Chinyelu (9) celebrates a dunk against Jacksonville during the first half of an NCAA basketball game at Steven C. O'Connell Center Exactek arena in Gainesville, FL on Thursday, November 5, 2026. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_3000,h_1687/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ReutersImages/mmsport/184/01m718he1g56gwgkpbf4.jpg "Florida Rueben Chinyelu (9) celebrates a dunk against Jacksonville during the first half of an NCAA basketball game at Steven C. O'Connell Center Exactek arena in Gainesville, FL on Thursday, November 5, 2026. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]")
Florida Basketball entered the 2026-27 college basketball season as the preseason No. 1 team. They showed why when they defeated Miami by 10 to open the season last Monday in the battle of top-15 teams. After beating Jacksonville by 29 points, the Gators enter the second week still No. 1 but with a much tougher test.
Florida State is also 2-0 and has made some noise from its preseason results, showing that they’re improved compared to last year. But the Gators still will be favored to win this matchup on Tuesday night.
Here are some keys to the game for Florida avoiding an upset.
1. Aberdeen and Fland getting going
There’s no question concerning the Gators frontcourt, arguably the best in the nation. But the backcourt will decide whether they can make a Final Four run. So far, Denzel Aberdeen (9.5 ppg) and Boogie Fland (8.0 ppg) are each shooting under 40% from the field in two games and will need to improve against high-major competition. If not, reigning SEC 6th Man of the Year Urban Klavzar (10.5 ppg) will have to have a major impact as the first guard off the bench.
2. Limiting Marcis Ponder’s impact
While Florida has an elite frontcourt, they’ll have to contend with early standout freshman big man, Ponder. The 7’0 center put up 12.5 ppg and 10.5 rpg in the first two games and grabbed 26 rebounds in a preseason outing against Auburn. Florida has Rueben Chinyelu to contend with Ponder and if he wins this matchup, they’ll have a great chance at getting a comfortable victory.
3. Alex Condon defending Rancik
Through two games, FSU’s leading scorer is Colorado transfer Sebastian Rancik, averaging 21.5 ppg and making four three-point attempts. He offers needed spacing for the Seminoles, something that forward Condon will have to contend with. That’s a potential area that the Seminoles can attempt to exploit and something the Gators will need to be careful with on Tuesday, preventing Rancik from going off.
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