The Florida Gators shocked the entire college basketball world when they blew out No. 1-ranked Tennessee by 30 points in the Swamp. But that dominant win was just the opening warning shot. Florida went on to win both the SEC Championship and the National Championship in a thrilling battle against Houston. Now, all eyes are on the Gators as they aim to go back-to-back.
“The expectation now is to go back-to-back... They went back-to-back in '06-'07. Why wouldn't they think they're gonna run the table again?” said CBS Sports’ Isis Young.
Usually, national championship teams experience some form of drop-off the following season — but that doesn't appear to be the case for Florida. The transfer portal played a major role in helping head coach Todd Golden reload, and he made sure to secure the right pieces.
Most of the players who had eligibility left returned — unless they hit the portal. While the Gators are once again favorites heading into the new season, Golden hinted back in April that this year’s team might have one of the tallest starting lineups in college basketball if the pieces came together.
“Thomas Haugh is a core player. We’re going to play him more at the three this year. We hope we get his running mate Alex Condon back and if we do we’ll play really big this year,” Golden said. “We’ll start Haugh at the three, Condo at the four, and one of the other bigs at the five.”
With Condon officially returning, Florida is set to follow through with that plan — which means they'll have the tallest starting lineup in the NCAA this season.
Follow The Sporting News on WhatsApp
“Todd Golden tells me that he plans to start Thomas Haugh at small forward with Alex Condon and Reuben Chinyelu up front during the 2025-26 season,” CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein posted.
And it’s not just size — all three of those players are freakishly athletic. Opposing teams may try to counter by going big, but that won’t help much if a switch occurs. The difference is Florida’s bigs can actually defend on the perimeter. Both Condon and Haugh are comfortable switching onto guards, which gives the Gators a unique edge.
Once again, Florida is finding a way to look like the scariest team in all of college basketball.