Todd Golden’s ‘comfortable’ Florida declaration will scare other SEC teams

Florida is going up, up, up under coach Todd Golden.

The Gators notched their sixth straight win in the SEC after taking down South Carolina, 76-62, at Stephen C. O’Connell Center on Tuesday. They improved to 20-6, including 11-2 in conference play.

The 12th-ranked Florida is peaking at the right moment, with its title defense in the NCAA Tournament still on the right track.

Golden, in an interview with ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt, stressed that his players are getting more comfortable, and that should send a stern warning to the rest of the SEC heading into the conference tournament.

“They’re getting comfortable playing together. Early in the year, we took some tough losses, but we never splintered, we never pointed fingers. We just kept working and kept getting better, and we’re starting to see the benefits of that in conference play,” said the 39-year-old Golden.

Six straight conference wins for the Gators

Todd Golden joined @notthefakeSVP to talk about Florida's success heading into the later part of the season pic.twitter.com/VILVRiGPgy

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 18, 2026

There were concerns when Florida started the season at 4-5, with the offense sputtering even against lower-ranked opponents. But as stated by Golden, one of the youngest coaches to win the national championship, it made them a tougher squad.

“Losing’s hard, and when you lose four of your first nine games, it doesn’t matter who the opponent is, doubt starts creeping a little bit. We were having some confidence issues in our club,” added Golden.

“But that early-season struggle definitely helped us become who we are right now.”

The Gators have won 11 of their last 12 games, with Thomas Haugh, Alex Condon, Rueben Chinyelu, Xaivian Lee, Boogie Fland, and Urban Klavzar all averaging double digits in scoring.

The Gators are done hiding. Now they’re shining, like they’re born to be.

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