GAINESVILLE, FL (352today.com) – UPDATE 1/14/2024: The Florida Gators bounced back Saturday beating the Arkansas Razorbacks 68-90 marking their first victory in SEC play this season.

ORIGINAL 1/12/2024: The Florida Gators men’s basketball team is looking to comeback this Saturday after suffering a huge loss against Ole Miss Wednesday.

The Gators are hosting Arkansas in the O’Connell center, hoping to get back on track after to back-to-back losses against Kentucky and Ole Miss.

Although, junior guard Walter Clayton put up 21 points during their game, welcoming him in the 1,000-point club, it just wasn’t enough to get them a win over the Rebels.

Head coach Todd Golden shared in a press conference Friday that this game is crucial for his team especially in conference play.

“Every game in this league is absolutely super important, you know both teams 0 and 2 right now. None of us want to go into next week 0 and 3 but you know we’re back in our home gym, very important game for us. We’ll be ready to go,” said Golden.

He says some keys to them being successful against Arkansas is making sure they’re transitioning on defense and limiting turnovers. Golden added that his guys need to do a better job of “playing with poise in the paint.”

The last time the two faced off was on February 18, 2023, in Arkansas and the Gators lost 65-85. However, Florida does lead the all-time record 26-15, according to the program.

Arkansas is coming off a loss as well losing against Georgia Wednesday 66-76. They also lost their first conference play game against Auburn 51-83.

The rankings
According to SEC rankings, Auburn still currently leads the SEC with two wins over Arkansas and Texas A &M. They’ll face LSU Saturday evening at 6 p.m. Coming in at two is Kentucky, followed by Georgia and Alabama.

If you don’t have much planned Saturday, head over to the O’Dome to support the Gators. Tickets are on sale here. Tip-off is at 4 p.m.

If you can’t make it, you can watch it on ESPN.

Click here to view the Gators full schedule.