Will Richard was Todd Golden's first recruit (Photo by Chris Spears) Two games down, four to go. Win four and the Florida Gators are the national champions. Lose and it’s go home with one of the greatest Florida basketball seasons to celebrate.   The Gators are 32-4 heading into Thursday night’s 7:39 p.m. Sweet 16 matchup with the Maryland Terrapins (27-9) at the Chase Center in San Francisco. How the Gators got here, just four wins away from the third national championship in Florida basketball history is a story in roster construction. Todd Golden may be only 39 years old, but he has proven in three years at the Florida helm that he has mastered the art of putting a winning team together. This is a team carefully constructed with style of play, depth and team chemistry in mind. He places great emphasis on team culture. There are few teams in the country with the closeness and cameraderie of the Gators. He likes big teams that can run and he's got one. When it comes to depth, there isn't a team remaining in the NCAA Tournament that can match the Gators. It has been a 3-year process to get the team to this level.   Only two players remain on the Florida roster that were part of the first Golden team in 2022-23, a team that finished the season with a loss to UCF in the NIT. Denzel Aberdeen was already a Florida recruit when Golden took the job following the sudden departure of Mike White in March of 2022. Golden had to re-recruit Aberdeen, who was thought by many experts to be a throw-in along with Dr. Phillips 4-star recruit Riley Kugel. Will Richard spent his freshman year at Belmont, where he averaged 12.1 points and 6.0 rebounds. He made one visit to Florida and committed immediately.   Seven players on that first roster transferred out, five in 2023, two in 2024. Two grad students exhausted their eligibility. Alex Fudge left a year early for the NBA and Colin Castleton graduated and went on to the NBA. Richard started and averaged double figures. Aberdeen played sparingly.   Tommy Haugh was a freshman recruit in 2023-24 (Photo by Chris Spears) Year two saw the additions of Walter Clayton Jr., Micah Handlogten, Zyon Pullin, Tyrese Samuel and Julian Rishwain from the transfer portal, plus freshmen Alex Condon, Tommy Haugh and Kajus Kublickas. Pullin and Samuel used up their eligibility, both moving on to the NBA. Rishwain transferred to UNLV. Riley Kugel transferred to Mississippi State and Aleks Szymczyk transferred to Charlotte. Clayton established himself as a star, leading the team in scoring, and Handlogten was a starter at center all season before fracturing his leg in the championship game of the SEC Tournament in Nashville. Richard was a second-year starter who averaged in double figures. Aberdeen came on strong at the end of the season. Condon and Haugh were the backups to Handlogten and Samuel.   Alijah Martin was added from the transfer portal from Florida Atlantic (Photo by Chris Spears) Golden put the final touches on the roster in the spring and summer of 2024. Clayton and Richard both went to the NBA camp, then decided to come back. Alijah Martin was brought in from Florida Atlantic, where he helped lead the team to a Final Four appearance in 2023. Coming in from Washington State was Rueben Chinyelu, who Florida recruited heavily in 2023. The third transfer was All-Southern Conference big man Sam Alexis, who arrived from Chattanooga. Golden signed freshmen Isaiah Brown, Viktor Mikic and Urban Klavzar, plus brought in 7-9, 305-pound Olivier Rioux as a preferred walk-on.   Clayton made first team All-American and was the MVP of the SEC Tournament. In two NCAA Tournaments games so far, he has scored 45 points. For the season he’s averaging 17.9 to go with 3.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists. Richard averages 13.5 per game, his third straight double figures season. He’s averaging 4.5 rebounds. Martin is scoring 14.6 and bringing in 4.5 rebounds. Condon has been a starter all season except the games he was injured. He averages 11.1 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. He made third team All-SEC. Chinyelu averages 6.1 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.   Florida has five extremely good starters, but what makes the Gators so dangerous moving forward is the strength on the bench. Haugh is averaging 9.4 points and 5.4 rebounds while Aberdeen is averaging 7.9 per game. Handlogten was going to redshirt but when injuries gave the Gators a short bench, he elected to burn the redshirt. He's been invaluable as a defender and rebounder off the bench. Alexis was averaging 4.9 points and 3.6 rebounds before suffering a high ankle sprain. He should be back for the Sweet 16 and onward. Klavzar, who was a late signee out of Slovenia, has carved a niche for himself as a shooter, but his defense has improved dramatically.   Golden has 10 players at his immediate disposal when the Gators take the court against Maryland, five on the perimeter and five in the paint. This is the deepest and most complete roster in the tournament.   The Gators will lose Clayton, Richard and Martin to graduation and pro basketball. Condon has drawn plenty of NBA interest, but he is most likely to return to add muscle and weight. Golden has two stud 4-star recruits coming in – 6-4 shooter Alex Lloyd from Fort Lauderdale Westminster Academy and 6-7 CJ Ingram from Hawthorne by way of Montverde. With the SEC probably moving to 15 basketball scholarships because of the new NCAA guidelines, Rioux is likely to move from walk-on to scholarship. You can’t teach tall.   There could be attrition beyond Clayton, Richard and Martin, but Golden has been outstanding in finding talent that best fits his system in the transfer portal, plus he’s been active in recruiting international players (Condon, Chinyelu, Klavzar, Mikic). If the SEC limits scholarships to 13 and there is no attrition, the Gators are at their limit for next season. If there is attrition and the scholarship limit increases to 15, then Golden is likely to go for two for sure, possibly three to five more.   Looking ahead to a potential 2025-26 scholarship roster if there are no transfers:   Big guys (7): Micah Handlogten (7-1, 255, SR); Alex Condon (6-11, 230, JR); Tommy Haugh (6-9, 215, JR); Rueben Chinyelu (6-10, 255, JR); Sam Alexis (6-9, 240, JR); Viktor Mikic (6-11, 250, RFR); Olivier Rioux (7-9, 305, RFR)   Perimeter (6): Denzel Aberdeen (6-5, 190, SR); Kajus Kublickas (6-2, 180, JR); Urban Klavzar (6-1, 195, FR); Isaiah Brown (6-5, 195, SO); Alex Lloyd (6-4, 175, FR); CJ Ingram (6-6, 200, FR)   THE PORTAL IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS Here are a few notable names that will be calling a new place home next season: Barrington Hargress, UC-Riverside: He’s from the same school that gave the Gators Zyon Pullin. He averaged 20.2 points, 2.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. Below average 3-point shooter, but gets to the foul line a lot. Two years of eligibility remaining.   Christoph Tilly, Santa Clara: Florida is already in the mix for this 7-0, 230-pound big man who averaged 12.5 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. One year of eligibility remaining. He’s from Germany, so watch Gonzaga on this one since Mark Few needs a big and has a history of solid recruiting with international big guys.   Dedan Thomas, UNLV: The Gators lost out for his services a couple of years ago. Apparently the Gators are very much in the mix now after Thomas (6-1, 170) put up 15.6 points, 2.0 rebounds and 4.7 assists for UNLV. Two years of eligibility remaining. Kentucky and Houston are in the mix as well.   Donovan Dent, New Mexico: He is maybe the hottest name in the portal so far. He averaged 20.4 points, 2.3 rebounds and 6.4 assists playing for Little Ricky Pitino. He’s 6-2, 170 and a 40.9 3-point shooter. Kentucky, Duke and North Carolina are already making a pitch.   Elliot Cadeau, North Carolina: He is a pure point guard who averaged 9.4 points, 2.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game. Concerning is 113 turnovers and below average from 3-point range. He played at Bergen Catholic and might find his home with Rick Pitino at St. John’s.   Bryce Hopkins, Providence: Talent is not the issue, but injuries are. Only 14 games in 2024, just three in 2025. He’s 6-7, 220 who can score inside and has 3-point range. If he gets a medical hardship he might get two years of eligibility. Ed Cooley at Georgetown is hot after him.   Malik Reneau, Indiana: He’s a Miami kid who prepped at Montverde. It came down to UF and Indiana. He averaged 13.3 points and 5.5 rebounds at IU in 2025. Doesn’t shoot the 3-ball well but he is an outstanding scorer in the paint. Florida, Miami and FSU will be in the mix.   Oscar Cluff, South Dakota State: This 6-11, 255-pound Australian was a teammate of Rueben Chinyelu at Washington State in 2024. In 2025 averaged 17.6 points, 12.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. This is one to keep an eye on since he played for Kyle Smith at Wazzoo, one of Todd Golden’s mentors.   Treysen Eaglestaff, North Dakota: He is a 6-6, 190 shooter who averaged 18.9 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. He has made 221 3-pointers in three seasons.   Marvel Allen, Dayton: This is an unknown quantity after two seasons in which he never played a game for Anthony Grant due to injuries. A 6-4, 200-pound shooting guard from Fort Lauderdale, he wound up at Dayton after LSU and Georgetown fired their coaches in 2023. He was at The Benjamin School and Calvary Christian prior to Montverde.     COACHING CHANGES Here are some of the high profile coaching changes. Still open are Villanova, West Virginia, VCU and Xavier.   UNLV: The Running Rebels seemed all set to hire Arkansas coach X, but did a last minute surprise by choosing former Memphis and Georgia Tech coach Josh Pastner. As long as Memphis was in Conference USA, Pastner seemed like a good coach. Then came the switch to the American Athletic Conference where he went 61-39. Then came seven seasons at Georgia Tech where he was 109-114 before he was fired. UNLV’s athletic department is running on financial fumes. Pastner works cheap. UNLV would have been smart to keep Kevin Kruger.   IOWA: The new coach is Ben McCollum, 426-95 as a head coach at Northwest Missouri State and Drake. He won four Division II national championships at NWSU then went 31-4 in his only year at Drake where he beat Missouri in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. He grew up in Iowa City within spitting distance of the Iowa campus. Great hire. Maybe the best hire by any Division I team.   NORTH CAROLINA STATE: The new coach of the Wolfpack is Will Wade, who was dismissed at LSU for bending the rules to the point the NCAA stepped in and forced his firing. He resurrected his career at McNeese where he went 50-9 in two years. At Chattanooga, VCU, LSU and McNeese he is 244-105. Some call Wade a cheater for what happened at LSU. Don’t think of it that way. Think of him as an NIL pioneer since everything he did is legal now. Excellent hire. Give him two years and he will be competing head-to-head with the Dookies and Tar Heels.   MINNESOTA: The Golden Gophers hired Niko Medved, whose Colorado State Rams lost a chance to make the Sweet 16 when the zebras blew a traveling call on Maryland’s Derik Queen. Depending on which angle you watch Queen took either four or five steps before banking in the winning shot. Travesty. Medved is a Minnesota grad so he’s familiar with the territory. At Colorado State Medved went 143-85 in six seasons. This is not an easy place to win.   TEXAS: The Longhorns were set to make a Godfather offer to Billy Donovan, but the not interested signal came back so immediately after firing Rodney Terry they hired Sean Miller from Xavier. Miller is like Wade, an NIL pioneer. The national scandal that led to Wade’s firing at LSU led the Arizona dismissing him. In two coaching stints at Xavier he was 185-87. At Arizona he was 302-109. At Texas he has access to more money than he ever had at his previous stops. The Longhorns will win, but enough to satisfy the boosters?   VIRGINIA: Tony Bennett left the Cavaliers high and dry when he became disgusted with NIL and the transfer portal, the same reason Roy Williams and Coach K decided to hang up their whistles. The new coach is Ryan Odom, formerly of VCU where he went 52-21 in two years. He’s had several stops on his coaching journey, none more famous than UMBC, where he engineered the first 16-seed win over a No. 1 seed, ironically over Tony Bennett at Virginia in 2018. The son of former Wake Forest and South Carolina head coach Dave Odom, he’s 222-127 in his career. Excellent hire.   INDIANA: Darian DeVries was the head coach at Drake prior to Ben McCollum. He went 150-55 in six seasons, parlaying that success to a year at West Virginia where he went 19-13. This has been a place where very good coaches take their careers to die. Just ask Tom Crean. DeVries has never recruited at a place as demanding as Indiana. Wait and see hire.

Gators have one of the deepest running back rooms in the SEC By Loren Meadows, GatorBaitMedia.com , Football Analyst Assoicate Head Coach/Running Backs Coach Jabbar Juluke Associate Head Coach/Running Backs Coach Jabbar Juluke has become synonymous with excellence at the running back position. With stops at LSU, Louisiana, and now Florida, Juluke has developed some of college football’s most celebrated backs. Names like Leonard Fournette, Darius Guice, Eli Mitchell and Raymond Calais have all spent time in the school of Juluke and all were drafted into the NFL. Most notable, Fournette would go on to win a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, while Mitchell was a member of the San Francisco 49ers squad that played in Super Bowl 58. Last season Juluke put together another great stable of backs headlined by Montrell Johnson Jr. and Jaden Baugh who provided a ground attack that helped the Gators reach eight wins for the first time since the 2020 season. Baugh led the team in rushing with 673 yards and seven touchdowns including a five touchdown performance against Kentucky. Jonhson, despite playing only 10 games would add 593 yards and five scores. While Johnson is headed to the NFL, Juluke also returns Ja’Kobi Jackson and Treyaun Webb to the group. Jackson was impressive in a reserve role with 509 yards and seven touchdowns while Webb spent most of 2024 dealing with injuries but looks solid this spring and is drawing praise from coaches. "Dont forget about Treyaun Webb," Juluke stated. Juluke brings a demanding no nonsense style to his group of young backs, unwilling to budge on the details that make or break a great group. Meticulous in nature, his presence is far more than just a coach, but a firm father-figure as well.  “The standard, is the standard,” Juluke said. “We have non-negotiables.” “We are going to compete and work extremely hard off and off the field.” With the return of four offensive line starters including All-American Jake Slaughter there should be plenty of road to for Baugh, Webb, and company should have plenty of room to show what Juluke continues to grow with the Gators.    Running Back Ja'Kobi Jackson   Other Notes: Receiver Coach Billy Gonzales was complimentary of transfer receiver J. Michael Sturdivant who according to Gonzales is extremely physical and possesses great speed. Gonzales noted Sturdivant’s ability to play multiple receiver positions and adjust to each position quickly. Edge Rushers Coach Mike Peterson looks for his unit to be one of the best in the country and was complimentary of newcomers Jalen Wiggins, and Jayden Woods, as well as upperclassmen Tyreak Sapp and George Gumbs Jr. for their leadership and development. “(Sapp) Is the first guy I put in my suitcase when I’m traveling,” stated Peterson.

Alex Condon dunks on UConn's Liam McNeely (Photo by Chris Spears) Two games into the NCAA Tournament and Todd Golden has plenty of teaching moments to offer up as the Gators (32-4) prep for their Thursday night West Regional showdown with Maryland (29-7) in San Francisco. It’s not that the Gators played badly in wins over Norfolk State and UConn in Raleigh, just that they played better basketball in winning the Southeastern Conference Tournament when they took down Missouri, Alabama and Tennessee back-to-back-to-back.   For the first 15 minutes against Norfolk State, the Gators were equally dominant at both ends of the floor. Then they got bored and boredom led to sloppy play. Still, it was Norfolk State, maybe a 1-in-a-million chance the Gators would lose that one. Average teams would have gone white knuckles against the Spartans. The Gators won by 26 in spite of themselves.   Against UConn, the Gators took on a team with a 13-game NCAA Tournament winning streak. Two-time national champs don’t go down without a fight and the Huskies brought their close combat weapons to try to even things up with the Gators. For awhile, it worked, but it stopped working when the Gators took a look at the scoreboard and decided it was time to end the nonsense. The Gators won a game that probably half the teams that made the Sweet 16 would have found a way to lose. Several things separate the Gators and the good teams that are typical one-and-dones in the NCAA Tournament. First team All-American Walter Clayton Jr. is one of the reasons, but Clayton doesn’t have to go it alone. Walt takes and makes the big shots. He isn’t afraid to take the big shots and teammates trust him to not just take them but make them. When you throw in perimeter mates Will Richard and Alijah Martin you have a threesome that lives up to Clayton’s billing – “the best backcourt in America.”   No doubt Maryland will try to do the head of the snake thing, which is to attempt to cut Clayton out of the offensive picture. Other teams have tried, but gone down in flames. Richard and Martin can score in bunches and Denzell Aberdeen off the bench can heat it up in a hurry as well.   What could be different against Maryland is Florida’s offensive approach. There is no depth behind Maryland’s two big guys – 6-10 Derik Queen and 6-9 Julian Reese. Golden might structure the game plan around attacking Queen and Reese by running in wave-after-wave of bigs and feeding the post. With five bigs at least 6-9, the Gators have the depth to wear down the two Maryland big guys.   Rueben Chinyelu hammers down a dunk against UConn (Photo by Chris Spears) What makes this potential strategy feasible is the way Alex Condon, Rueben Chinyelu, Tommy Haugh and Micah Handlogten pass the basketball. They are adept looking to teammates in the paint or kicking the ball out on the perimeter if the defense tries to collapse and double up.   Florida is ever so capable of playing any style the Terps want to play. The Gators run as well as any team in the country, but as they showed against UConn, they can mix it up physically and win in the halfcourt.   The Gators have the talent, the size, the depth and the coaching to wear down Maryland. What they can’t afford to do against the Terps is to play bored as they did for 25 minutes against Norfolk State or leave points on the floor as they did against UConn. Against UConn, the Gators missed 12 free throws in the second half, and in the first half turned the ball over nine times while giving up nine offensive rebounds. Think of that as 30 missed scoring opportunities.   When you get to this stage of the NCAA Tournament, the last things you need to do are fail to stay focused for a full 40 minutes and to leave points on the floor. If the Gators go into the Sweet 16 games in San Francisco fully focused and ready to play 40 minutes at a high level, there isn’t a team in the country capable of beating them.   Hovde to coach Columbia Kevin Hovde, who is the strategist behind Florida’s record-setting offense, is the new head coach at Columbia, where he served as director of basketball ops and assistant coach from 2011-16. Hovde is Florida’s second assistant coach to take a head coaching job. Last week John Andrzejek took the head coaching job at Campbell.   UF assistant Carlin Hartman is on the short list at a few schools. Hartman, who coaches Florida’s big men, was thought to be a finalist for the job at UNLV before the Running Rebels settled on former Alabama assistant and Arkansas State head coach Bryan Hodgson.   SEC BASKETBALL The Southeastern Conference set a record with 14 teams in the NCAA Tournament field. One weekend into the tournament, half those teams are still standing as the Sweet 16 games begin Thursday night.   There are four big surprises so far, two positive and two negative. On the positive side, No. 10 seed Arkansas advanced to the Sweet 16 as did No. 6 Ole Miss. To reach the Sweet 16 Arkansas had to eliminate West No. 2 seed St. John’s. Ole Miss took out No. 3 Iowa State to make the Sweet 16 in the South. On the negative side, Texas A&M lost its 4-5 game with Michigan in the second round in the South and No. 6 Missouri lost to 11 seed Drake in the first round.   Alabama (27-8): With Grant Nelson going 28 minutes (13 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 blocked shot), the No. 2 Crimson Tide disposed of Saint Mary’s handily. Next up in the East Sweet 16 game is No. 6 BYU, which means finding a matchup to handle 6-9 freshman point guard Egor Demin (10.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, 5.4 assists per game). Alabama is favored by 5.5 points.   Arkansas (22-13): The No. 10 Razorbacks aren’t supposed to be here but they have wins over No. 7 Kansas and No. 2 St. John’s. To get past No. 3 Texas Tech in the West Sweet 16 they have to find a way to contain JT Toppin, a dominator who averaged 18.1 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. Texas Tech is a 5.5-point favorite.   Auburn (30-5): The challenge for No. 1 Auburn Friday night in a South Sweet 16 matchup is handling No. 5 Michigan’s twin towers – 7-1 Vladislav Goldin (16.8 points, 7.0 rebounds) and 7-0 Danny Wolf (13 points, 9.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists). In the Tigers’ Johni Broome and Dylan Cardwell combined for only 14 points. Auburn is favored by 8.5 points.   FLORIDA (32-4): No. 4 Maryland goes into battle against the No. 1 Gators with all five starters averaging in double figures. The Terps have to keep 6-10 Derik Queen and 6-9 Julian Reese out of foul trouble while the Gators have to keep those two off the boards. The Gators are favored by 6.5 points in this West Regional Sweet 16.   Kentucky (24-11): Kentucky has already beaten Tennessee twice this season. Now, the No. 3 Wildcats have to make it a hat trick over the No. 2 Vols in the Midwest Regional Sweet 16. To do it Otega Oweh is going to have to do a defensive job on the Vols’ Chaz Lanier. The Wildcats are 4.5-point underdogs.   Ole Miss (24-11): The No. 6 Rebels aren’t supposed to be here, but no one told them. Somebody must believe they’re capable, however, because they’re only 2.5-point underdogs against No. 2 seed Michigan State in a South Regional Sweet 16. This will be a battle of Ole Miss quickness against the physicality of Michigan State.   Tennessee (29-7): For the Vols to beat Kentucky, they have to force the Wildcats into a halfcourt game that will be decided by tough defense. This could turn into a 3-point shooting battle between Tennessee’s Chaz Lanier (41 percent) and Kentucky’s Kobe Brea (43.8 percent). Winner of this all-SEC showdown probably takes on No. 1 seed Houston.

Alijah Martin thunders home a second half dunk (Photo by Chris Spears) RALEIGH, NC – For a little more than 34 minutes Sunday afternoon Dan Hurley’s strategy to frustrate the Florida Gators was working quite well. There wasn’t anything complicated about it. From the opening tap until Florida’s veteran backcourt took the game over, the game was played with a brass knuckles mentality. “We dragged them into a game that was the only way to give ourselves a chance to win,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said. It almost worked. It probably would have worked except for the experience and maturity of Walter Clayton Jr., Will Richard and Alijah Martin, who combined to score 20 of Florida’s final 25 points to lead the No. 1 seeded Gators (32-4) to a 77-75 win over the 8th-seeded Huskies in a West Regional game at the Lenovo Center. “That’s the benefit of having three great senior leaders in the backcourt and some young, hungry frontcourt players that will give their all to compete on every single play,” Florida coach Todd Golden said after the Gators had punched their ticket to San Francisco for the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament. Florida will play No. 4 seed Maryland Thursday night. The win was exceptionally memorable for Golden, who in three years has revitalized the Florida basketball program, taking the Gators to their first Sweet 16 appearance since 2017. But it was more than that. UConn came into the game winners of its last 13 NCAA Tournament games and the last two national championships. Derailing UConn’s quest for a third straight national title was just one more statement win in a season that is beginning to feel more and more like the Gators have a date with destiny in San Antonio in a couple of weeks. For most of the game, the Gators struggled to deal with physicality. In a first half that ended in a 31-31 deadlock, the Gators turned the ball over nine times and gave up nine offensive rebounds. While at least five Florida shots defied gravity and wouldn’t go down, UConn hit two 3-pointers a tenth of a second ahead of the shot block. This was a Murphy’s law first half for the Gators. Although the score was close throughout, the Gators couldn’t shake free of the Huskies. Some of it had to do with physical play and hedgeouts that kept Clayton and Richard from getting good looks at the basket and the Gators from getting the ball inside to the bigs. Martin, with 14 points, seemed to be the only Gators with answers. No doubt the Gators left plenty of points on the floor with nine first half turnovers and UConn’s nine offensive rebounds, most of which came on long tapouts to the perimeter. Think of the turnovers and rebounds as the equal of 18 empty possessions. Walter Clayton Jr. scores on a drive (Photo by Chris Spears) “I thought we had some uncharacteristic errors in the first half and not just with ball handling and turnovers but with rebounding,” Golden said. “Offensive execution … we weren’t ourselves the way we needed to be in the first half.” The Florida funk continued in the second half. UConn maintained a four to six point advantage until a fortuitous three by Richard with 6:45 that trimmed UConn’s lead to 55-54 and served as the beginning of a shift in momentum. From that point on, Richard, Clayton and Martin took the game into their own hands. “We made winning play after winning play down the stretch in the last six minutes after about 34 minutes of it not looking like it was going to go our way,” Golden said. With 4:03 left, a pair of UConn free throws gave the Huskies a 61-58 lead. Shaky for sure, but the Gators needed to string together scores on their end of the court, stops on the defensive end. It wasn’t until the 2:54 mark when Florida finally landed a combination of punches that saved the day. It started with a highly contested 3-pointer on the right wing by Clayton that put Florida ahead 62-61. Then came the defensive play of the game. Florida showed press but the Huskies got the ball to Liam McNeely on the left side of the court. McNeely seemed to break the pressure, but Richard trailed his dribble, reached out and poked the ball away. The moment Richard saw Alex Condon was going to retrieve the ball, he streaked toward the Florida basket. Condon secured the ball and launched a high outlet that Richard caught like a wide receiver, then dunked for a 64-62 lead. Will Richard sets up a jump shot (Photo by Chris Spears) “I was just trying to make a play on the ball,” Richard said. “Condo did a great job of recognizing once he got the ball, then just getting the ball out so we got a finish.” The Huskies would tie up the game on a Solo Ball 3-pointer, but the Gators started making plays. Condon made the first of a pair of free throws with 1:52 to go but Martin tipped the ball out to Clayton who was fouled. Two free throws later and the Gators were up 67-64. A stop, a rebound by Richard and another 3-point bomb by Clayton made it 70-64 with 1:07 to go. “Credit Clayton,” Hurley said. “He made some NBA-level threes off the dribble to beat us. It took that for someone in this tournament after winning obviously a bunch in a row here.” There was still enough time on the clock for Hurley to try to turn this into a foul-a-thon. Condon was fouled on a rebound with 43.4 seconds left after the Gators got a stop. Both his free throws clanked off the rim, but on the second, Martin somehow snaked in for the rebound, went up and delivered a thunder dunk that made it 72-64 with 40 seconds left. “I can’t remember exactly what happened but he [Martin] somehow caught it with nobody within 10 feet of him around the rim and he was able to dunk it,” Golden said. And a good thing he did because UConn wouldn’t go down without a fight. It wouldn’t have been close if the Gators had knocked down free throws in the second half. Florida went 15-27, 10-17 in the final 10 minutes. Couple the misses with 12 turnovers and 14 offensive rebounds allowed, and we have a white knuckles finish that should have been a blowout win. No matter how it finished, however, the Gators came away with a win that moves them along in the tournament. The three seniors had plenty to do with it. Clayton finished with 23 points, hitting 5-8 from the 3-point line and 6-7 from the foul line. Martin had 18 points, four rebounds, three assists and a steal. Richard, who scored only two in the first half, had 15 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals. Although the bigs didn’t score much, they were big contributors on the defensive end and they did their part on the backboards in the second half. Haugh had seven points, seven rebounds and two assists. Condon had five points, seven rebounds and four assists. Chinyelu had six points and seven rebounds. While the Huskies did a good job limiting Florida’s shot attempts from the 3-point line, the Gators hit 9-19. Florida held UConn to 8-29 from the 3-point line. For a change, this wasn’t a Florida blowout, but it was the kind of game that proved once again the Gators adapt to whatever style the opponent wants to play. UConn wanted a rock fight and got it. The Gators would have preferred a fast up-and-down tempo, but on this day, they had to tough it out against a team determined to win nasty. UConn gave the Gators its best shot. The Gators absorbed one body blow after another but once the Huskies had punched themselves out, the Gators responded with winning plays. It wasn’t pretty but it was a win and that is all that matters. Two games down, four games to go for a national championship. SEC Basketball Sunday’s scores West Regional 1 FLORIDA (32-4) 77, 8 UConn (24-11)   East Regional 2 Alabama (27-8) 80, 7 Saint Mary’s (29-6) 66   Midwest Regional 3 Kentucky (24-11) 84, 6 Illinois (22-13) 75   South Regional 6 Ole Miss (24-11) 91, 3 Iowa State (25-10) 78   Sweet 16 schedule Thursday West Regional (San Francisco) 4 Maryland (27-80 vs. 1 FLORIDA (32-4) 10 Arkansas (22-13) vs. 3 Texas Tech (27-8)   East Regional (Newark) 4 Arizona (24-12) vs. 1 Duke (33-3) BYU (26-9) vs. 2 Alabama (27-8)   Friday South Regional (Atlanta) 5 Michigan (27-9) vs. 1 Auburn (30-5) 6 Ole Miss (24-11) vs. 2 Michigan State (29-6)   Midwest Regional (Indianapolis) 4 Purdue (24-11) vs. 1 Houston (32-4) 3 Kentucky (24-11) vs. 2 Tennessee (29-7)

By DAN BOND GatirBaitMedia.com Florida finished third in Birmingham at the SEC Gymnastics Championship. LSU is your back-to -back Champion with a score of 198.200, Oklahoma is second- 197.925 and Florida scores 197.825, despite an NCAA Record high on the Uneven Bars. Selena Harris-Miranda would be the SEC individual Vault Champion and Leanne Wong and Riley McCusker would be crowned Co-Champions on Bars. Coach Rowland commented about the record setting routine: “That bar routine is something that I've never seen in in my history of coaching. So proud of this team for building off of the momentum. It was just one stick after another stick after another stick and really just being calm and doing what they do in practice and was just super super exciting and it was so fun be a part of. ” The meet marked the first one this season where the Gators had to compete Podium Style. That is where the equipment is raised off the floor. Often this takes some adjustment by the athletes because it is more bouncy. The tournament was broken into an early session with the four through eight seeds, Alabama was high score (197.100) and the evening session that included the top three teams in the nation #1 LSU, #2 Oklahoma and #3 Florida. Six gymnasts competed, the top five scores counted, with Florida having the rotation of Floor Exercise, Vault, Uneven Bars and Balance Beam. On to the recap: Floor: Last Week: 49.725. NQS: 49.545, 4th in the Nation -Victoria Nguyen: 1st pass (The long runs from corner to corner)- Twisting Flip into a sissone leap. 2nd pass- Front Layout flip. Small hop- 9.875 -Gabby Disidore: 1st- Back flip. Big hop on landing. 2nd- 1 1/2 front twist to layout.- 9.850 -Taylor Clark: 1st- Double backflip layout. Stuck. Nice 180 degree splits. 2nd- Jump leap to double flip. Stuck. Best hit routine of the night.- 9.90 -Leanne Wong: 1st- Double layout flip. Small hop. 2nd- Back flip while twisting. Stuck.-  9.850 -Selena Harris-Miranda: 1st- Front flip to double backflip. Stuck. 2nd- Front fliip to back flip into a leap.- 9.90 -Danie Ferris: 1st- Back tuck twisting tuck flip. Stuck. 2nd- 1 1/2 to front layout. Lands with a wobble.- 9.80 (The dropped score) 49.375- Florida is in 3rd place, behind .225 after the first rotation. LSU and Oklahoma start off on fire. Not the score they need to start. Vault: Last Week: 49.700, NQS: 49.485, 2nd in the Nation -Anya Pilgrim: Yurchenko 1 1/2. Stuck- 9.925. Great Start! -Victoria Nguyen: Yurchenko 1 1/2. Hop- 9.850 -Danie Ferris: Yurchenko 1 1/2. Big step forward.- 9.825 (The dropped score) -Ly Bui: Yurchenko 1 1/2. Small hop- 9.850 -Leanne Wong: Twisting Vault, landing towards the table. Small hop on landing.- 9.875 -Selena Harris-Miranda: Yurchenko 1 1/2. STUCK! Lands straight as an arrow. Has to be a 10, right?- 10.0. The first 10 of the SEC Championship this year and only the 9th on Vault in SEC Championship history. (Career Best) 49.500- Florida is in 3rd place, behind .175 after the second rotation. OU and LSU continue to lead Uneven Bars: Last Week: 49.550. NQS, 49.495, 2nd in the Nation -Anya Pilgrim: High to low bars. Legs stuck together. Full twisting double backflip dismount. Small hop- 9.900 (The dropped score) -Skye Blakely: High to low bars start. Handstands a little short. Layout twisting dismount. Stuck- 9.950. (Career Best) -Leanne Wong: Great swings from low to high bars. Legs glued together. Long handstands. Double front twisting dismount. Stuck - 10.0. Back to Back weeks Leanne gets a 10! (Career Best) -Selena Harris-Miranda: High to low start. Huge handstands. Double layout dismount. Stuck. Another 10?- 9.950 Looked as good as Leanne’s routine. -Alyssa Arana: Low to high bars. Legs together. Double layout dismount. Stuck- 9.950 (Career Best) -Riley McCusker: Nice handstands. Legs pointed. Twisting dismount. Stuck.- 10.0. Riley’s 1st career perfect ten. (Career Best) 49.850 - Florida is in first place over LSU by .050 and OU by .275 going into the final rotation. Florida’s Bars score is the highest score in NCAA History breaking Georgia’s 1996 record of 198.825. Beam: Last Week: 49.650. NQS: 49.555, 2nd in the Nation -Skylar Drasser:  Side mount. Back handspring to full turn. 180 spits. Back twisting dismount. Stuck- 9.850 -Anya Pilgrim: Springboard candle mount. Double back handspring. Balance check.  Front arial. Split leap. Back handspring side dismount. Stuck - 9.800 -Victoria Nguyen: Side mount. Back handspring changing direction mid flip. Back handspring to 1 1/2 twist dismount. Hop - 9.850 -Leanne Wong: Side split mount. Front arial combination. Missed the connection of moves. Big deduction. Back handspring. Leap series. Front tuck dismount. Stuck .-9.675 (The dropped score) -Selena Harris-Miranda: Side split mount. Triple series back handspring. Twisting dismount. Small hop- 9.825 -Alyssa Arana: Double back handspring. Switch  Leaps. Side twisting dismount. Hop - 9.775 49.100 - Florida turns in a very low score while LSU finishes on Vault, their best event and OU scores high on floor. Florida falls to 3rd with a final of LSU-198.200, OU-197.925 and Florida-197.825. Victoria Nguyen on Floor. UAA photo. The post-season has four judges compared to two during the regular season. They drop the High and Low scores to come up with an average. That makes getting perfect 10’s even more of a challenge. The Gators had six of the nation’s twenty two 10’s coming into the night and had the Tigers by the tail until the final Beam Rotation where they turned in a subpar performance. LSU leads the nation in Vault and showed that as they pulled ahead on their final rotation. Getting 9.9+ on 4 Vault tries. This was definitely a preview of the National final in Fort Worth later in April. Coach Rowland added: “What at night it really was four on the floor type competition tonight and really grateful to be here and really excited to be a part of such an amazing environment. Extremely proud of the Gators. We had some amazing highs tonight and we have some things that we still need to work on and can work on. So great start for the postseason and looking forward to our last four meets left of 2025.” Florida finds out where it competes March 24 at Noon on ESPNU. Regional sites are April 2nd- April 6th. Penn State, Utah, Alabama and Washington are hosting.

Todd Golden paces the sidelines during Florida's 95-69 win over Norfolk State (Photo by Chris Spears) RALEIGH, NC – Alijah Martin was being kind when he described the final four minutes of Florida’s first half as “complacent.” It was worse than that. Much worse. Not that the Gators (31-4) were in any danger of falling apart and losing to No. 16 seed Norfolk State, just that expectations are higher when you are one of four No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament.   The Gators were ahead 51-19 after a pair of Will Richard free throws with 4:17 to go. The offense was clicking. The defense was getting stops. The way the Gators were dominating, the game had the feel of a record-setting blowout, but that was when the Gators began playing like a bored team instead of one motivated to put the fear of God into whoever they play next.   In the final 2:45 of the half, Norfolk State (24-11) went on an 11-0 run that made the score a far more respectable 53-32 at the intermission.   “We kept looking at the scoreboard and when you do that and you see you’re up 20, you think like you could take a play off,” Martin said. “We can’t do this at this level. We can’t give no team no hope.”   The Gators gave Norfolk State a glimmer of hope. To put it mildly, Todd Golden wasn’t even slightly amused. There were words at halftime, but actions spoke louder.   Asked in the locker room about Golden’s halftime mood, Richard nodded toward a blackboard whose next home will be a Lenovo Center dumpster.   “You see the board over there?” he said. From the point of contact where Todd Golden’s fist had delivered a TKO punch, the blackboard looked like it had a bad case of varicose veins.   “Coach definitely wasn’t happy, but I mean it was understandable,” Richard said.   As Tommy Haugh spoke about Golden’s halftime mood, his eyebrows raised and his brow furrowed.   “We don’t want to talk about it,” Tommy Haugh said. “We needed it, though. We really needed it.”   The Gators didn’t give up any 11-0 runs in the second half but they never regained the momentum of the first 16 minutes, either. It’s not like they needed it. Norfolk State never got closer than 18 points as the Gators carved out a 95-69 win. At this time of the year, you take a win any way you can get it. This is the lose and through part of the season. Win and you advance. Lose and the season is over.   Because the Gators won they move on to a 12 noon Sunday matchup with UConn (25-9), winner of the last two national championships. UConn advanced to the Sunday second round by scoring a 67-59 win over Oklahoma Friday night. Sunday’s winner punches a ticket to the Sweet 16 round in San Francisco.   There weren’t 40 minutes of pretty basketball played Friday night, but there is no requirement in the NCAA Tournament for the wins to be aesthetically pleasing. The ugly wins count every bit as much as the pretty ones. This one was a little bit of both – pretty for the first 16 minutes, dog’s butt ugly for the next 12 and about as boring as boring can get in the final 12 minutes.   Walter Clayton Jr. loads up a 3-pointer (Photo by Chris Spears) With first team All-American Walter Clayton Jr. scoring 13 of Florida’s first 19 points, the Gators jumped out to a 14-point lead with 13:59 left in the first half. It was 29-9 when Martin caught fire, scoring nine straight and 11 of 13 as the Gators stretched the lead to 28 (42-14). An 8-0 run with Haugh accounting for half the points, made it 49-19.   It was 53-21 with 3:15 left in the half when the air began leaking out of the Florida balloon.   “I think we played exceptionally well for the first 15 minutes and kind of exhaled,” Golden said. “Norfolk’s good. They’re quick. They’re really hard to keep in front and I thought our defensive intensity for the first 15 minutes of the game was elite. We did a great job of keeping them in front, guarding with physicality.   “Then when we took a little bit of a breath, we actually had some bad turnovers that led to transition run-outs that gave then a little juice, a little confidence.”   The first eight minutes of the second half were played evenly, but when the Spartans couldn’t chip into the Florida lead, they tried getting more physical, the result being a foul-a-thon the rest of the way. The Gators led, 72-50, when Norfolk State got slap-happy. Over the final 11:26 the Gators only made five shots from the field – 3-pointers by Martin and Richard, thunder dunks from Martin and Isaiah Brown, and a stick back by Micah Handlogten.   Otherwise, it was one trip to the foul line after another. The Gators went 17-23 from the foul line in the second, 10-10 in the first half. It made for boring basketball, but the Gators were more than happy to leave the arena with a boring win.   “Regardless of the final score, we just weren’t as sharp as we expect to be and what we feel like we need to be if we want to make a run in this tournament,” Golden said.     While the Gators played bored and inconsistent for much of the game, giving Golden plenty of teaching points for today’s practice ahead of Sunday’s matchup with UConn, one thing he couldn’t complain about was the Gators’ willingness to share the basketball. Florida finished the game with 20 assists on 29 made baskets.   “We’re elite that way,” Golden said. “Our team is really unselfish. We do a great job of sharing the basketball … It’s in our DNA, and it’s why we’ve been a good offensive team all year.”   Clayton led the Gators with 23 points to go with five rebounds, two assists and a steal. Martin followed with 17 while Haugh had 13 along with three rebounds and four assists Condon had 12 points, five rebounds, three assists, two blocked shots and two steals. Both Rueben Chinyelu and Micah Handlogten each had eight rebounds. Richard tied a career-high with five assists.   As a team, the Gators were 29-60 from the field overall (48.4 percent), 10-32 from the 3-point line and 27-33 from the foul line. The Gators outrebounded Norfolk State 41-28 with 21 offensive rebounds.   SEC BASKETBALL Friday’s games West Regional 1 FLORIDA (31-4) 95, 16 Norfolk State (24-11) 69 8 UConn (25-9) 67, 9 Oklahoma (20-14) 59   South Regional 6 Ole Miss (23-11) 71 , 11 North Carolina (23-14) 64   Midwest Regional 3 Kentucky (23-11) 76, 14 Troy (23-11) 57   East Regional 2 Alabama (26-8) 90 , 15 Robert Morris (26-9) 81 7 Saint Mary’s (29-5) 59, 10 Vanderbilt (20-13) 56 9 Baylor (20-14) 75, 8 Mississippi State (21-13) 72   Saturday’s games West Regional 10 Arkansas (21-13) vs. 2 St. John’s (31-4); Providence   South Regional 9 Creighton (25-10) vs. 1 Auburn (29-5); Lexington 5 Michigan (26-9) vs. 4 Texas A&M (23-10); Denver   Midwest Regional 7 UCLA (23-10) vs. 2 Tennessee (28-7); Lexington   Sunday’s games West Regional No. 8 UConn (25-9) vs. 1 FLORIDA (31-4); Raleigh   South Regional 6 Ole Miss (23-11) vs. Iowa State (25-9); Milwaukee   Midwest Regional 6 Illinois (22-12) vs. 3 Kentucky (23-11); Milwaukee   East Regional 7 Saint Mary’s (29-5) vs. 2 Alabama (26-8), Milwaukee

Alijah Martin brings a real physical presence to the Gators (Photo by Chris Spears) RALEIGH, NC – In his heart of hearts, Todd Golden might believe Las Vegas oddsmakers who have established the Gators as 9.5-point favorites to win their second round West Regional game with UConn, winner of the last two NCAA championships. The private Todd Golden might believe No. 1-seed Florida (31-4) is going to put an end to UConn’s streak of 13 consecutive NCAA Tournament victories that began with the Huskies’ run to the 2023 national championship.   The public Todd Golden, however, would have you believe the Gators are the underdogs. “ Even though we might be favored, I think a lot of people still believe that UConn is going to win this game because of their track record, because of Coach (Danny) Hurley and the success that they've had,” Golden said Saturday afternoon after the Gators finished practice at the Lenovo Center where they face No. 8-seed UConn today (12:10 p.m., CBS) for the right to advance to San Francisco and the Sweet 16 round. With success comes privilege. UConn has won six national championships since 1999. Duke and North Carolina belong to college basketball’s blueblood class, but neither the Blue Devils nor the Tar Heels can match UConn when it comes to bringing home the big trophy. To the bluebloods of the sport, the Huskies are blue collar country cousins. Of course, the bluebloods also look down their noses at the Gators even though UF has won two national championships, finished runner-up once and made it to the Final Four two other times. That doesn’t stop Golden from constantly portraying the Gators as Rodney Dangerfields who get no respect. Golden tried to make it sound as if the Gators are fortunate to share the same arena as the UConn Huskies. “They have multiple players that have won national championships that expect to win this time of year,” Golden said. “For us, this is a relatively new position for us with the chance to advance to play in the Sweet 16. It gives us an opportunity to keep the chip on our shoulder. I do still think the main people that think we're going to advance is the people in our locker room. We've got to make sure that we play that way tomorrow.” Will Richard is part of Florida's dynamic 3-headed monster on the perimeter (Photo by Chris Spears) The Gators are where they are because Golden has carefully constructed a roster that is both talented and deep. The Gators have a consensus first team All-American in point guard Walter Clayton Jr. (17.7 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.3 assists) as part of a 3-headed monster on the perimeter that Clayton has dubbed best in the nation. It’s hard to argue with Alijah Martin (14.5 points, 4.5 rebounds) and Will Richard (13.4 points, 4.5 rebounds) on the wings. The Gators have a 5-man rotation on the perimeter with Denzell Aberdeen and Urban Klavzar playing critical minutes. The Gators also have something no other team in the tournament has – 25 fouls in the paint that are 6-9 or taller. With that kind of depth on the inside to go with the firepower on the perimeter, the Gators are able to play and win any style the opponent wants to play. Figure UConn won’t try to run with the Gators, who have scored 86 points or more in eight consecutive games. The Huskies seem most comfortable in a half court game that may best resemble hand-to-hand combat. The Gators have the ability to push the tempo but if the going gets rough, Golden says he has a team more than able to deal with it, particularly with the additions of Martin and Rueben Chinyelu from the portal last year. “This year obviously adding Reuben and Alijah, now we have a collective group that enjoys playing physically and plays with an edge,” Golden said. “The coaches do a really good job of putting our guys in position, but our players are the ones that go out and execute and are willing to kind of get nasty and get physical. I think it's going to be really important for us to win this game tomorrow. We've got to be able to do that against UConn tomorrow.” The Gators are the No. 1 team in the country for offensive efficiency kenpom.com analytics. They rank No. 10 in defensive efficiency. Florida ranks third nationally in scoring (85.7), fourth in scoring margin (16 points per game), second in fast break points per game (16.6) and ninth in offensive rebounds (14.03). The Gators are third nationally in rebounds (4 42 per game), 8thnationally in rebounding margin (8 per game) and they hold opponents to 29.3 percent shooting from the 3-point line (9th nationally). The Huskies are No. 15 in offensive efficiency at kenpom.com , 78th in defensive efficiency. UConn scores 77.1 per game, allows 67.8 per game and  allows opponents to shoot 34.6 percent from the 3-point line.   Golden has scouted the Huskies, done the analytical comparison and concludes the Gators have to take them out of what they have to do offensively in the half court. “They run a lot of really, really good stuff,” Golden said. “Misdirections, drifts, pindowns, lots of different actions to make their shooter and playmakers available. We've got to be mindful and do a really good job being on the scout. I think defensive communication is huge tomorrow. We've got to make sure we're all on the same page and all five guys are working together that way. “We've got to make sure we execute like we did in the SEC Tournament. I thought our team was elite in all three games, executing on both sides of the ball. Yesterday we did it for 15 minutes. We've got to do it for 40 tomorrow, though, if we want to beat this team.” Todd Golden on the over/under of his halftime anger Friday night in the win over Norfolk State: “Over/under 10? It was the under – 9.5.” Rueben Chinyelu on Florida’s mindset after winning game one : “We don't have the urge to relax just because we won one game. This is a six-game streak that we're looking forward to. So we're tackling each game at a time. We're just ready for the moment to embrace it and then just live the moment.” Anticipated starting lineupsFLORIDA (31-4): Alex Condon (6-11, 230, SO); Rueben Chinyelu (6-10, 255, SO); Will Richard (6-4, 206, SR); Alijah Martin (6-2, 195, GR); Walter Clayton Jr. (6-2, 195, SR) UConn (24-10): Alex Karaban (6-8, 225, JR); Samson Johnson (6-10, 225, SR); Liam McNeely (6-7, 210, FR); Solo Ball (6-3, 190, SO); Hassan Diarra (6-2, 195, SR)   Saturday’s scores West Regional 10 Arkansas (21-13) 75, 2 St. John’s (31-4) 66   South Regional 1 Auburn (30-5) 82, 9 Creighton (25-11) 70 5 Michigan (27-9) 91, 4 Texas A&M (23-10) 79   Midwest Regional 2 Tennessee (29-7) 67, 7 UCLA (23-11) 58   Sunday’s games West Regional No. 8 UConn (25-9) vs. 1 FLORIDA (31-4); Raleigh   South Regional 6 Ole Miss (23-11) vs. Iowa State (25-9); Milwaukee

Gators aren't exactly underdogs any more (UAA Photo) Dueling underdogs. Perhaps that’s what we should label tonight’s first round NCAA West Regional matchup between the top seeded Florida and 16th-seeded Norfolk State (6:50 p.m.., TNT). One of the underdogs is a matter of a sales job by the head coach. That’s the Gators (30-4), the nation’s 3rd-ranked team and SEC Tournament champs. Todd Golden has spent the last three months trying to convince us the Gators must be underdogs because there isn’t a single 5-star recruit on the roster.   Norfolk State coach Robert Jones can relate. He would absolutely love for a 5-star recruit to give Norfolk State a sniff, but he coaches in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, a league that survives with players overlooked by power conferences and mid-majors alike. The greatest players in league history are Bobby Dandridge (Norfolk State) and Marvin Webster (Morgan State), but both played in the league more than 50 years ago. The last great player at Nortfolk State was Robert Quinn, who led the Spartans to an upset win over Missouri in the NCAA first round in 2012. Two nights later, Quinn and the Spartans hit an iceberg named Florida and like the Titanic, sunk to the bottom of the NCAA Tournament ocean.   You can’t blame Golden for calling the Gators underdogs. They started the season No. 21 in the Associated Press poll and have moved all the way up to No. 3. Despite a 5-1 record against the top teams in the Southeastern conference (4 on the road) as well as wins over two teams ranked No. 1 (Tennessee and Auburn) it wasn’t until they blew by Missouri, Alabama and Tennessee to win the SEC Tournament that many of the nation’s experts grudgingly admitted Florida is for real.   Golden calls that disrespect and when he combines that with the lack of 5-star recruits on his roster, it becomes this gigantic chip that he hopes to keep squarely on the Gators’ shoulders.   Meanwhile, Robert Jones would like very much to discuss disrespect. The Spartans have won 24 games, won the MEAC title and they’ve played tough against some NCAA Tournament teams such as Grand Canyon, Baylor and Tennessee. They beat NCAA Tournament teams High Point and Alabama State.   Norfolk State is a very good basketball team, but the Spartans are 28.5-point underdogs to the Gators. That does more than just irritate Jones. “ I coach better when I'm angry, and I'm angry a little bit about the way the point spread is and things like that,” Jones said. “I know Florida's really, really good, and they run a great program, got great players, but are we that bad that the point spread is like that? I'm a little angry, and like I said, I'm a little bit more focused and play better when I'm angry. I think the players play better when they're angry.” Norfolk State is angry because it feels disrespected. Todd Golden has been selling the disrespect card all season and it was working well until the Three Days of the Gator in Nashville. Golden had a right to feel disrespected most of the season when no matter what the Gators did, the media always perceived Auburn, Alabama and Tennessee the better teams. The media was forced to change its mind after what the Gators did at the SEC Tournament. “We went into Nashville still feeling like we had a lot to prove and that we maybe weren't getting the respect nationally that we deserved,” Golden said. “After three great games in three days there, it's flipped, and now we have a different challenge ahead of us, and that's handling success. Being in the eye of the media and having people talk about us ... ESPN, their four media guys, all selected us to win the National Championship Sunday afternoon after we won the SEC Tournament. “The talk of our team has been we have to do everything we can to stay consistent, to stay humble, and not allow all the just excitement around our program take away from what's made us who we are this year, which is a tough team that plays with an edge.” The Gators will need the edge against Norfolk State. Even though the Spartans are from the MEAC and unranked, Florida needs to forget the hype and play with that chip on their shoulders.   Norfolk State doesn’t seem to think any of that matters.   “I think tomorrow the guys are excited about the challenge,” Jones said. “No one in that locker room is scared. No one in that locker room is afraid. We're excited about the challenge of playing the University of Florida.”   Anticipated starting lineups 1 FLORIDA (30-4): Alex Condon (6-11, 230, SO); Rueben Chinyelu (6-10, 255, SO); Will Richard (6-4, 206, SR); Alijah Martin (6-2, 195, GR); Walter Clayton Jr. (6-2, 195, SR)   16 NORFOLK STATE (24-9): Jalen Myers (6-8, 200, SR); Kuluei Mading (6-11, 210, SR); Jaylani Darden (6-5, 175, SR); Chrisian Ings (6-2, 180, SR); Brian Moore (6-2, 185, SR) SEC BASKETBALL Thursday’s scores South Regional 1 Auburn (29-5) 83 , 16 Alabama State (20-16) 63 4 Texas A&M (23-10) 80, 13 Yale (22-8) 71   West Regional 11 Drake (31-3) 67, 6 Missouri (22-12) 57 10 Arkansas (21-13) 79, 7 Kansas (21-13) 72   Midwest Regional 2 Tennessee (28-7) 77, 15 Wofford (19-16) 62 8 Gonzaga (26-8) 89, 9 Georgia (20-13) 68   Friday’s games West Regional 16 Norfolk State (24-10) vs. 1 FLORIDA (30-4); Raleigh 9 Oklahoma (20-13) vs. 8 UConn (24-9); Raleigh   East Regional 15 Robert Morris (26-8) vs. 2 Alabama (25-8) 9 Baylor (19-14) vs. 8 Mississippi State (22-12); Raleigh 10 Vanderbilt (20-12) vs. 7 Saint Mary’s (28-5); Cleveland   South Regional 11 North Carolina (23-13) vs. 6 Ole Miss (22-11); Milwaukee   Midwest Regional 14 Troy (23-10) vs. 3 Kentucky (22-11); Milwaukee

“He was just moving through traffic like someone on a street bike,” recalls Lake Wales football coach Tavaris Johnson. “That was the moment that defined Walter Clayton as a Division I football player.”