TAMPA, Fla. -- No. 1 Florida opened the 2026-27 college basketball season with a statement Monday, defeating No. 14 Miami 77-67 behind a huge night from national player of the year candidate Thomas Haugh. The star forward who bypassed the NBA Draft to return for his senior season with the Gators finished with a team-high 19 points and 10 rebounds. Haugh matched the best 3-point shooting night of his college career against Miami by draining four of his eight shots from beyond the arc.
The last time Haugh knocked down four 3-pointers in a game came against Texas Tech in the 2025 Elite Eight. Florida went on to win the national title that year, and the Gators look like this season could produce a similar run. Seven months ago, Florida lost to Iowa here at Benchmark International Arena in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in one of the most shocking results of the entire season.
Haugh, Rueben Chinyelu, Alex Condon, Boogie Fland and Urban Klavžar returned from that team that lost in this arena. Florida (1-0) also brought back Denzel Aberdeen — who was on Florida's national title team in 2025 before transferring to Kentucky and then back to Florida this offseason. Aberdeen is one of many players who were granted a fifth year of eligibility to play this season. got that crowd pop for a reason 🗣️🎥 ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/hHcgTbLCD2 Chinyelu and the rest of this Florida team entered the season with confidence, as shown in an interview with CBS Sports' Matt Norlander before the season began.
When asked to fill in the blank on what it would take for the Gators to win their second national title in three seasons, Chinyelu said there would be no "what if" and that his team was "winning it." Cocksure confidence? But if the Gators play as they did against a very good Miami team, a second title in three seasons won't be out of the question. Let's dive into the biggest takeaways.
Haugh has two games with four 3-pointers made in his Florida career: In the Elite Eight against Texas Tech in 2025 and on Monday vs. Haugh shot a respectable 32.6% on 5.9 attempts from beyond the arc last season, but the best shooting night of his career came in the first game of the new season. And it wasn't just the shooting that stood out.
Haugh, known as the ultimate Swiss Army Knife, did a little bit of everything in the win over the Hurricanes. Michigan State guard Jeremy Fears Jr. was CBS Sports Preseason Player of the Year. However, there is a case for Haugh winning the award.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
