GAINESVILLE — During his first three seasons, coach Todd Golden has established Florida’s superiority over Florida State.
But the Seminoles (2-0) have a new head coach and playing style with Luke Loucks, who brought an NBA mentalty and up-tempo approach to Tallahassee after he replaced Leonard Hamilton.
Coming off a 104-64 win against the University of North Florida, the No. 10 Gators (1-1) don’t plan to let off the gas themselves when the two rivals meet Tuesday in the O’Connell Center, where UF has won eight in a row and is 30-2 since the start of the 2023-24 season.
“They’re playing with a lot of purpose,” Golden said Monday. “They’re trying to play fast. They’re playing in transition a lot. They’re shooting a lot of 3s. I know that’s a goal for them to get a lot of attempts up. They’re trying to get pressure on the rim.
“They’re really good.”
The Gators remain a work in progress as reigning national champions, but were at their best in many respects last Thursday night against outmanned UNF.
A season after a veteran backcourt led Florida to the national title, the Gators’ success will be more rooted in their ability to dominate up front. Golden’s rotation includes 6-foot-11, 230-pound All-America candidate Alex Condon, 6-foot-10, 260-pound Rueben Chinleyu and 7-foot-1, 260-pound Micah Handlogten, along with 6-foot-9, 215-pound Thomas Haugh coming off the wing while creating mismatches.
After being pushed around too often during a 93-87 season-opening loss to Arizona, the Gators asserted themselves against the Ospreys. UF finished with a 64-24 rebounding advantage and 66-22 edge in the paint.
The Gators recorded a school-record 29 offensive rebounds while grabbing around 63% of their misses, whereas a 40% rate is the goal, according to Golden.
“That’s got to be a big part of who we are,” Golden said. “We’re playing bigger. We are more athletic than a lot of people in the front court so we have got to create second- and third-chance opportunities.”
Florida center Rueben Chinyelu (9) defends North Florida guard Devin Hines (4) during the Gators’ 104-64 win Nov. 6 in Gainesville. (AP Photo/Chris Watkins)
Meanwhile, FSU lets it fly, especially from long range. The Seminoles attempted more than 70 shots in each of their games, including a combined 77 3-pointers with 31 made.
Loucks, 35, comprised a transfer-heavy roster featuring five senior starters.
This includes 6-foot-10, 225-pound Chauncey Wiggins, who appeared in 97 games at Clemson, 6-foot-5, 207-pound guard Kobe MaGee, who averaged 14 points and 5.6 rebounds last season at Drexel, and athletic 6-foot-4, 188-pound Robert McCray V, who averaged 16.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists at Jacksonville last season.
“They did a good job putting this roster together,” Golden said. “They’re really old. They’re talented. They shoot it really well. We got to be in their hip pocket, especially when some of those really good 3-point shooter get their catches.”
FSU averages 104.5 points in two games, a far cry from the Hamilton days when the Seminoles relied on defense, offensive rebounding and beating opponents to the punch. The Gators could not hold up against the hard-nosed style, losing eight consecutive games in the series from 2014-20.
UF won 71-55 in 2021 during coach Mike White’s final season as Hamilton’s program began to show signs of decline. Golden’s Gators erased a 19-point deficit during his inaugural season in 2022 for the Gators’ first victory in Tallahassee since 2012.
Double-digit wins the past two seasons has given the Gators the upper hand. But these Seminoles are a different animal, setting the stage for a new chapter in a rivalry dating to 1951.
“We both want to play fast offensively,” Golden said. “We want to be a little more organized than they do. They want it to be a little more chaotic.”
Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com
