Why Coach K Believes the Florida Gators Can Repeat as National Champions

If anyone knows about repeating as national champions, it's former Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski.

Before Billy Donovan went back-to-back with the Florida Gators in 2006 and 2007, "Coach K" and the Blue Devils were the most recent team to go back-to-back, with titles in 1991 and 1992, the first two of five titles he would win.

Less than 20 years since Donovan's two titles, the Gators have an opportunity to go back-to-back after last year's national championship. Entering the 2026 NCAA Tournament, head coach Todd Golden and the Gators are the No. 1 seed in the South Region after a dominant performance in SEC play during the regular season.

As a result, Krzyzewski believes the Gators have the tools to go back-to-back.

"The thing is, when we did that in '91 and '92, after we won in '91, people said, 'You're defending your championship,'" Krzyzewski said during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show. "And I had a meeting with my guys in April that year, right after we won it, I brought the trophy in. I said, 'Look, this isn't going away. We don't have to defend a damn thing. What we have to do is pursue. Let's pursue the next one."

"And I think this Florida team is pursuing right now."

"I think Florida has a real chance to go back to back..

Those guys have been on this run before and they know what it takes" ~ Coach K #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/ACMb1b9nnl
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) March 16, 2026

Krzyzewski's reasonings are simple: Golden is a "hell of a coach"; Florida's frontcourt from last season of Thomas Haugh, Rueben Chinyelu, Alex Condon and Micah Handlogten bring experience and "rebound the hell out of the ball"; and guard duo Boogie Fland and Xaivian Lee are playing on a championship level.

"They got knocked out by Vandy (in the SEC Tournament), but until they lost this last game, they were probably the hottest team in the country," Krzyzewski said. "... Their last two games that I've watched, they couldn't hit. They could not knock down an outside shot, but they have it, have a shot to (go back-to-back."

Krzyzewski also pointed to the run Florida will have to make to repeat.

No. 2 seed Houston, which Florida beat for the title last year, was a contender for the Gators' No. 1 seed and has played like one of the best teams in the country this season. Not to mention, the South Region Final will be played in Houston, giving the Cougars an unofficial home-court advantage should they advance that far.

"If they advance all the way, the one and two, (Florida's) going to play really another No. 1 seed who's the number two," Krzyzewski said. "Kelvin Sampson has done an incredible job there, and it would be a man's game. I see more of those games throughout the tournament than I did last year. I think this has a chance to be just a great, great tournament."

Alijah Martin — The Florida Gators won the national championship over Houston. | Kyle Lander / Gators Illustrated

Repeating has been a rarity, though. Since Krzyzewski went back-to-back in 1991 and 1992, Florida (2006, 2007) and UConn (2023, 2024) have been the only two teams to do so. Golden, however, has echoed Krzyzewski's sentiment of not defending last year's title but pursuing another title since the preseason. He echoed that sentiment again during Monday's press availability.

"The great thing for us is that I think we have already been an internation of ourselves that we need to be to make a deep run. That’s what we’ve been over the last two months," he said. "So we need to get back on track to what we were and not – we had some good things this weekend, but obviously more that weren’t what we have been. We have been playing like the No. 2 team in America since January 7th.

"We know what we’re capable of. We know what that looks like. We just have to go back out and do it.

Florida opens play on Friday in Tampa against either Prairie View A&M or Lehigh. Tip-off is scheduled for 9:25 p.m. with television coverage on TNT.