Florida has a knack for rallying from deficits and coming through in crunch time

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Beware: these Gators bite, especially when they feel threatened.

Florida, which has shown a knack for wearing down opponents all season, has become the ultimate closer in the NCAA Tournament. Late-game rallies against two-time defending national champion UConn in the second round and against Texas Tech in the Elite Eight have the Gators (34-4) believing that no hole is too deep for this gritty group.

Coach Todd Golden pointed to confidence and maturity as the keys to his team’s penchant for comebacks. He also joked that having All-American guard Walter Clayton Jr. on the floor makes a huge difference.

“It’s our ability to not get too high or too low,” Golden said.

Golden clearly would prefer to have his team get off to a better start when it faces fellow Southeastern Conference foe Auburn (32-5) — the Gators won their first meeting in February — to open the Final Four in San Antonio. But he’s seen enough to know there’s no reason to panic if Florida falls behind.

After all, these Gators have looked fairly harmless for the first 20, 30 or even 35 minutes of games before attacking with a frenzy.

Just ask UConn or Texas Tech. Or Alabama, Georgia, LSU and South Carolina. The Gators overcame daunting deficits against all of them.

“Undying belief,” Clayton said. “It goes to show how together we all are. Many times (we) could easily just break, start pointing the finger, blaming each other for this and that. But we just stayed together through the end and stayed the course.”

None of Florida’s rallies have been as impressive as its latest one. The Gators trailed Texas Tech 71-61 with 5:30 to play when Clayton took over. The senior made three 3-pointers, a layup and two free throws down the stretch. He also dished out two assists by finding Thomas Haugh for open 3s.

“Instead of letting our emotions get the best of us or pointing fingers, we did a good job staying the course,” Golden…

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Publish date : 2025-04-01 21:09:00

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