Todd Golden says it was 'really difficult' to defend UConn

Florida fell to UConn on Wednesday night, dropping to 6-4 on the season under first-year coach Todd Golden. The new Gators coach made no bones about it afterward, saying it was ‘really difficult’ to defend UConn.

Nobody has quite figured it out so far this season, with the Huskies at the very top of the current KenPom standings, while checking in at No. 6 in adjusted offensive efficiency.

“Honestly I thought until about the 10-minute mark of the second half our defense was good enough, and then we just got loose when we had to start gambling a little bit and try to get some turnovers so we could get some easier baskets,” Golden said.

The Huskies shot 16-of-25 (64.0%) from the floor in the second half, including 4-of-9 (44.4%) from 3-point range.

It helped Connecticut run away with it down the stretch, despite Florida sticking in the contest within arm’s reach for most of the first 30 minutes of the game.

“Really difficult when they do that,” Golden said. “But again, the offense is sticking with me a little bit because we were not that good tonight.”

Florida couldn’t defend UConn, but it couldn’t score, either

Compounding Florida’s issues in the loss to UConn, the Gators had a really rough night shooting the basketball.

Florida finished just 16-of-53 (30.2%) from the floor and 4-of-15 (26.7%) from 3-point range.

“In terms of our competitiveness, and we talked about this last time, that was better against a good team,” Golden said. “But at the end of the day against a team like UConn, you’ve just got to make some shot to give yourself a chance. And multiple guys on our team didn’t, and obviously we shot 30% for the game.”

Florida will return to action on Wednesday night with a home game against Ohio. The game will tip off at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2.