Category: Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE — March Madness has begun for the No. 3 Florida Gators. Todd Golden’s team, and its fans, are ready as college basketball’s biggest month arrives. UF students camped out Friday at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center as ESPN College GameDay arrived in Gainesville for the first time since 2017 ahead of Saturday night’s visit from No. 12 Texas A&M. Florida leading scorer Walter Clayton Jr. watches from the bench during the Gators’ stunning loss Feb. 25 at Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images) Following a stunning loss Tuesday night at unranked Georgia, the Gators (24-4,...

GAINESVILLE — Florida coach Billy Napier plans to hire a defensive assistant and a top front-office position as the Gators continue to make offseason moves. Washington linebackers coach Robert Bala will coach UF’s inside linebackers and serve as a co-defensive coordinator, a program source confirmed. The source also confirmed Napier will hire Ben Elsner to serve as director of football strategy, a position second in the command to the program’s general manager — a post yet to be filled. Florida head coach Billy Napier celebrates the Gators 24-17 win against Ole Miss Nov. 23 at Ben Hill...

GAINESVILLE — Ailing and unable to gain an upper hand on Vanderbilt, No. 6 Florida turned to a 20-year-old sophomore from Slovenia to scratch out a critical SEC win. With point guard Walter Clayton Jr. out (ankle) and shooting guard Alijah Martin struggling with a hip injury, Urban Klavzar rose to the occasion to help the Gators break open a close game and slip by the Commodores 86-75 Tuesday night at O’Connell Center. Florida forward Alex Condon feels the pressure from Vanderbilt guards Graham Calton (7) and Tyler Nickel on Tuesday night at O’Connell Center. (Alan Youngblood/AP) With UF...

GAINESVILLE — Florida delivered its SEC welcome to Texas — back in Gainesville for the first time since 1996 — with a performance the Gators desperately needed. No. 5 UF returned to the win column with an 84-60 victory Saturday after a trying week on and off the court, including a tough loss at home and more turmoil inside Todd Golden’s program. “We came out and we showed that dog mentality,” veteran guard Alijah Martin said. “We did what we had to do.” Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr. (left) scores past Texas guard Julian Larry (right) during the Gators’ 84-60 win Saturday in...

GAINESVILLE — Florida coach Todd Golden didn’t see it coming. He hopes he doesn’t have to witness it again. Tuesday night’s no-show against Missouri came a day after the No. 5 Gators (15-2, 2-2 SEC) rose to their highest ranking since 2017 and a week after a historic drubbing of top-ranked Tennessee. Most troubling to Golden following a 83-82 loss was the unranked Tigers out-toughed and overwhelmed his team on its home court, where UF had won 16 straight. “This team has been pretty consistent with the effort and the physicality,” Golden said. “To Missouri’s credit, I thought they laid it on...

GAINESVILLE — Beating John Calipari on the road last season was a massive step for Florida coach Todd Golden and his program. A win now against Coach Cal away from Gainesville could signal a natural progression for Golden’s surging Gators. Calipari’s surprising offseason move from Kentucky to Arkansas makes the SEC’s winningest coach an easier mark than with the Wildcats, who won the 2015 national title and a dozen conference crowns — six each during the regular season and conference tournament — while he was there. Florida backup guard Denzel Aberdeen had a season-high 16 points during the...

GAINESVILLE — Florida finally knocked off No. 1 at home, where the Gators are becoming impossible to beat. UF did it playing top-ranked Tennessee’s own game. Coach Todd Golden’s squad put the defensive clamps on Vols and never let up during a resounding 73-43 win Tuesday night, extending the Gators’ winning streak to 16 games in the O’Connell Center — where they are 8-0 and winning by an average of nearly 30 points. Todd Golden watches his team blow open a close game early Tuesday in what became a rout of No. 1 Tennessee at O’Connell Center. (Alan Youngblood/AP) Tennessee entered the...