Todd Golden fires shot at Kentucky after three-game sweep: 'They haven't led for one minute'

Florida defeated Kentucky in all three of the team’s meetings this season, most recently defeating the Wildcats 71-63 in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals on Friday. During an appearance on ESPN after Florida’s latest victory, Gators head coach Todd Golden reminded the nation of his team’s dominance against UK this season.

“We did what we needed to. I would have preferred to win this game by 20, but we’ll take an eight-point win,” Golden said. “In the three games that we played these guys, they haven’t led for one minute.”

It’s a well-earned boast for the Gators, who are on a 12-game win streak and have a chance to secure a 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament. Though Florida’s offense was far from perfect Friday, the team’s defense and rebounding was enough to secure the win.

Kentucky shot just 36% from the field and 22% from beyond the arc against the Gators. All-SEC Second-Team selection Otega Oweh particularly struggled with efficiency, connecting on just 5-of-his-18 field-goal attempts and committing four turnovers.

As usual, Florida won the war on the glass. The Gators reeled in 18 offensive rebounds compared to Kentucky’s mere eight. In turn, the Gators scored nearly three times as many second-chance points as the Wildcats.

Now, Florida is only two wins away from repeating as SEC Tournament champions for the first time since 2007. While Todd Golden certainly doesn’t lack confidence in his squad, he knows there’s still room for the Gators to improve.

“Anytime the game is physical, that’s going to be to our benefit, just with our physicality in the front court, our depth. We have strong, live bodies,” Golden said. “That’s a good battle for us to get into. I thought we did a great job the first, let’s say, 27 minutes of the game just dictating everything that way.

“But just started not doing a good enough job taking care of the ball. I thought once they got behind, the last 10 or so minutes, we were kind of playing not to lose, and they were playing free with no pressure because there was none left at that point. We have to do a better job managing those situations if we’re fortunate enough to be in them moving forward.”

Florida hopes to continue its dominant run when it squares off against Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament semifinals at 1 p.m. ET tomorrow. The game will air live on ESPN.