Golden has a team that has grown very comfortable in its own skin

Xaivian Lee puts the clamps on Georgia's Blue Cain (Photo by Chris Spears)

In assessing what went wrong Wednesday night in Athens, Georgia coach Mike White was asked about Florida’s defense, which held the Bulldogs to a season-low 66 points, a full 25 fewer than their second in the nation per game average.  

“There wasn’t a hole,” White said. “There wasn’t a weak link.”

No holes. No weak links. Just a team that has grown comfortable in its own skin, a team that has come to grips with the fact that this isn’t a déjà vu season. In winning the NCAA championship a year ago, it seemed the Gators could literally shoot their way out of any trouble. Now, a year later, the new identity – the one that Todd Golden has been insisting – is defense, rebounding and toughness.

The Gators lead the nation in rebounding, offensive rebounding and rebounding margin. Defensively, they are No. 3 nationally in the barttorvik.com analytics, No. 5 in kenpom.com.

In reality, how good are the Gators? Well, against Georgia, the Bulldogs had the basketball 77 possessions and scored on just 29. That breaks down to .857 points per possession and a scoring percentage of 37.7. Florida, on the other hand, had 73 possessions, scored on 38 of them and averaged 1.178 points every time the Gators had the basketball.

The Gators scored on a whopping 52.1 percent of their possessions.

On their march to a national championship a year ago, it seemed the Gators’ solution to any kind of trouble was to shoot their way into prosperity. In their last three games – Texas Tech in the Elite Eight, Auburn in the NCAA semifinals, and Houston in the national championship game – the Gators trailed by 10 or more points in the second half. It’s true that Walter Clayton Jr., Alijah Martin and Will Richard all made big shot after big shot to bring the Gators back in those games.

It’s also true that they played defense at an elite level. The object of the game is to score more points, but you have to get stops defensively to get the ball and give yourself a chance. On Houston’s last four possessions of the national championship game, Florida’s defense was so tight that the Cougars never even got a shot off.

Florida won that game, 65-63.

The straws that stirred the Florida drink last year – Clayton, Martin and Richard – all ply their trade in the NBA now. When they departed for the pros and Denzel Aberdeen packed his bags for Lexington and the Kentucky Wildcats, it meant roster reconstruction once again for Todd Golden. He’s used to it.

Following his first season at UF, Golden knew he needed more size so he went to the portal to bring in Tyrese Samuel from Seton Hall and 7-1 Micah Handlogten from Marshall. The arrival of unheralded freshmen big men Alex Condon and Tommy Haugh hardly caused a ripple nationally. The backcourt was reconstructed with Zyon Pullin from Cal-Riverside and Walter Clayton Jr. from Iona.

From 16-17 year one to 24-12 in year two the Gators were one of the most improved teams in the country. If Handlogten hadn’t suffered a fractured leg in the SEC Tournament championship game against Auburn, I feel confident the Gators would have won the tournament and gone on to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament.

The second year Gators could score on anyone but terrible defensively, so Golden once again went to the portal, adding Rueben Chinyelu from Washington State and Alijah Martin from Florida Atlantic. Chinyelu and Martin gave the Gators an instant defensive identity and toughness that had been missing. Amazingly, the 2025 Gators scored essentially at the same clip – 85.6 per game in 2024; 84.8 in 2025 – but the result of the defensive emphasis was a nearly -10 point reduction in opponents’ scoring from 79.2 per game to 69.6.

So, that brings us to 2026 and another example of roster reconstruction. The backcourt is run by transfers Boogie Fland (Arkansas) and Xaivian Lee (Princeton). They’re backed up off the bench by last year’s newbies, Urban Klavzar and Isaiah Brown. The front court foursome of Haugh, Condon, Chinyelu and Handlogten remained intact.

This is where we have seen the genius of Golden. He scheduled tough with games like Arizona, TCU, Duke and UConn all on the road, and gave the Gators a chance to forge a brand new identity. This isn’t a great shooting team – 29.2 percent on threes following a 10-26 performance at Georgia – but scoring hasn’t dropped off at all. The Gators are scoring 86.2 per game, giving up 71.

In the last four games, opponents have shot 34-117 from the 3-point line while averaging just 64.5 points per game.

“As we’ve learned the last couple of weeks from our group, when we guard and rebound, we’re pretty tough to beat,” Golden said . “Our team is getting to a point where enjoying and kind of owning the identity of being a defensive, gritty, physical, rebounding team.”

Almost unnoticed is how the Gators have become one of the nation’s more efficient offensive teams and that’s all because of defense and rebounding. The Gators have a size advantage on nearly every team in the country, but these aren’t big, immobile guys. They can move their feet, play defense even out on the perimeter and they know how to trigger the break. No team in America gets the ball from defense to offense faster than the Gators.

One of the chief reasons Florida is scoring more points than last year’s team despite just 29.2 percent 3-point shooting is the speed in which the Gators transition from defense to offense. The 100-77 win over Alabama was a clinic in layups and dunks before Alabama could get its defense set.

It took awhile for Fland and Lee to work out the kinks that come naturally after transferring in to a new situation. Fland is the lead guard, Lee the off guard, but when Fland rests, Lee is perfectly capable of running the point. They don’t turn the ball over – Lee, for example, has gone 86 minutes on the court since his last turnover – and they get the ball to teammates. When they score – Lee had 18 against Georgia, Fland 15 – it makes the Gators even more dangerous.

Best of all, they play great defense.

It has taken awhile for Fland and Lee to grow comfortable in their roles with a new team, new philosophy and through the roof expectations. They have endured the barbs that came when the Gators lost early games, all of them winnable that came down to a silly mistake here or a missed shot there. As they have grown, the Gators have grown with them to the point that more than one national analyst has Florida on the short list of teams that can make the Final Four and cut down the nets.

That tough non-conference schedule turns out a genius move on the part of Golden. Sure, the Gators lost games, but they learned how to play together and best of all created an identity that is uniquely theirs. This isn’t last year’s team, for sure, but it’s a team capable of winning a national championship.

The Gators are playing at a scary good level right now and they still haven’t peaked. Fland noted after the blowout of Alabama that the Gators still have plenty in the tank. They can win with defense, rebounding and toughness.

And if they start making threes with any sort of consistency?

“Collectively as a staff and as a program, we think of our 3-point shooting as the cherry on top,”Golden said. “We don’t want that to be what makes us good or what we rely upon to be a good team. We want it to be a thing where if we are shooting ball well, we’re really hard to beat.”

The Gators are already hard to beat. If Fland and Lee ever start shooting the ball well in addition to what they bring to the table defensively and setting up opponents with their passing and ball handling, hard to beat might be classified as impossible to beat.

SATURDAY IN THE SEC

No. 25 Kentucky (17-7, 8-3 SEC) at No. 14 FLORIDA (18-6, 9-2 SEC)

Texas A&M (17-7, 7-4 SEC) at No. 19 Vanderbilt (20-4, 7-4 SEC)

Auburn (14-10, 5-6 SEC) at No. 21 Arkansas (18-6, 8-3 SEC)

South Carolina (11-13, 2-9 SEC) at Alabama (17-7, 7-4 SEC)

LSU (14-10, 2-9 SEC) at Tennessee (17-7, 7-4 SEC)

Texas (15-9, 6-5 SEC) at Missouri (17-7, 7-4 SEC)

Georgia (17-7, 5-6 SEC) at Oklahoma (12-12, 2-9 SEC)

Mississippi State (11-13, 3-8 SEC) at Ole Miss (11-13, 3-8 SEC)

FEELING THE BURN …

These coaches are sitting on seats so warm they threaten to burst into flames any day now.

Jerome Tang, Kansas State: He was a big splash his first year in 2022-23, but K-State hasn’t made the tournament since then and won’t this year. The Wildcats are 10-14, dead last in the Big 12.

Lamont Paris, South Carolina: He’s headed for his third losing season in the four he’s been head coach at South Carolina. In the four years he’s been coaching the South Carolina men, women’s coach Dawn Staley has won two NCAA titles, finished second once and made the Final Four the other year. In Columbia they’re asking why can’t they get a men’s coach who can do that?

Wes Miller, Cincinnati: The Bearcats are 12-12 and they’re not going to make the NCAA Tournament. Again. Miller hasn’t made the tournament once and this is year five.

Matt McMahon, LSU: It’s not working out at LSU, but McMahon might not get fired because the school spent so much money paying off Brian Kelly and hiring Lane Kiffin.

Porter Moser, Oklahoma: Nice guy. Maybe no one nicer but he’s 86-71 at Oklahoma. Much more is expected. This is year five and the Sooners have only made the NCAA Tournament once.

Bobby Hurley, Arizona State: The Sun Devils are 13-12. The last time they made the NCAA was 2023. Older brother Danny has won two national championships at UConn since then. Meanwhile down in Tucson, Tommy Lloyd has Arizona among the favorites to win the national championship. Bad optics for Bobby.

Jeff Capel, Pittsburgh: They extended his contract through the 2029-30 season and the people who write the checks are wondering why? Pitt is the ACC bottom feeder. Capel has made the NCAA Tournament only one time in eight years.

Shaka Smart, Marquette: Marquette is 9-16 and the faithful aren’t happy. Chances are Shaka gets another year although they would be extremely pleased if he sought gainful employment elsewhere.

Steve Pikell, Rutgers: The Scarlett Knights are 9-15 and won’t make the NCAA Tournament. Again. Pikell hasn’t made the NCAA Tournament since 2021. He had two lottery picks on his team last year and still finished with a losing record.

Adrian Autry, Syracuse: He is 48-42 in three years at Syracuse, 14-11 this year. The Orange haven’t made the NCAA Tournament since he’s been the coach. The natives are very restless.

GREENER PASTURES ON ANOTHER HILL …

Chris Beard, Ole Miss: He is a very good basketball coach but something isn’t working at Ole Miss. There are rumors that his agent is putting put feelers. Who else is going to pay him $5 million? If someone comes close, they probably get one heck of a basketball coach.

Mick Cronin, UCLA: His last good team was 2022-23 when the Bruins went 31-6, but they’ve never advanced beyond the Sweet 16 in six previous seasons. They won’t fire him, but they would be happy if he whisked off to somewhere else. There’s a really good chance of that.

Jerrod Calhoun, Utah State: He won big at Fairmont State and Youngstown State, now he’s 46-11 at Utah State. Someone is going to snap him up.

Jim Crutchfield, Nova Southeastern: Yes, he coaches Division II, but his teams score 100 a game routinely. He’s won two national championships at Nova where his career record is 223-26. Prior to Nova he was the coach at West Liberty in West Virginia where his career mark was 359-61.