The Florida Gators are the reigning NCAA National Champions. Yet, a small roster shakeup and a rocky early-season start created plenty of skepticism about this year’s Florida team.
Last year, the eventual National Champion Gators were an offensive juggernaut. Their offense was second in offensive efficiency, they ranked fifth in terms of offensive rebounds, and they were effective from the field at all levels, all while having a top-ten strength of schedule.
But after sending three of their starters to the NBA, Florida head coach Todd Golden had to resort to a familiar friend: the transfer portal. Speaking of those NBA talents, each of them was brought in from other programs by Golden, via that very same transfer portal. 2025 NCAA Tournament Player of the Year, Walter Clayton Jr. from Iona, Alijah Martin from Florida Atlantic, and Will Richard from Belmont were all key pieces that brought Gainesville its first National hardware since the days of Al Horford, Joakim Noah, Corey Brewer, and Marreese Speights (I had to include him).
Yet despite a highly touted transfer class that ranked sixth in the nation, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows early in the year. In November, the Gators shot 27.8% from three and suffered losses to Arizona and TCU. Princeton transfer Xavian Lee, a 34% career three-point shooter, was a miserable 19% from deep, while teammates Boogie Fland and Alex Condon also had historically bad months, shooting 24% and 15%, respectively.
In December, the slump continued. Florida shot 28.8% from deep while losing out to Duke and UConn. The Gators even missed out on two consecutive AP Top 25 Polls after a January loss to Missouri that opened their SEC campaign.
It was at this point that Todd Golden pivoted. Although Golden had never built his teams on three-point prevalence, it had also never gotten this bad. After January 3rd’s road loss to Missouri, the Florida Gators have been the second-best offense in the nation while going 14-1 in the span. While the season’s shooting splits from three settled just under 31% (328th in D1), the true key lay in their success close to the basket. In the last 15 games, the Gators have shot 66% at the rim and 59% from two overall. Plus, they have been second in the nation in offensive rebound percentage at 41%.
Florida’s newfound recipe for success isn’t three-point centric or reliant on a single figure; it’s pairing an offense with a plethora of weapons with an immense rebounding ability that generates possessions at will. In the same span, they have also been the fourth-best adjusted defense in the nation.
Growth from juniors Rueben Chinyelu and Alex Condon can be seriously cited, as the Gators have done a much better job at scoring via post-ups and cuts/rolls from Gainesville’s big men.
As March arrives, Florida has sprung itself into conversation on a possible one-seed line. They have clinched the regular season SEC title and look to roll their current nine-game win streak into the SEC Tournament. One of the best tendencies for teams who succeed in March is peaking at the right time: Florida is doing just that.
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