Todd Golden’s Florida basketball team has owned the state of Alabama this season. It started out with a Feb. 8 trip to Auburn, a game the Gators won 90-81.
Then, just over a month later, Florida beat Alabama 99-94. On Wednesday, after the win, Golden was asked what his team did to become so successful on the road.
“I think it’s the strength of our team,” Golden said. “We have a very mature team, workmanlike approach. We’re very consistent and for whatever reason, I feel like we really hone in and do a great job of preparing on the road and making sure we come in with a great mentality.”
The Gators beat the Crimson Tide mostly off the strength on the glass. Golden’s squad outrebounded Alabama 50-35, grabbing 16 offensive boards, which it turned into 19 second-chance points.
Florida also won in transition, scoring 22 fast-break points to Alabama’s 10. The Gators fought off several UA comeback attempts to move to 26-4 on the season, 13-4 in SEC play.
“You’re gonna have to deal with some highs and lowes and you can’t allow your emotions to affect you negatively,” Golden said. “And I thought we did a great job doing that. But I think we’re one of the best teams in America, and to do that, you have to go on the road and beat good teams, and we did that with Auburn and we did that again tonight with Alabama.”
The Gators will be the No. 2 seed in the SEC Tournament, which begins next Wednesday in Nashville. Auburn already earned the league’s regular season championship, while Alabama backed into clinching a double-bye on Wednesday, when Missouri lost at Oklahoma.
Florida will close out the regular season against Ole Miss in Gainesville on Saturday. Alabama and Auburn will face off in Neville Arena that same day, tipping off at 1:30 p.m. CT on ESPN.
