GAINESVILLE — Florida’s national champion cardiac kids have become coach Todd Golden’s heartbreakers as the SEC season arrives.
Florida’s flair for finishing games was the 2024-25 squad’s calling card, culminating with a comeback from 12 points down to Houston during a 65-63 win in the national title game. Closing out close contests this season has become a concern for the Gators, who dropped out of the AP Top 25 Monday after another narrow loss — this time a 76-74 decision Saturday night at Missouri.
Florida (9-5, 0-1 SEC) aims to avoid another disappointment, perhaps the ultimate one, Tuesday night when red-hot rival Georgia visits the O’Connell Center. Former UF coach Mike White has led the No. 18 Bulldogs (13-1, 1-0) to the best start since 1930-31.
“These next two [Tennessee visits Saturday] are really critical for us,” leading scoring Tommy Haugh said Monday.
Hitting big shots, corralling loose balls and making defensive stops down the stretch will be key.
The Gators have lost by an average of margin of just 3.4 points as opponents have come up in the clutch like Walter Clayton Jr. and Co. did during a historic 2025 postseason run.
“We had some good-luck moments last year,” Golden said Monday. “We were able to come back from some 10-point deficits with three minutes to go, throwing in some crazy shots. This year we haven’t been the beneficiary of as good luck.
“I hope that turns a little bit, but we have to play better to where luck doesn’t affect the outcome of the game.”
Improved 3-point shooting is critical.
Florida ranks last among 79 power conference teams and 354 of 361 teams nationally at 27.99% after finishing 7-of-27 (25.9%) from long range at Missouri.
The Gators failed to offset another poor shooting night by doing other things better than the Tigers. Missouri fought Florida, the nation’s leader with a margin of 15 rebounds, to a 37-37 deadlock on the glass as UF preseason All-America power forward Alex Condon and center Rueben Chinyelu battled foul trouble.
“It’s made our margin of error smaller and highlighted some of our fouling issues and the times we don’t get some of these big rebounds,” Golden said. “A lot of those issues wouldn’t look so big if we could help ourselves out by making some shots.”
Slumping sophomore point guard Boogie Fland highlighted the Gators’ struggles with an 0-of-6 effort from beyond the arc, including a miss at the buzzer for the win. The Arkansas transfer is now 2-of-20 on 3s during the past six games and has shot 20% (12 of 60) this season.
“It’s a tricky one because he’s a good player,” Golden said. “I don’t think taking away freedom is necessarily the best way to build confidence. I’m not going to say, ‘Hey, don’t take that shot.’ If they’re open shots, we want our guys to take them.
“If he can lift that up and shoot the ball at a 33% clip from deep, we’re gonna be pretty dang good. I’m still confident in him. I think our staff is. I think the team is. But you gotta go do it.”
Florida point guard Boogie Fland reacts during the second half o the Gators’ 67-66 loss at Duke Dec. 4 at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)
The Gators will push to keep pace with White’s fast-paced Bulldogs, who lead the nation with an average of 99.4 points — or 14.9 more than Florida.
Led by point guard Jeremiah Wilkinson, who averages a team-leading 18.3 points, Georgia ranks second nationally in adjusted tempo, according to stats guru Ken Pomeroy.
“They’re just playing very fast and trying to play early in the clock offensively,” Golden said. “Pace, making sure we get back in transition, make them operate against half-court defense and just continue to do a good job on the glass will be big keys.”
The Bulldogs caught the Gators flat-footed during their last meeting.
Georgia rolled to a 26-point advantage before Florida caught up and even took the lead late in an 88-83 loss Feb. 25 in Athens. A 3-pointer by Blue Cain, who currently averages 15.6 points, pulled the Bulldogs back ahead for good.
That defeat would be Florida’s final one during a magical season ending on a 12-game winning streak.
“It was definitely a turning point in our season,” Haugh said. “Like hey, it’s time to buckle down, and we took care of business after that.”
The Gators need to buckle down, take of business and try to recreate some magic to avoid an 0-2 start in SEC play and create a deeper hole.
A slip-up in San Diego against TCU plus neutral-court losses to Arizona and UConn along with losses at Duke and Missouri don’t have the Gators ready to hit the panic button. A home loss to Georgia, though, could set off alarms.
“We’re a top-15 team,” Golden said in reference Pomeroy’s No. 14 overall rating. “We’re not top-50 sitting here, like, ‘Man, this is a disaster.’ I think we’re pretty close. If we had a couple more wins, we’d be like, ‘Dang, this team’s pretty good.’”
Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com
