LAS VEGAS – Consensus five-star freshman Koa Peat and senior guard Jaden Bradley combined for 57 points to lead the No. 13 Arizona Wildcats to a gutsy season-opening 93-87 win over the defending national champion Florida Gators during the Naismith Hall of Fame Series at T-Mobile Arena on Monday.
Peat, a forward who led Perry (Gilbert, Ariz.) to four state titles in the highest classification between 2022 and 2025, put Arizona ahead for good with a pair of highlight reel slams with six-plus minutes remaining in the second half, the first of which was a show-stopping elevated posterization over multiple Florida defenders. He scored 30 points on 11-of-17 from the field and put on a show around the rim, finishing several lay-ins at the tin with a high volume of contact in addition to his pair of jams.
Bradley was on fire in the short and mid-range game, making 9-of-14 attempts from the field, all of which came inside the arc. While it was Peat’s highlight reel dunks that put the Wildcats in the driver’s seat for the home stretch, it was a pair of crafty finishes inside by Bradley that gave Arizona the necessary cushion for the closing minutes.
Koa Peat celebrates with his Arizona teammates after a show-stopping performance against the defending national champion Florida Gators in his collegiate debut #HOFSeries pic.twitter.com/MdunJyLHXe
— Will Despart (@WillDespart) November 4, 2025
Florida, which started last season 13-0 en route to the program’s third national title, is now 0-1 to start the season for the first time since dropping their 2018-19 season opener to Florida State seven years ago. The Gators nearly erased an eight-point deficit in the game’s final minute, but Arizona was able to successfully ice the game from the free-throw line.
Returning junior center Thomas Haugh scored a team-high 23 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field and 12-of-14 from the free throw line. Princeton transfer Xaivian Lee scored 14 points in his debut for the Gators, making 5-of-17 attempts from the field.
Fast Start
If you thought either team was going to ease into things to start the season, you thought wrong. The two teams combined for 96 points in the first half, with Arizona taking a 50-46 lead over the defending national champions to the break.
Peat was impressive for the Wildcats from the opening tip, scoring 13 of his 30 points in the first half, shooting 5-of-7 from the field during the frame in addition to grabbing five rebounds and dishing out five assists. Bradley chipped in 12 points before halftime, making three of his five attempts from the field.
Haugh tallied 11 points for the Gators in the first half, while Urban Klavzar scored eight points and made both of his attempts from beyond the arc. Lee scored Florida’s first five points, but scored just one more for the rest of the half to enter halftime with six points and three assists.
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