'Great opportunity' awaits Gators in SEC Tourney finals showdown with No. 12 Auburn
According to Auburn’s Bruce Pearl, he shared his opinions of Todd Golden when the Florida Gators targeted the young coach in 2022.
“‘Who’s better?’ One of my messages was just, ‘Stop. You tell me who’s better? Who’s got a better basketball mind? Who has a better relationship with the kids? Who’s got a better family?” Pearl recalled earlier this year. “Okay, maybe you’re not sure if he’s got enough experience. That’s fine.’ I didn’t have to convince anybody at Florida. I think they knew what they had.”
Now in Year 2 at Florida, Golden has his team sitting at 24-10 and the Gators will play for an SEC Tournament title on ESPN at 1 p.m. ET Sunday in Nashville, Tenn. Standing in the way of the program’s first tourney championship since 2014?
That, of course, would be Pearl and the Tigers, who are ranked No. 12 and sit at 26-7.
Todd Golden began working at Auburn a decade ago
As many of you know, Golden and Pearl know each other quite well. Golden worked two seasons under Pearl at Auburn, from 2014-16. He began as director of basketball operations but was promoted to an assistant coaching position after one season.
Per Golden’s official Florida bio, “he worked closely with the Tigers’ guards and handled all scheduling responsibilities” and “took a lead role in analytical and metrics data.”
“I mean, I would be lying if I said I would not — would prefer it to be somebody else,” Golden said of facing Auburn on Sunday. “But to meet them in the championship, it’s going to be just an awesome game and a great opportunity for us.”
Florida has won far more than Auburn in basketball, including two national titles to go along with five trips to the Final Four (compared to one for the Tigers). But Auburn actually leads the all-time series with the Gators, 89-83 and the Tigers have been more successful in recent seasons thanks largely to Pearl.
Golden has faced his mentor just twice with Florida and is 1-1.
The Gators beat Auburn at home earlier this season
The Gators smoked Auburn 81-65 on Feb. 10. Guard Riley Kugel led Florida with 22 points while another guard, Walter Clayton, added 20. Meanwhile, the Gators held Auburn to only 3-of-17 shooting from 3-point range.
“We had them at home,” Golden said. “We played fantastic at home all year — we had a bye that week. They were coming in, I think they beat Alabama by 18 right before they played us. We had some things going our way in regards to just the lead-up to the game.”
Auburn is No. 5 in the NCAA Net Rankings; Florida is at No. 26.
Florida enters Sunday after impressive wins over Alabama and Texas A&M. In the latter, the Gators trailed by 18 in the second half. Auburn demolished 15th-ranked South Carolina 86-55, then beat Mississippi State on Saturday.
“Neither side will be taking it easy on each other,” Golden said. “Obviously they’ve had a great year. They have a great team. We played very well when we played them the first time. We had them at home. Obviously, it’s going to be a tougher challenge now in a neutral court. They’ve been established, and now we’re becoming that way. We’re trying to get there and stay there. Both teams playing really well at the right time obviously. I think (Sunday) will be a great game.”
Todd Golden’s team will play for the fourth straight day
Florida, the SEC Tournament’s No. 6 seed, is playing its fourth game in four days, and fatigue very well could be a factor Sunday. Auburn, the 4 seed, is playing for only the third time in this event.
But the Gators are deep and adrenaline sometimes can fuel a team when the legs are tired. Saturday night, N.C. State claimed the ACC Tournament title by winning its fifth game in five days.
“We should have some confidence in the sense that we’ve performed well against these guys,” Golden said. “I know they will have a much better effort (Sunday). They’ll have some different things for us that we’ll have to adjust to. When you make it to the championship game, you’re going to be playing a really good team. That’s just the way it’s going to go. Just excited to get out there again.”
