Florida basketball will embark on its sixth Final Four trip in school history, and first since 2014, when UF leaves for San Antonio on Wednesday to prepare for its Saturday showdown against Auburn in the Alamodome (6:09 p.m. ET, CBS).
Florida Gators coach Todd Golden has led the program on an upward trajectory, going from 16 wins in his first season to 24 wins in his second season to 34 wins and counting in year three.
"We’re not doing anything unique," Golden said. "We not doing anything magical. We’re just working really hard and trying to make sure we have the right people in our program to do that.
"But I think we’re seeing the benefits of a lot of the hard work we did in years one or two this year, seeing our younger guys mature, seeing our staff really come together being on a same page and have a great understanding of how each other works."
Here's more of what Golden had to say on Tuesday prior to the Final Four:
On Florida basketball's ability to close out games
UF rallied from a six-point deficit in the second half to beat UConn in the Round of 32 and came back from down 10 points in the second half in the Elite Eight to take down Texas Tech.
Golden attributed it to UF's maturity, with three senior starters in the backcourt ― All-American senior point guard Walter Clayton Jr., grad transfer guard Alijah Martin and senior guard Will Richard, a three-year starter.
"Instead of letting our emotions get the best of us or pointing fingers, we did a good job staying the course," Golden said. "Obviously, our guys did a good job understanding now or never (over the) last five minutes and made every big play down the stretch. But, again, the consistency, the maturity and their belief in each other is a big part of that.”
On Florida basketball coach Todd Golden facing one of his mentors in Final Four
Golden is facing Auburn coach Bruce Pearl for the fifth time since being hired at UF in 2022. They are 2-2 all-time against one another. In the lone meeting between the two schools this season, Florida upset No. 1 Auburn 90-81 at Neville Arena in Auburn, Ala., to post its second win against a No. 1 team during the regular season.
Golden worked under Pearl as a director of basketball operations and assistant coach at Auburn from 2014-16.
"We don't necessarily enjoy playing each other," Golden said. "It's not something that excites us. But at the same time when you're doing it in the Final Four, it's a little different."
Golden developed a close relationship with both Pearl and his son, Steven, during his time at Auburn. Steven is now an assistant coach at Auburn.
"I Facetimed with Steven Sunday night after they won," Golden said. "We were just kind of giggling, man. It’s pretty incredible. We’ve come a long way from the 2015-16 season at Auburn, where we were playing in the only game on the men’s side on the first day of the SEC Tournament. It was us against Mississippi State. Kind of at the bottom of the league. Fast forward 10 or 11 years and both of us have our teams in the Final Four.”
