Fland’s Stepback Airball Is Sign Things Still Going to Plan for Arkansas and Florida

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Fland’s Stepback Airball Is Sign Things Still Going to Plan for Arkansas and Florida
The Orlando Sentinel / Craven Whitlow
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It always had to be this way.

Fate was set in motion last spring when Boogie Fland decided that rather than going the one-and-done route, he was going to stick it to Arkansas by jumping ship for an SEC rival, the defending national champions. Arkansas fans quickly rallied around true freshman Darius Acuff Jr., which has proved a worthwhile investment.

Since then, Arkansas and Florida basketball fans have had Feb. 28, 2026, circled on their calendars.

The Hogs and Gators’ tango in Gainesville seems to gain significance with each passing day. Especially after this weekend, when Florida and Arkansas both did their parts to set the stage for a battle royale for the SEC regular season crown in a few weeks.

The Razorbacks (15-5) survived a snow day scare against LSU while the Gators (14-6) fell victim to the same Steven Pearl sledgehammer that smashed Arkansas two weeks ago. The two teams are now level at 5-2 in league play, tied for second alongside Kentucky. Upstart Texas A&M, led by first-year head coach Bucky McMillan, has roared out to a 6-1 start, but has yet to beat a ranked opponent.

Florida’s death rattle against Auburn came with the ball in Fland’s hands. Trailing by six with less than two minutes remaining, the sophomore decided to try a step-back three-pointer despite severe issues shooting from deep during conference play. The result, as you can see below, was cringe-worthy.

To add insult to injury, Fland ended up as the lone defender on the ensuing fast break and was powerless to stop the Tigers from pouncing on an easy layup to seal the win.

The miss reopened the floodgates of criticism from Gator fans in what has been a rocky season, to say the least.

Boogie Fland Gets Swamped

The Bronx native is averaging 11.3 points, 3.6 assists, 1.6 turnovers and 1.8 steals as a sophomore at Florida. In his freshman year at Arkansas, he averaged more points (13.5), more assists (5.1) and fewer turnovers (1.4). Most notably, though, his three-point clip has plummeted from 34.0% to 19.5%. 

Must be something in the water.

Fland and Princeton transfer Xaivian Lee were expected to form one of the nation’s best backcourts. Neither has lived up to expectations. Lee is averaging only 11.2 points while shooting just 37.9% from the floor and 27.0% from three.

The two guards have taken the lion’s share of the blame in Florida’s losses this season, and for good reason. Fland scored in single digits in losses to Arizona and Connecticut and had more turnovers than assists in defeats against Duke and Texas Christian.

Author

  • Michael Main is a Fayetteville native who, like both of his older brothers, attended the University of Arkansas. Main graduated in 2025 with a double major in journalism and political science and a minor in legal studies. He spent his childhood following the Razorbacks closely and attending as many games as possible, witnessing iconic moments like the Michael Qualls put-back dunk, the Henry Heave and a number of field stormings. Main was a member of the Razorback Marching Band and Hogwild Pep Band, attending every home football and basketball game while he was a student and traveling to San Francisco, Providence, Tampa and elsewhere for postseason play. After freelancing for BoAS for a year and a half, the 22-year-old made the transition to a full-time role as senior writer following his graduation. In his free time, Main is likely spending time outdoors, enjoying the company of friends or feeding his obsession with Liverpool FC and European football as a whole.

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