Gators Coach Golden on Turnovers, NCAA Tournament

0:00On March 17th, Florida Gators, men's basketball coach Todd Golden spoke to reporters in Gainesville on Monday after his team grabbed the number one seed in the South region of the NCAA tournament. He pinpointed turnovers as their biggest problem from the recent SEC tournament in Nashville, where poor offensive decisions led to uncharacteristic mistakes like Vanderbilt scoring 20 points off them in the first half alone. Golden took responsibility for the issues. Noting the team played hard and dominated the glass with 46% offensive rebounding against, Kentucky and 57% versus Vanderbilt. They got sped up in transition and with screens, but he is confident they can reset this week to match their steady play from the past two months, playing fast without hurrying. The coach made clear he is not happy about the lost Vanderbilt that ended their SEC run, though he sees value in using it to sharpen focus and accountability, much like they did after dropping a game to Auburn back on January 24th.

1:02The team remains confident, not lacking swagger or humility, just needing smarter ball handling to avoid 20% turnover rates against top, opponents. Playing their first two rounds in Tampa feels like a huge plus for Golden, cutting down on travel after a busy road schedule and promising strong. Local fan support. With no game until Friday night at 9.30pm, practices will emphasize staying sharp without major routine changes from last year as a top seed. Overall, Golden called the NCAA tournament the best in sports and stressed getting back to the form that made them the number two team nationally. Since early January, setting them up for another deep run, starting right at home.