Todd Golden Optimistic About Florida Gators Growth Post-Auburn
The Todd Golden regime is off to a rocky start after the first two months of the season.
Sitting at 7-6 after high expectations coming into the campaign — including a hopefully uptick in offensive tempo and production under the new regime — the Gators head into the heart of league play in January reeling after losing in three of their last four appearances.
Their search for answers nearly came to a head on the road against Auburn in the final contest of December as Golden looked to upset his former mentor, Bruce Pearl, in The Jungle. The Gators produced an inspired performance that saw Florida leading or even with the Tigers for a considerable stretch of the contest.
However, after a late surge by the No. 20 Tigers proved too much for UF to hold on to, Florida still sat on the losing end of the outcome. In Golden's eyes, the matchup showcased Florida's growth from a competitive standpoint to this point in the year. It showcased the Gators evolving nature after blowouts at the hands of West Virginia and UConn and a squandered lead to Oklahoma —among other losses — in the non-conference slate of games.
"As we're getting through year one here with my staff and this program, we're always going to be more process-oriented than result-oriented," Golden said immediately following the Gators' contest against Auburn. "I thought for our group, first time playing in an atmosphere like this, on the road, top-20 team — obviously they've had a lot of success in this building over the last six years or so — just incredibly proud of our group.
"We've gotten a lot better. If this game was on our schedule a month ago, I don't know if we could've stayed in this game the way we did tonight. We made plenty of mistakes and things we have to correct, but the overall competitiveness, trust, teamwork of our group has gotten really, really good, and I'm really optimistic as we get into this next stretch of our schedule."
As the league schedule gets into full swing on Wednesday with Texas A&M heading into town, Golden is optimistic that Florida can start to find the rhythm that it has lacked to this point in the year against power six opponents.
The optimism is warranted when looking at the teams the Gators faced off against in 2022, as the majority of those contests have come against units ranked in the top 55 of the NET college basketball rankings, a system that factors in "game results, strength of schedule, game location, scoring margin, net offensive and defensive efficiency, and the quality of wins and losses."
Currently, the Gators stand as the NET No. 66 team in the nation, falling from No. 63 following the loss to Auburn on Dec. 28. Those top-tier opponents have challenged the Gators, but strides forward have been made in each outing.
To start the power six schedule, the Gators competed with a talented Xavier team (NET No. 22) in the Phil Knight Legacy Invitational. Despite a back and forth with the Muskateers that provided Florida the alleys to triumph over the Big East counterpart, Sean Miller's squad found a way to pull away late for a seven-point victory.
The Gators turned around to suffer a blowout loss at the hands of West Virginia (NET No. 17) two games later, an outing that will likely be considered Florida's lowest point this season. Then, another rough loss at home to a top-five team in the country in UConn (NET No. 3).
Those defeats were followed by Florida falling to Oklahoma (NET No. 52) in the Jumpman Invitational despite an 11-point lead in the first half. Finally, Florida's tough-fought bout with Auburn (NET No. 32). Even FAU, a concerning loss on Florida's schedule when it happened, sits at NET No. 11, deemed a Quad II loss as a result.
The Gators have been battle-tested. They're a combined 0-6 in Quad I and II contests.
And, although they haven't reigned victorious in any of those contests, Golden says he believes Florida is taking steps in the right direction. That's why the upcoming two-game home stretch against Texas A&M and Georgia is critical for the unit's trajectory this season.
"I look at it as just a great opportunity," Golden said during his pregame media availability on Wednesday.
"Obviously, two really tough clubs in A&M and Georgia coming in. But in a weird way our schedule's been top-30 teams or below 150. For the first time all year, we're playing someone that's 75-to-125-range. So, when you're trying to figure what our team really is, this is another opportunity to learn who we are. We're excited to get these games at home.
"I feel like everybody in our program from our staff to our players feels like we're becoming something, in terms of being a much better defensive team, taking care of the ball better, being more organized."
The team as a whole understands the magnitude of the contests ahead, starting Wednesday night against Texas A&M (NET No. 97) and Saturday afternoon vs. Georgia (NET No. 132).
Rotational guard Myreon Jones, who provided a spark off the bench against Auburn with 10 points and two steals in 28 minutes, spoke to the importance of the upcoming stretch on Tuesday.
"It's important," he said candidly. "Me personally, I think they're must-win games for our resume and I just think it's games we're supposed to win or should win. It's just getting back on track and getting ready for the road games and giving us more confidence."
Competing in an uber-talented Southeastern Conference with a handful of squads expected to earn bids into the NCAA Tournament, Florida finding a way to still resume-boosting victories is crucial.
However, earning supplemental victories against middle-tier opponents is equally as important. They get their first chance to do that after a near-upset of Aubrun on the road.
"We're trying to build off how we played at Auburn," Jones stated. "We're disappointed we lost, but we had some really good things in that game that we feel like we can build off of, so great opportunities and a really important part of our schedule."
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