Sunday's win was one giant step forward for the Florida Gators program
For Florida, the No. 1 seed in the West Region, Sunday’s 77-75 victory over eighth-seeded UConn in the second round of the NCAA Tournament brought the Gators one step closer to their ultimate goal—a national championship. It also was significant in the big picture.
“This is a great win for our program,” Florida coach Todd Golden said. “The time was now for us to take that next step. Again, Florida basketball back where it belongs. Being in the Sweet 16 is a great step in the right direction.”
With this win, Florida has now reached the Sweet 16 a total of 12 times. Between 1994 and 2014, the program won two national titles, reached the Final Four five times, and competed in the Elite Eight on eight occasions. Much of that success came under legendary Florida coach Billy Donovan. However, since his departure in 2015, the Gators had advanced to the Sweet 16 just once—back in 2017, when the Mike White-led team reached the Elite Eight before falling to South Carolina.
Following that season, Florida had struggled in the Round of 32, going 0-3 before finally breaking through against UConn in a hard-fought contest in Raleigh, N.C. The Gators trailed for much of the second half but staged a late rally to secure the victory. In doing so, they ended the Huskies’ 13-game NCAA Tournament winning streak, eliminating the two-time defending national champions. With the win, Florida, now 32-4, advances to San Francisco, where it will face fourth-seeded Maryland on Thursday.
“It means a lot,” Florida guard Will Richard said. “This is why everybody came here. We wanted to bring Florida back to that national stage and that relevance. For us, it means a lot, just playing for that logo and for the guys that came before us to help us get here.”
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The game seemed to be slipping away from Florida for much of the second half. However, with 2:54 remaining in regulation, All-American senior guard Walter Clayton drilled a three-pointer from the right wing with a defender in his face, giving the Gators a 62-61 lead—their first since it was 31-28 late in the first half. Just 24 seconds later, a dunk by Richard extended the lead to 64-61. A free throw by forward Alex Condon at the 1:52 mark helped Florida get back in front again (65-64), and the Gators led the rest of the way.
Clayton finished with a game-high 23 points, while guards Alijah Martin and Richard added 18 and 15 points, respectively. Florida was far from flawless—the Gators shot just 64.7 percent from the free-throw line and committed 12 turnovers—but they showed resilience against a determined Huskies squad intent on extending their impressive tournament run.
After the final buzzer, Golden and UConn coach Dan Hurley met briefly on the court.
“Coach Hurley and I have great respect for each other,” Golden said. “Obviously, he sees me as kind of an up-and-coming coach and probably sees a lot of himself in me in terms of being a fiery competitor and someone who runs a great program and does it the right way. He was very gracious and very respectful and gave a great message of, ‘Hey, congratulations. I’m pulling for you guys. Let me know if you need anything moving forward.” It meant a lot. The way that he handled the ending of the game with such graciousness—such grace, I should say—I truly appreciate it.”
