SI

Florida’s Todd Golden Was So Fired Up on Way to Locker Room After Beating UConn

Ryan Phillips

Florida head coach Todd Golen has the Gators in the Sweet 16 in his third season on the job.
Florida head coach Todd Golen has the Gators in the Sweet 16 in his third season on the job. / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images
In this story:

Florida scored a tough win over UConn in the second round of the 2025 NCAA tournament on Sunday, and the Gators' head coach was fired up after the victory.

As he left the floor following the 77-75 win, Florida's Todd Golden was visibly and audibly animated. At one point he screamed, "Let's go man!" before entering the locker room.

He was also fired up in the locker room too.

Golden has every right to be pumped. The Gators beat a tough UConn team in a really good game. Flordia is the top seed in the West region after an outstanding regular season. The Gators finished second in the loaded SEC, but wound up winning the conference tournament. They're currently 32-4 on the year.

The 39-year-old Golden is a rising star in the basketball coaching world. Florida hired him in 2022 after three seasons at San Francisco in which he went 57-36 (.613) and took the Dons to the NCAA tournament. After a rough first season at Florida in which he went 16-17, Golden has turned the Gators around. They went 24-12 and earned a tournament berth last season and now they're in the Sweet 16 in his third year.

Florida will face the winner of Colorado State and Maryland in the Sweet 16.

More College Basketball on Sports Illustrated

feed

Published
Ryan Phillips
RYAN PHILLIPS

Ryan Phillips is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in digital media since 2009, spending eight years at The Big Lead before joining SI in 2024. Phillips also co-hosts The Assembly Call Podcast about Indiana Hoosiers basketball and previously worked at Bleacher Report. He is a proud San Diego native and a graduate of Indiana University’s journalism program.

Home/College Basketball