Todd Golden talks Quinnipiac win, Florida's undefeated December

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida coach Todd Golden and the Gators finished the month undefeated with Saturday’s 97-72 win over Quinnipiac, going 6-0 in December after a 4-3 start to the season.

Florida reached 10 nonconference wins for the third time over the past decade, also reaching the mark in 2016-17 and 2021-22.

The six-game winning streak also matches the team’s longest since opening the 2021-22 campaign with six straight victories.

Here’s everything Golden said after his team’s blowout victory over Quinnipiac.

Todd Golden Q&A

On closing out the first half strong:

Golden: “I thought for our 40 minutes for the most part until the last couple we played really well offensively. We just didn’t rebound very well early and we weren’t physical. Yeah just lack of physicality early and I think that was the biggest thing. We didn’t get 50-50s early, we didn’t do a great job on the glass and even though we were kinda building a lead, that was what was keeping it close, so once we didn’t a better job securing those live ball rebounds, we were able to run away from them a litte bit and I thought offensively like you said I thought we played really, really well. Really purposeful, really unselfish, and I feel like we’re growing and getting better that way.” 

On Florida’s frontcourt production: 

Golden: “It was just one of those days I think, and also our backcourt was so effective. I think our starting perimeter had 41 points at halftime, combined, was really, really efficient and just the way they guard, they were going to make us kind of beat them over the top so to speak, just kind of packing it in and not letting us get roll dunks and getting off the glass so much. So, I think it was just a little bit of how they played us, and we were still able to take advantage of it a little bit.” 

On Florida’s readiness for SEC play:

Golden: “I think we got a full week to prepare for Kentucky, which is great, but we’re about as ready as we can be. I think we did a good job of navigating this non-conference schedule, a lot of neutral games, just not in our home gym as much as a lot of other high-major teams were. And we gutted out some tough games in December. First time undefeated month since 2021, right, and that’s the only other time since the 2014 team that rallied 30 in a row or something like that. So, big time for us to kind of hit that milestone and our guys are coming together. I feel like there’s a lot of joy in that locker room right now, guys happy for each other’s success, and I know they are excited for conference play to start.” 

On what he learned in the SEC last year:

Golden: “I mean, it’s just a mother getting through this league, every night is a really, really big challenge and I think that actually gets tougher this year. I think the league is a little better this year. There’s a lot of great opportunities and you got to be mentally tough to get through it because if you’re not and you lose one or two it can break you. I think we’ll be ready to handle what comes our way and we’ve got to do our best to get off to a good start on Saturday.” 

On the undefeated mark in December: 

Golden: “Yeah, I think it was important at that time. Right after we lost that Wake game to kind of think of something that we can kind of rally around and find something to take pride in. Obviously, we’re definitely a day-to-day program, we don’t want to look too far ahead, but I thought that was a good time for us to be able to ‘Alright, this little six-game block as we get into the new year is something that we can focus on’, and, you know, the guys did in private. We talked about it quite a bit behind closed doors, it was something that was really important to us.”

On the biggest areas of growth over the six-game win streak: 

Golden: “You know, our ball-screen defense has improved quite a bit, I think that’s one area that was really improved, and then offensively we’re just moving the ball really well, you know. We’ve had over the last two games 46 assists. Our assist-to-turnover ratio has been really, really good that way. Starting to shoot the ball better from the perimeter, we were really good the first half, 9-for-18, we didn’t shoot it great the second, but I think we’re just getting more comfortable, you know. It’s a lot of new guys playing together, right, we only had two guys that really played last year that returned, and everybody that’s in the program has a different role than last year, and everybody that’s new to the program has a different role than they had in their last spot, so it’s going to take a little bit to get to our potential, but I do feel like we’re slowly getting there.” 

On Will Richard’s impressive month of December: 

Golden: “Yeah, I really do, I think it’s something, Will – and Riley’s going through the same thing – where last year they were the high-usage guys. They were able to play with a lot of freedom and they were ready to let it fly really with no consequence, because they were some of the only guys that put the ball in the basket for us down the stretch. And now they’re playing next to guys like Walter, who’s an elite offensive player. They’re playing next to Zyon, who’s a fantastic point guard, and, you know, it’s nothing more than now everybody has to be comfortable and understand obviously that there role is going to be a little less in terms of scoring, potentially, and also learn how to play off each other. And Will was struggling with that early in the year, in terms of finding where his three-point shot would come from. But as you’ve seen over the last month, he definitely looks comfortable out there now.”

On Richard’s teammates finding him: 

Golden: “Well yeah, they’re finding him, but he’s also doing a better job of getting himself open. He understands where that shot’s going to be available, and, you know, he’s definitely playing with more confidence, and he’s hunting his shot a little better. But he has it going right now, for sure.” 

On Riley Kugel’s facilitating more:

Golden: “Yeah, I thought he had a really good mentality in the way he approached the game early on in his first rip. Kind of being a ball-mover and kind of finding himself out there, i thought he did a really good job with some kind of timely passes and penetrating pitches, finding guys, and then in the second half became more aggressive. Looking to rip to the rim, use his physicality to get downhill. Didn’t finish great, but was able to get to the line 8 times, which was really important, and, you know, kind of saw some of those things that were showing up for him early in terms of him getting downhill and getting to the rim, so my hope is he’ll continue to get back in his comfort zone coming off this injury.” 

On Kugel’s turnover rate, only one this game:

Golden: “It’s really important. It’s one of the things that can hold us back this year, just turning the ball over. That’s been an issue for us at times this season, just turning the ball over. For him specifically, he’s got to limit those. One in 20 minutes is very good. That’s something we’d take about on a nightly basis. So, continuing to improve, and not just him, specifically, but everyone — especially our front court, which tonight, I thought, did a poor job. Condo turned it over five times. That’s way too much, but he’s a good young player who’s out there and not afraid to fail. So, we’ll let him play through that a little bit in games like this.”

On UF needing to work on press break:

Golden: “Yeah, it’s something we probably haven’t worked on enough. Something that I probably take for a granted a little bit, because we have good players in our backcourt and can manage it. But it’s bothered us a little bit. Going into next week, we’ll be more prepared to handle it.”

On having more intense practices lately:

Golden: “We definitely have, especially the last couple weeks. I was really, really pleased with how we practiced the last three days going into this game. We’ve played at a high level in some of our games, but we’ve also played not at our best in some games. I think consistency is something we’ve been looking for and tried to make sure we’ve improved in that way. We obviously played really, really good against Grambling, then we came back and we had really, really good practices the last three days. As a coach that gives you confidence that you can go out and perform well. But that’s the next step for this team; to make sure when we’re out there practicing and competing at a high level, that we understand that’s what’s going to prepare us for the games. We’re not going to be able to just show up and go out and hoop against Kentucky. We got to make sure we have a great week of practice that can prepare us to be ready to go against those guys.”