Florida basketball HC Todd Golden makes $22 million quip after beating Kentucky

There was a lot of pressure on Florida basketball coming into this season after winning the national championship in 2024-25, and Todd Golden had a lot of reshuffling to do in the back court to get the Gators back to that level.

Florida took its lumps early in the season, especially in the non-conference slate. However, the Gators are now one of the hottest teams in the country and stayed that way on Saturday with a convincing 92-83 win over Kentucky at home.

Kentucky is another team that has been struggling relative to expectation this season, though injuries have something to do with that. After Saturday’s game, Golden took a little dig at the Wildcats’ expensive roster, via Zack Geoghegan of On3 Sports.

“They’re playing some good ball,” Golden said. “They’re talented, obviously — $22 million roster. They’re physical. They’re big. I expect them to do well the rest of the year. They’re a really good team.”

Kentucky obviously has the talent to compete at the top of the SEC, but Mark Pope’s squad has had a hard time competing with the best teams in the conference for much of the season. After the investment that was made in that team this offseason, the pressure is mounting in Lexington.

As for Golden and the Gators, they are still alone atop the SEC standings after this win at 10-2 in conference play. Arkansas sits just a game behind them, but nobody else is within a game. Florida has also now won five games in a row, so it seems to be in good shape with three weeks to go in the regular season.

The Gators have evolved into one of the best defensive teams in the country, as they have leaned on their size and experience in the front court to make them a pain to score the ball against. The offense has been a work in progress, but that side of the ball is constantly improving and evolving as guards Boogie Fland and Xaivian Lee start to round into form.

Florida has a pair of winnable games on the slate coming up against South Carolina and Ole Miss, with a chance to potentially extend their lead at the top of the SEC before a looming clash with Arkansas coming at the end of the month.

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