The last time Florida basketball coach Todd Golden stepped on the court at Madison Square Garden was 19 years ago.
Golden’s St. Mary’s team pulled of an upset against California to earn an unexpected trip to New York City as part of the then Coaches vs Cancer tournament back in 2004.
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“This is back when they had four pods, generally they wanted the high-major team to advance,” Golden told reporters on Monday, Dec. 8. “We ended up winning at Cal to steal the bid. We got there, all the paper, whatever it was, all had Cal still, because they obviously expected them, but we won.”
Golden’s stat lines were admittedly not memorable. Officially, in two games, he went 0-for-3 in 16 minutes.
“I was just trying to survive out there at that point in my career,” Golden said. “So playing in there two times as a redshirt freshman was awesome. Didn’t play much, but pretty elite experience being there.”
However, Golden’s upcoming trip is much different as his No. 18 Gators were invited to participate in the Jimmy V Classic with UF set to face No. 5 UConn on national television.
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“First of all, it’s an honor to be invited,” Golden remarked. “This isn’t something that we just sign up for and get to go do, so for them to select us and be part of it means a lot to our program.”
Florida basketball gets rematch with UConn, Dan Hurley
Florida’s last matchup against the Huskies experienced a viral moment after the game. UConn (8-1) head coach Dan Hurley was videoed criticizing the game’s referee walking off the court in UF’s 77-75 victory.
Despite the moment, Golden said that he and Hurley have a friendship, but didn’t shy away from that both team’s may have extra motivation heading into the matchup.
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“It’s just another great opportunity for us,” Golden said. “Danny is a great coach, obviously, back-to-back nattys. We have formed a little bit of a friendship over these last year-and-a-half. I know there’s a lot of mutual respect for the way each other competes — and to be the last couple national champions.
“I know they’re licking their chops to get an opportunity to compete against us tomorrow night. I think they feel like they owe us something from last year’s tournament game, and we’re going into it with the same mentality.”
UConn, which has notable wins over BYU, Illinois and Kansas, relies heavily on its backcourt. Returning starter Solo Ball has averaged 14.6 points per game, along with Silas Demary Jr. averaging 10.4 points.
“Their half-court offense is hard to guard,” Golden said. “They play less out of ball screens than most teams and more out of staggers and pins and misdirection, which is unique. Silas, his assist-rate right now is really high. He’s making a lot of the plays for them, finding the shooters.
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“Solo’s still scoring, still trying to pick his spots that way. He’s been more effective from two than three this year, which is a little surprising. He’s finishing better, not shooting as well. But I think that’s probably a little fluky. He’s still a great shooter on the move, and we’re still going to treat him as such tomorrow night. But a big part of winning tomorrow night’s game is doing a good job on both those guys.”
Can Florida basketball win the turnover battle?
Florida (5-3) has faced inconsistencies with shooting ball and has put itself in foul trouble on the defensive side, but a glaring issue has been turnovers.
“A perfect example is the second half at Duke, we didn’t shoot ourselves in the foot in terms of allowing turnovers to turn into pick-six layups,” Golden said. “We didn’t shoot it great, but we just got it up on the rim, created second chances for us, did a pretty good job from the foul line.
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“But what it does is, you know, complimentary basketball, when you turn it over more, you’re playing in transition defense more. You’re playing an advantage-disadvantage, so you’re getting more fouls and stuff like that.”
According to Golden, the Gators are sitting at a turnover rate of 19%, with the ideal margin being 15-16%.
“It’s two turnovers a night, maybe even three specific nights, but that’s really all we need,” Golden said. “We don’t need to be 10 points better. We need to get three or four points better over 100 possessions. If we do that, we’ll go from being 13th on KenPom to fifth. And if we can do that, then we’ll take whatever results we get the rest of the way.”
When does Florida basketball vs UConn tipoff?
Date: Tuesday, Dec. 9
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Start time: 9 p.m. ET
Florida basketball vs UConn TV channel, livestream
Streaming: ESPN+
Channel: ESPN
Florida vs UConn will be televised on ESPN. Dan Shulman and Jay Bilas will be on the call at Madison Square Garden, while Kris Budden is the courtside reporter.
Reach Florida Gators writer Andrew Abadie at AAbadie@usatodayco.com or on X (formerly Twitter) at @AndrewAbadie. You can also find him on Facebook at Andrew Abadie Sports Reporter or on Instagram @andrewabadie_sports.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Florida basketball vs UConn storylines, tipoff, what to know
