The Florida basketball team picked up one of their most impressive victories of the season on Saturday, by thrashing Arkansas. It was tied for the most lopsided loss in the history of Arkansas coach John Calipari's career. Following the game, Florida coach Todd Golden expressed his excitement about his team.
“Even when we were 5-4, we thought we had a chance to have a special season if we just improved incrementally over the rest of the year and we’ve done that. I think we’re playing as good as anybody in America right now,” Golden said, per On3.
Florida is atop the SEC standings this season, with a 14-2 league record. The Gators are 23-6 overall, with nine straight victories.
Florida dominated Arkansas on Saturday
Florida set the tone on Saturday by crashing the glass against Arkansas. The Gators out rebounded the Razorbacks, 51-31. It was hard for Calipari to watch his Arkansas team struggle like that.
“It was going to come back to our will versus their will,” Calipari said, per the Associated Press. “And if you stop playing, they keep moving their feet and put you in bad positions. And they did that to us a bunch. We had some opportunities to rebound. They just beat us to a ball. … They outrebound us by 20. Come on. You’re not going to win that game. You’re not.
“I wish it would have gone faster.”
Florida is once again looking like a national championship contender. Golden says his team believes in each other, despite losing a lot of talent from last year's championship team.
“And the credit that this team deserves more than anything is staying together, believing in each other when guys weren’t playing at their best, not pointing fingers. Our staff did a great job of keeping our guys aligned and on the same page,” Golden added.
The Gators went 8-0 in the month of February, and are one of the hottest teams in college basketball.
“Love it. Didn’t lose in February, got to try not to lose in March either,” Golden added.
Florida basketball has regular season games left against Mississippi State and Kentucky. The Gators play Mississippi State on Tuesday.
