CONTENDERS: Florida Gators and Todd Golden COULD go Back-to-Back!

0:00It is time to believe the Florida Gators are a legit back-to-back candidate this year. You are Lockdown Gators, your daily podcast on the Florida Gators, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello, and welcome back to another episode of Lockdown Gators, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. Thanks for getting locked on Gators. You're first listen of the day every day. You are available daily and free with us the podcast and on YouTube. As always, I am Brandon Olson, your host of Lockdown Gators writer for SwampSignal.safsac.com. And this is Maz's Moving the Game Forward. For those who show there's more to the score than what's on screen. And just like we did, was it earlier today or yesterday? We're giving it to Xavier and Leigh and Micahann Lockdown, right? The guys that locked on senior night have great games, call it a day in Gainesville.

1:05Those are the guys that remind you what it takes to really raise the bar, right? That extra work off the court, dialing in every detail, giving it that extra fire. Maz's puts that same passion to every model. Highlights make the real. What it takes to get there makes it count. There's more to a Maz's because there's more to you. And the Florida Gators are legitimate back to back contenders in 2026. Well, 25, 25, 26 season. Now listed as not just number four on Ken Palm and top four on a bunch of the rankings. However, all show fourth on Fandall. The highest odds for winning a national championship this year, Michigan and Duke are both plus 340. For those of you who aren't gamblers, that means that if you bet $100 on Michigan or Duke to win a national championship and they win it, you will get a $340 profit. So you will get back $400 total Arizona plus 480 and Florida plus 800.

2:09So if you bet $100 on Florida to win a national championship and they do it, you will get back $900, $800 of profit. I'm just going to say this, I got Florida when it was like plus 32300 or something like that. She's saying just saying there the Gators are back to being the best offense and the best defense in the SEC. There was a stretch where Florida was the best offense and best defense. And then I believe it was Arkansas overtook for best offense going into the Florida and Arkansas game. Arkansas overtook for best offense. And then well, Arkansas definitely did not have the best offense in that game. They got absolutely walloped 77 points, which also 77 points in regulation against Florida. Is the most points against them in their past five games.

3:09Past five games, Florida's allowed 62 75 71 77 and 74. I'm going to throw that out there, but Florida's offense is right back at the top, which is insane to me because they're still not shooting a great percentage. Like they're red hot right now. They're absolutely cooking. For the season in conference, they're still shooting 33% like they're still 11th in the SEC in three point shooting percentage. Okay, what is this is just how damn good they are at scoring in the interior. And that's by design, right? Like Florida has massive human beings, right? You got Thomas, how. Listed it six for nine to fifteen pounds. Alex Conn and six for eleven to thirty six pounds. And Rubin Chenulu six ten two hundred sixty five pounds. Oh, by the way, when Chenulu or Conn and come out, Mike a handlock and cut it in and he seven one two hundred sixty pounds. That's what you got.

4:09Like that's the kind of size that you have in this front court. And so even when you are a team that's not shooting awesome from three. You are a team that is currently operating with the second highest offensive rebounded percent both in the country and in the SEC. Okay. Like that's your talk about you get the offensive rebound forty one point four percent in SEC play offensive rebound rate. That means that for every five misses. For Florida, they're getting two offensive rebounds. You know what they're doing off of those offensive rebounds more often than not go right back up. Like some of the value of getting offensive rebounds is let's say last year right last year was you get the offensive rebound and you can kick out. When Todd Golden got here, we talked about all the time. That's something Todd Golden has loved has loved to do throughout his career.

5:10We get the offensive rebound. We kick it out to a three point shooter and we get a three off that. Especially because you got other other defenders crashing in for the boards. Or defenders leaking out trying to run in transition. All right. You get the offensive rebound. You should have an open look somewhere this year. Florida is doing it differently. We're Florida. It's just going all right. Well, we got the offensive rebound. I'm going right back up with this some you know what. I'm going right back up with it. Why? Because I can you can't stop me. That's why. And so Florida, yeah, your offense might not be shooting great from three. Again, in SEC player shooting 33.3% from three 11th in the conference. But don't forget for the season, you're shooting 30.9%, which by the way, just for comparison purposes, you're shooting 30.9% from three. That is 325th in the country.

6:13This team has always been the thought of. Well, if you can shoot 30% you got a shot of going back to back. They're shooting 30.9%. Okay. Offensive rebounds help you a ton. Points in the pain help you a ton. You're shooting 30% from three and you have a shot. Big reason for that is because of your defense. We'll talk about that when we get back with locked on Gators. The biggest stretch of the college basketball season is here buzzer beaters, bracket busters and those unforgettable moments that everyone's talking about the next day. Being there live for something like that, that's a bucket list stuff. The hard part is actually getting the tickets long cues, prices jumping around, surprise fees at checkouts. I hate it. One of my favorite things about game time, the price that you see is the price you're paying. You're not like, oh, cool. No, I don't know, just hypothetical. $70 for a ticket. Cool. And then you go press checkout and it's like, by the way, it's actually 123. And it's like, well, how the hell did that happen?

7:13Not the game time. Take the extra card of buying college basketball tickets with game time, download the game time app, create an account. You just go locked on for $20 off your first purchase. Again, create an account when you put L.O.C.K.E.D. Oh, and for $20 off, download the game time app today. And welcome to the five hour energy flavor draft with 18 different flavors to choose from, including new options like confetti craze, like fruity rainbow, like cotton candy. We got two names with a little iteration right there. There's something for everyone. The board is set. The flavors are ready. I've got my number one pick for the five hour energy flavor drafts. I would have had another option available, but you know, a video with a gas mask came out. And he let me tonsil himself on draft night. Can you believe it? Can you believe being a flavor with the possibility of changing your life? And Laramie tonstling yourself? It's ridiculous. Lucky for me, though. That wasn't great. That's who we're taking. Find your new favorite flavor of five hour energy shots available online at five hour energy dot com or on Amazon.

8:15Nice to have you a lot on Gators. You're first listen of the day every day. We are available daily and free rivers of hot gas and on YouTube. And the Florida haters, the Florida haters are offensively one of the best interiors for teams in the in the country. Best in the SEC. They are also. One of the best offensive rebounding teams in the country. Defensively, though. The best. That's not where anything gave. Like I said, offensively. It was like, oh, well, you know, we. Lost it dark and soft for a little bit. Nope. Not here. Or is it actually meant might have been the Texas game. But you lost it temporarily and got it back. Both times because you played well enough, right? The Florida haters have become. Not just one of the best teams in terms of. Not allowing volume from three. But they also have the second best three point percentage allowed defensively. Okay. So it's like not only our teams not getting a lot of three pointers off against Florida.

9:15But when they do, they're not connecting on them. Okay. Florida allows a three point attempt to rate. So basically how many what what percentage of your field goals attempted are threes. Florida's allowing 32.8% defensively. And in the conference. That's the best in the conference. Okay. In terms of percentage made that's at 32.3%. Just think about it. Think about it this way where every. Three shots a team attempts. One of them is a three. Okay. And for every three three pointers attempted one of them is made. So for every. Nine shot attempts in that nine. You've got three three's attempted one three made. I'm good with that. I love it. I'll live with that. And Florida doesn't give up anything in the paint.

10:15We know that. It's middies. Middies is what is what you have to do to score in Florida. Florida's is making you shoot inefficient shots while they're scoring more efficiently. It's incredible. I love it. I do. I love it. Florida's going, hey, we're not giving you threes. Oh, and by the way, when you are taking a three, we're still going to get a hand up in there. Florida's blocking threes. Again, part of that's the size and the athleticism that you have. You never had to play your team. I don't have a problem with yet. I'm not a good player. I'm not a good player. I've never. I just have to go. Ruben. You lose not really blocking threes. But Alex counting to get in good contests. Block one. A couple games ago. Thomas how cool block a three here and there. Like. Guys. It's not just, oh, yeah. We're. We're contesting shots. We're not giving them easy shots. It's, by the way, we're blocking these damn things. catch the ball and be wide open in position to shoot. And part of that, I do think is scouting, right? But they're like, all right, well, that guy's not a good shooter from that area.

11:17So we're going to let him shoot that if he wants to. We're going to be more aggressive rotating off. And when they pass it to him, then we'll go close the gap there. Right. One of the reasons Texas gave Florida issues for a bit was that Texas just creates their own shot consistently. That's it. Texas creates their own shot consistently. That's it. Like it wasn't, oh, yeah, we're getting, you know, driving or driving kick or anything like that. Texas had 25 field goals made against Florida last week. Almost to be still. On those feelings on those feelings made two of them were assisted. That's it. Like Florida is making guys create shots against them off the dribble. Making you shoot middies. They're making you play inefficient basketball while they are insisting on playing efficient basketball. It's a pain to play against.

12:19And it's a joy to watch. It's one of the reasons Florida's had to blow out. Because they're not letting you get easy buckets. They're not letting you get efficient buckets from three. No, they're making you get ethical buckets. Florida ain't playing ethically. All right, Florida is trying to win this damn game. They're playing analytically. That's as many Florida as they're great. That's who has Florida right back in the back to back national championship picture. Love to see it. Thanks for a lot, Don Gators. You're first listen of the day every day. We are available daily and free with podcasts and on YouTube. As always, I am Brandon Olsen. Find all my written work about Florida. Gators are swapsickled. That's subsac.com and I will see you all next time.