The Florida Gators men’s basketball team entered the 2025-26 season ready to defend their title. They had the talent. They had the coaching. All that remained was sticking to the plan and meeting expectations.
That is where it all fell apart, though, when the Iowa Hawkeyes knocked them out of the NCAA tournament in the second round before they could have a chance to repeat as national champions.
Now, a year later and more experienced, Florida head coach Todd Golden believes the Gators are better prepared to manage expectations and perform up to their potential as a championship contender.
“I think all of our guys, myself included, can use last year as a learning experience. To not allow the expectations to affect us, dictate how we go,” Golden said at SEC Media Days. “I think we're more ready for this this year than we were last year.”
Florida eased through the SEC last season. They finished No. 1 in the regular season, taking home another regular-season title. Their offense poured in points on one end, while their defense limited opposing offenses on the other.
That does not mean it was all sunshine and rainbows. Florida started the year shaky, losing to Arizona, UConn, and Duke. Then, they had rough losses to Missouri and Auburn in conference play.
Alex Condon's early-season performance was a big reason they faltered against those teams. The big man had lofty expectations, with many projecting him as a first-round pick in the NBA Draft. However, he didn't play that well early.
“Yeah, I think that affected Alex individually,” Golden said. “Alex, I think, was pressing a little bit and didn't play his best until really after the Auburn game in SEC play.”
In those five losses, Condon averaged 10.4 points, 8.2 rebounds, three assists, three turnovers, 3.6 and 3.6 fouls per game. He also shot 37.2 percent from the field and 9.1 percent from deep, making just one of his 11 3-point attempts.
It was not only Condon, though, who could not deal with the pressure. Golden placed the blame for the rough start on the entire team. He stated that the program struggled to handle those expectations at the start.
“...I think it affected our program as a whole to start last year," he said. "We knew that was going to be something that we had to be up against. You can't really attack until you experience it. We just didn't do a great job handling those expectations to start the year.”
The Gators are more seasoned now and ready to deal with those same expectations. They return Condon, Thomas Haugh, Rueben Chinyelu and Boogie Fland from last year's roster. They also brought back Denzel Aberdeen after one year in Lexington with the Kentucky Wildcats.
More importantly, the Gators boast a deep bench. The reigning SEC Sixth Man of the Year, Urban Klavzar, AJ Brown, Isaiah Brown, Alex Lloyd, and CJ Ingram are available from the reserves.
Having this many familiar faces who experienced the pressure that comes with being a preseason favorite cannot be overstated. The only thing standing in the Gators' way now is themselves. It’s either meet expectations head-on or fold under the pressure again and fall short for the second consecutive season.
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