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In a Final Four made up solely of No. 1 seeds, the Florida Basketball team isn't shying away from the notion that the Gators might be the best squad in all of the NCAA.
“I think our guys understand and know that when we're at our best, we are one of, if not, the best team in college basketball,” Head Coach Todd Golden said following his program's practice at the Alamodome.
With a 34-4 record on the season that includes the SEC Tournament championship, it's hard to blame the Gators for any amount of confidence.
“I think we've won ten in a row coming into this event,” Golden continued. “Our guys are not going to be OK going home on Saturday night.”
Florida faces fellow Southeastern Conference rival Auburn in one of the national semifinals in San Antonio. The Gators beat the Tigers by nine in Alabama in their only meeting ahead of the weekend. Though Auburn won the SEC's regular season title, Florida took the conference tourney to earn the top seed in the West Region of the national tournament.
“Our guys have put in the work. We didn't make it here by accident. We earned the opportunity to be here and to compete. Our guys enjoy doing that on a nightly basis.”
Florida Basketball exudes confidence in Final Four
A two-time national champion (2005-'06 and 2006-'07) that's making it's sixth appearance in the Final Four, it's the Gators first trip to college basketball's ultimate stage since 2014.
“I think the same reason why we've had success all year is why we'll be OK being here and this being the first time,” Golden said of this group. “We have a very mature group, a very unselfish group and guys that are driven. You look at the way we've played all year, we've been a very consistent team.
“We've had a great season, we won 34 games. You don't do that by accident,” he added.
Interestingly enough, two of Florida's four losses this season came to unranked teams. One of those happened to be the Gators' last loss, which came on February 25 at Georgia.
“We've always been able to bounce back from losses the right way and make sure we get back to who we are and playing well,” Golden continued. “They understand what's at stake, but at the same time, they want to enjoy being here and enjoy the fruits of the labor that we've had all year.”
The Gators are led by NBA prospect Walter Clayton, Jr., who's averaging 18.1 points per game. Four other players on their team average double figures in points.
“I point to the collective unity of this group as the main reason why we deserve to be here and why we'll do what we need to do on Saturday night to stay here.”
While Florida and Auburn will battle in Saturday's first Final Four game, Duke and Houston will meet after. It's not a stretch to say Golden plans on seeing either the Blue Devils or Cougars on Monday.
“Obviously, it'll be a great season regardless, but if we lose on Saturday, we'll have a bad taste in our mouth.”
