Todd Golden talks recent losses, Merrimack matchup, Micah Handlogten

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — After back-to-back losses in the NIT Season Tip-Off and SEC/ACC Challenge, the Gators (4-3) looks to get back in the win column this week. Florida will host Merrimack College on Tuesday night.

Tipoff is at 7 p.m. and the game will be streamed on SEC Network+. Here is everything Florida coach Todd Golden said about the matchup, his team’s recent losses, the status of injured starting center Micah Handlogten and more.

Todd Golden Q&A

On the status of Micah Handlogten:

Golden: “Better. Better. Getting close. I think an outside chance for tomorrow night, we’ll see how practice goes today, but feel good about this weekend, for sure. Obviously, we want him back for tomorrow night, so we want to see him in practice.” 

On Alex Condon improving his low-post defense:

Golden: “That’s a specific question. On a macro level, I’m seeing some improvement, for sure. I think both him and Tommy being asked to step up and play a lot of minutes right now, as freshmen, in roles they were necessarily expected to play, they’ve done a really good job in these games. I think we’ve played four or five high majors already and they’ve kind of been thrown into the fire. They’ve had some ups and downs, but I think in the big picture they’re doing a really good job.”

On the recent late-game lapses:

Golden: “We didn’t take care of the ball well enough at the end of both those games, so obviously those were things we needed to address. But those games were a lot different. I don’t think you can compare them when we were trying to figure things out in that way. Against, to be honest, we played well for about 30 minutes. To Wake’s credit, they hit some big shots to keep themselves in the game and kind of knock it open. They just didn’t allow us close ‘em out. Just kind of tip your hat to [Hunter] Sallis making those shots to kind’ve keep that thing close. And then, as you described the game being in the balance, some of tough calls both ways and we were a little weak with the ball, knowing it was going to be tough game to a get a whistle down the stretch. Obviously, you have to find ways to push through. We can’t allow exterior things to affect us, which I think we did. We’ve got to get a little better down the stretch.”

On whether the calls affected them: 

Golden: “Yeah, definitely. I think it was pretty clear. More of like a mental thing, getting a little discouraged. I think that’s more of what happened. I thought we did a good job, to be honest, of playing through it for the most part, but we got banged with some foul trouble and had some 50-50s that weren’t going our way. It’s a really, really challenging thing to win on the road against a team that’s used to winning. I think this weekend was a great example of that in college basketball. A lot of really talented teams lost close games against teams, on paper, they were supposed to beat. Whether on the road or at home, it shows up a lot this time of year. We have to keep getting better, find a way to get tougher, and find a way to finish those games.”

On the late-game struggles:

Golden: “I would probably want to get a little more information before I could comment on that. When you’re down going into the last five minutes, you’re gonna lose most of those games. I think that’s just a mathematical fact. If you study college basketball, the same thing for winning in the last five minutes. I bet our record’s good when we’re winning the last five minutes. I’m not too worried about all that stuff, especially with this team. I think this team is really good. We got to get healthy. I think getting back everybody on the floor together is really important. When we’ve been healthy, whether it’s in our scrimmages or against Florida State, we played really, really well. And then without one key guy, whether it be ZP or Micah, we found a way to compete and do pretty well. But haven’t been able to push through and finish the way we want to and win all these games. So just continuing to grow and, like I said, get guys back on the floor and hopefully get a more stable rotation. I think that’s something that’ll help us out as well.” 

On UF’s continuity with ball movement:

Golden: “It’s something that showed up in the Wake game late. We only have five turnovers in the first half, so we were doing a really good job taking care of the ball. I thought we did a great job in New York on a whole in terms of taking care of it against two really good teams. We’re 24-to-8 assists to turnover in the first and I think 17 to 12 against Baylor or something like that. Ball-handling is, I think, going to be a strength of our team as we continue on. Obviously when you get into tough settings on the road in a challenge setting or as we get into league on the road, those are gonna be really tough games, where you got to find a way to take care of the ball and be a little tougher. But it’s not been something that I’ve been super, super worried about over the course of the year.”

On how many go-to guys Florida has:

Golden: “Yeah, we have options. I think the key, and it’s something that we talked to our guys about all the time, is it’s probably gonna be somebody else on any given night depending upon the matchups or what we see out there or who’s playing well. Just understanding. Obviously Riley has been hot these past couple games, playing really, really well, found his perimeter shot, did a good job attacking the rim, scoring on average 25 these past two nights. Obviously, Walt’s had games where he had 28. ZP’s had games where he’s been able to fill it for us. Tyrese is another. So we have multiple guys that can go get a basket and just depending upon what the situation calls for will determine and dictate who is going to be that guy necessarily down the stretch.”

On his scheduling philosophy:

Golden: “I’d probably want it to be a little more balanced over the non-conference, you know, but we can’t control some of that stuff necessarily, like, when our MTE is or when they throw the challenge in on us late, and it’s in end of November, early December, as opposed to in February like it’s been when we played the Big 12, right, so there are certain things that you can’t control, you know. We, to your point, like a lot of these games have been really challenging, tough games, right, they’re high-major opponents, neutrals on the road. Not many high-major teams are playing more games neutral and on the road in November than they are at home, so I think that’s hopefully going to pay dividends down the stretch. On paper it lightens up, but this opponent tomorrow is going to be a beast. Richmond’s playing really well, East Carolina at a neutral, Michigan neutral, and then we get two when we get back from that that, knock on wood, should be winnable games at home, but, you know, the schedule’s been challenging, but again, I think this team can handle it. Obviously I’d probably prefer one more win than we have right now, and I think everybody would be pretty satisfied with that, you know, and with all those things being said, we have played one of the toughest schedules in the high-major, I think 7th or 8th toughest schedule. You look at other teams that have challenged themselves, like Tennessee, right, they’re 4-3 but they’re a really good dang team, they’re going to be there at the end of the year. A&M’s really good, they’ve lost twice, so it’s not, when you evaluate your team and when you evaluate where you’re at, you know, I think again I’d love to be 5-2 right now, but I’m not disappointed with where we are, and I think this team has a chance, if we can get healthy and get everybody on the same page, to be really, really good as we move on.” 

On the high number of neutral-site opponents:

Golden: “I think, you know, neutrals are good games, generally speaking, ‘cause you’re generally getting a 50-50 crew and you’re getting an opportunity to go play in a setting that’s pretty equal, whereas you get these home-and-homes and you can see where when you go on the road it’s going to be awfully challenging, it might be a little easier to win at home, but those games are tough in the non-conference. So we’ve always gravitated towards neutrals a little bit, and I think it sets your team up, not only for the conference tournament, but if you’re fortunate enough to make it to the NCAA Tournament, to be able to play in a neutral setting. So, always liked them, and I think it’s something that will be good for us, we’ve got a couple more here down the stretch.”

On a silver lining to Micah’s absence:

Golden: “The biggest thing is just that Condo and Tommy are getting a lot of rip. Those are guys that we knew were going to play a lot for us as we got in the season. But I think for them to be the best they can be this year – at least early on in the year – it’s going to be  more of a coming off the bench, supplemental 15, 20, 25 minutes depending on the night type game, not necessarily starting these guys and throwing them into the wolves against Baylor and against Wake Forest and seeing what happens. But both those guys are studs, man. Both those freshmen are studs. They’re further along than we anticipated. You want to have a little more maturity, a little more older guys in those games. But if we’re going to have young guys out there, those are the two that we want.”

On the defensive performance against Wake Forest:

Golden: “Honestly, it was one of our best games of the year defensively in the first half. We held them to 32 points, I think only like .8 points per possession, which is elite on the road. Second half, to be honest, thought the first 10 minutes was still pretty good. Not too many breakdowns. Then obviously they shot 18 free throws or whatever in the last 10 minutes of the game, which really hard to defend the free- throw line. Then I thought our ball-screen coverage broke down for a stretch there in the second half, which to their credit they took advantage. We broke down and then they made us pay, which is what good teams do. So a little bit tip your cap, Sallis hit some big time shots off the bounce that generally we live with. And then there was a couple of fouls where we sent them to the line where they’re getting two free throws – and you’re kind of shaking your head, like man, we want to make them earn a little more and see what happens. But yeah, I think it was kind of a combination of those things.”

On what he wants to get out of the Merrimack game:

Golden: “A win.”

On calling them ‘a beast’:

Golden: “They’re good. They have a really good coach. Something that I respect a lot about them is that they have a style of play. They are very driven to do what they do and execute the way they want to play. They play zone and they make you kind of adapt to them and make it difficult. They run through the passing lanes a lot, they try to turn you over. They just want to make you uncomfortable, and so I credit them for their style of play. With that being said, I think if we come in and we take care of the ball and really pride ourselves on execution tomorrow and being the tougher team and making sure we grind for a good shot I think we’ll be okay. But this is the type of team that can bother you if you let them.”

On Kevin Hovde’s impact on offense:

Golden: “He deserves a ton of credit. We’re playing a lot differently than we were last year. So, we’ve had to implement a brand-new style offensively. A lot of that’s transition and trying to get the ball up and across the floor quickly, and when we don’t get something early in the clock being able to stay in a little bit of a continuity offense where guys are playing together. One thing you see our assists numbers are way up. Again, that’s a lot to do with our personnel but as well the situations that we’re putting them in. We’ve been a top 20 offense so far this year. Now, we got to be better defensively, and that’s on me and some of our other coaches. But offensively we’ve done a really nice job.”

On being back in the O’Dome for the first time since Nov. 17:

Golden: “Absolutely. Thrilled to be back. We played three games in a row on the road away from here. So we’re definitely excited to get back and play in front of the home crowd tomorrow night.”