The only thing standing between the Gators Men’s basketball team and a trip to the March Madness Sweet 16 is a second-round matchup against the back-to-back defending champion University of Connecticut Huskies.
On Friday, Florida defeated #16 Norfolk State 95 to 69. Despite the win, Gators Head Coach Todd Golden says UConn believes it is going to win no matter where the team is seeded.
He says, “We gotta make sure we go out there and match that mentality and be physically and mentally tough for 40 minutes and do everything we can to knock them off the perch a little bit. But it’s going to be a huge challenge. I do think our guys are excited about it and ready for it.”
After winning national titles in 2023 and 2024, the Huskies are currently on a 13-game winning streak in NCAA Tournament play. They face first-seed Florida after a 67 to 59 win over Oklahoma in the first round.
The Gators, on the other hand, are focused on one game at a time as they prepare to battle the defending champions for game two of six on the road to the trophy.
Florida center Reuben Chinyelu says, “We don’t have the urge to just relax just because we won one game. This is a six-game streak we are looking forward to. So, we are tackling each game at a time, so we are ready for the moment to embrace it and live the moment.”
A win against the Huskies would earn the Gators a spot in the Sweet 16 where they would be up against the winner of Colorado State versus Maryland.
The last and only time the Gators beat UConn was in the 1994 Sweet 16 that punched the Gators their ticket to their first Final Four appearance in program history. However, the Huskies have taken five straight games in the series overall.
Tip-off for the second-round matchup between Florida and UConn is set for 12:10 p.m. in Raleigh, North Carolina.
