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Todd Golden says Florida was the ‘tougher team’ in the toughest place to play in college hoops
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Todd Golden and the Florida Gators pulled off an absolute stunner on Saturday. As a 10.5-point underdog (ESPN Bet), the Gators beat the No. 1 team in the country by 9 points on the road.
Florida became just the fifth team in AP poll history to topple a No. 1 team at home and on the road in the same season. The Gators also took down Tennessee by 30 points on Jan. 7. While they dropped the rematch with Tennessee by 20, Florida has proven itself to be one of the very best teams in all of college basketball. The only other 2 losses all season came by 6 points on the road and by 1 point at home.
Saturday’s 90-81 win over Auburn was a statement.
And Golden said as much after the game.
“This is probably the toughest place to play in America right now, against the best team in America, and we showed out for 40 minutes,” the Gator head coach said. “I thought we were the mentally and physically tougher team.”
Florida outshot Auburn from the floor, outshot Auburn from 3, produced 22 assists on 31 baskets, and led by as many as 21 points. It was a shellacking.
And Auburn’s Bruce Pearl agreed with Golden.
“I mean, they just came in here like they had to win it,” Pearl said. “That’s how they played their possessions. And they played harder. They played better. They played more desperately.
“We did not look like the No. 1 team in the country. We didn’t act like the No. 1 team in the country. We didn’t prepare like it. And, as a result, we got beat.”
The Gators earned their fourth Quad 1 win of the year with the victory. All 3 of the defeats have come against Q1 competition, and with Duke dropping a game to Clemson, Florida might find itself in play for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
If nothing else, the win over Auburn gave Florida a jolt in the regular-season SEC title race. Alabama hosts Auburn next Saturday in a battle between a pair of 9-1 teams. Florida would move just a game back of second place so long as it continues to take care of business. If Alabama wins that game, Florida’s road game at Alabama on March 5 could get even bigger. The Gators are currently +1500 to win the regular-season SEC crown at DraftKings.
It’s viewed as a 2-horse race, but as we saw on Saturday, anything can happen in the SEC.
There’s a long way still to go. And Florida needs to take care of business on Tuesday at Mississippi State to keep the momentum going.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
