How Todd Golden’s Florida Gators returned to winning ways

GAINESVILLE — Todd Golden hoped his Florida basketball team’s challenging non-conference schedule had them ready for their Jan. 3 SEC opener at Missouri. Prepared to play on the road and grind out a win.

Instead, the Gators lost 76-74.

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What was going through Golden’s mind on the late-night flight from Columbia to Gainesville, nine months removed from a national championship and two months removed from starting the season with the same expectations?

“I was just thinking we hadn’t been able to display what needed to on the road to win one of those close games,” Golden told me earlier this week. “Coming back, my thought was, ‘We need to be OK being identified as a physical, defensive team that rebounds well and is kind of a junkyard dog-type team.’ And if we could take on that identify, we would be OK.”

The Gators adopted that persona and are playing OK. Check that, they’re playing more than OK — they’re playing dynamite entering their Saturday, Jan. 24, home against Auburn (4 p.m.).

Five straight wins, including a victory at No. 10 Vanderbilt, and four by double-digits.

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And, combined with the end of the non-conference season, nine wins in 10 games to from 5-4 to 14-5 and from unranked on Jan. 5 to No. 16 in this week’s poll (and climbing).

The Gators, who are tied for first in the SEC with Texas A&M (5-1), are starting to have that national title look.

“Now we’re getting praised, but it’s not that relevant,” Golden said.

Correct. The buzz back on the Gators won’t help them against Auburn or Alabama or Arkansas or Kentucky.

But what is relevant is the lessons Florida learned in November-December.

Finding identity took time

Golden was confident the non-conference schedule would ultimately benefit his team in SEC play. But that didn’t make any more enjoyable to experience. A 6-point loss to Arizona in Las Vegas. A 1-point loss at Duke. And a 4-point loss to Connecticut in New York.

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In the current poll, Arizona,…

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Publish date : 2026-01-23 10:04:00

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