When Alex Condon dove on the Alamodome floor for a loose ball as time expired on Florida’s 65-63 national-title game victory over Houston in April, it marked the culmination of a rapid return to prominence for the Gators under coach Todd Golden. Florida had not been past the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament since 2017 until it tore through the 2025 Big Dance and cut down the nets in San Antonio.
Golden elevated Florida from 16-17 in his first season to 24-12 with a return to the NCAA Tournament in his second season. Then came a quantum leap that returned UF to the heights of Billy Donovan’s legendary tenure. Florida tied a school-record with 36 victories as Golden, who just turned 40 in July, pulled up a chair at a table with the game’s greats.
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David Cobb
Now comes the encore. Florida’s three-headed guard monster of Walter Clayton Jr., Alijah Martin and Will Richard has departed, but the Gators won’t be short on continuity as they mount their national title defense. With star forwards Thomas Haugh and Alex Condon next to a top-flight tandem of centers in Rueben Chinyelu and Micah Handlogten, Florida will be a force again in 2025-26 and is ranked No. 6 in the CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 early rankings.
It would be no surprise if the Gators land near the top of the preseason AP poll. With Golden on the sidelines and an enticing crop of perimeter talent arriving via the portal to complement arguably the nation’s top…
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