Florida basketball returns to the O’Connell Center on Wednesday after a dominant run at the ESPN Events Invitational over Thanksgiving week.
The Gators are looking to build off a perfect November (8-0), starting with a matchup against the Virginia Cavaliers. Men’s basketball head coach Todd Golden previewed the SEC-ACC Challenge matchup.
Here’s everything Golden said ahead of Wednesday’s 7:45 p.m. ET tipoff.
On Virginia
“Obviously, (they play) a different style, similar to Wake Forest, a team that prefers to operate in the half-court. I think they always have been and continue to be a really good defensive team. Just got done watching them play Tennessee from a couple of weeks ago, or a week or two ago, and they guarded them with great physicality. The first 20 minutes of the game, it was really hard for Tennessee to score.
“Dictating tempo, getting the game going up and down a little bit and just being prepared for their physicality is really, really important. We can’t be caught off guard by that, we can’t be surprised by that early on in the game because that’s just how they play. That’s probably their biggest strength is their togetherness and their physicality and toughness.”
On new coaching staff for UVA
“I think Ron (Sanchez) has done a really good job. I think they’re so really well-coached. I’d say they’re maybe playing a little bit differently offensively, not much differently defensively. Coach Sanchez had been with (former coach Tony Bennett) for quite a while before getting the Charlotte job, so I don’t think his plan, when he got the opportunity a couple of months ago, was to come in and change a whole lot.
“I think he was probably trying to build off what they had done together, but this is a team that plays like a Virginia team of the past decade or so.”
On Virginia forward Blake Buchanan
“He’s a really good rim protector. He’s done a really good job playing physically, finishing around the rim, hasn’t shot it a lot — I think he’s only taking one three on the year — hasn’t shot it great from the foul line, but he has been efficient from two. He’s just strong. He had a really good game against us last year. He was a big reason as to why we were not able to beat them, and we’ve got to be prepared for his physicality. He definitely anchors them in the middle with his strength and size.”
On physical ESPN Events Invitational games
“I thought it was great for us to be able to play the way we did under those circumstances. Wake is a very physical team, obviously, really well coached and, again, a team that is trying to dictate the tempo for 40 minutes. To their credit, we were able to get away from them a little bit at the beginning of the second half and for parts of the second half, but not until the last four minutes were we really able to just kind of break away from them.
“We’re gonna have to play through the physicality early. I thought it took us off our path early in that Wake game and then we kind of got recalibrated and got going. Being at home, we don’t want to allow that to happen. If we are ready for it and if we meet their physicality and toughness, I think we’ll be in good shape.”
On attacking Virginia’s “hard hedges”
“It did bother us a lot last year. The good thing for us is Ryan Dunn’s not there anymore. That’s a good start. Beekman, as well. They had pro-level defenders, and they’re still a very good defensive team, but those guys were unique, and I think to our staff’s credit, we have a better plan to attack it.
“Last year at this point, we were really trying to get organized in our early game. Now I feel like we have a better understanding of what’s going to work against hard shows, and where we should place our ball screens and everything like that. But, it’s definitely a take-care-of-the-ball scout. We’ve got to make sure we don’t allow their hard shows and their physicality and their length to bother us, to allow us to turn the ball over, which can lead to easier baskets for them.
“Really for me, I think it’s just keeping the floor spaced, making sure we don’t over-dribble, making sure we get them moving side to side. If we can do that, we should take away a little bit of the half-court pressure both on the ball and when they’re showing on the ball screen.”
On ACC/SEC challenge series
“I think initially the idea of playing marquee games against other big-time conferences outside of league play is really good. Whether you want to play in three-game MTEs (multiple team events) or two-game MTE or not, but then having this, I think it’s good for both leagues.
“We had been, unfortunately, on the road the first two years, being at Kansas State and then being at Wake. Now, we finally get a home game. Obviously, in every other year you get an opportunity to go on the road and get what will be very close to a conference road game-type atmosphere, type setting.
“They’re just tough games, and I think to be able to play a really, really good opponent like Virginia on your home floor non-conference is awesome. We get that with Florida State also, every other year. For us, as you guys know, we like to balance our non-conference. We want to play a good amount of really quality Quad 1, Quad 2 games. We want to play a decent amount of the Quad 3, Quad 4 variety. You think of this challenge as usually a game that’s going to present a Quad 1 or Quad 2 opportunity for you.”
Was the series be better in January?
“No, not really, to be honest. Back to the Kansas State game, that was not necessarily a great time for us to get on a plane and fly to the middle of the country and play a really good team and come back. I think we played Alabama the next game or something. It just wasn’t an easy turn of events.
“The challenge is there’s not a great time to play these games. I know a lot of coaches struggle with playing this game the first game after their MTE. You look at Tennessee last year, they played really well down in Maui as far as I remember and then they had to go on the road to North Carolina, and they ran into a tough game. We had to go to Brooklyn and then come back and play at Wake Forest, so sometimes it’s hard to think of it as being a really good time, but again they’re good challenges and I think these games help prepare us for league play.”
On significant rebound advantage last week
“Yeah, we definitely rebounded really well in those two games. I think for us to be the best we can be, rebounding at a high level has to be a part of our DNA. Last year, it helped us win games we maybe shouldn’t (have), maybe we weren’t super effective from the field to win — our formula in terms of how we want to play. Getting misses back is important and not allowing second chances for opponents is really important.
“Our goal is to be plus-10 on the boards every game. (It’s) going to be a big challenge to do that against Virginia. I think they’re a solid defensive-rebounding team. They’re not a team that puts a lot of pressure on the offensive glass. I think they really focus on loading up and getting back in transition and making you operate against halfcourt defense, but being able to create second chances and more opportunities is just really important to be the best team we can be.
“When we have games where we don’t do that, it’s concerning, and it just opens up an opportunity for us to not be the best we can be. So, when we’re winning the boards by 22 or whatever it was, and then 16, we feel like we are going to give ourselves a really good chance to win if we can dominate the boards like that.”
On Rueben Chinyelu’s progression
“I think for him a big part of it is comfort. He had a great summer, he had a great fall. You can ask Alex Condon about that. I think he didn’t enjoy going up against his physicality and his toughness every day, and early on he just wasn’t as aggressive in games. I think that’s a little normal coming into a new program.
“He’s still young. He looks like a grown man, but he’s a sophomore, and basketball is relatively new to him, but what our staff was so excited about in the Wichita game he looked like he got comfortable and started getting the ball to the rim quick, was dunking everything, protecting everything at the rim, grabbing every rebound, clean rebounds. It just gave us confidence, like, alright if he can continue to build off this, we have a chance to take another jump.
“I think he had a double-double with four blocks, four assists, only one turnover, something like that. He was fantastic, and I think he was good against Wake also. He only scored one bucket, but he was really impactful in terms of winning. There was no denying his impact in the Wichita game by his production and his plus-minus. Again, he’s a guy if he continues to grow and get more comfortable and be more consistent in terms of playing how he did in the summer and early on in practice, we have a really, really good player on our hands.”
On Alex Condon and Thomas Haugh’s rebounding
“Those guys understand — those two, Rueben and Sam — know what their responsibilities are, and if they’re not active on the glass, they’re probably not going to be in the game for very long. It just comes with the territory of playing in the frontcourt for us. We give those guys a lot of freedom on the offensive end to play with the ball in their hands, to make decisions, to shoot, and with a lot of freedom comes responsibility, and rebounding and defending is a big part of that.
“They’re hard-playing dudes, and their athleticism, their quickness, consistency and their energy gives us another element that I think is really tough to match up against.”
On remaining areas of improvement
“I thought we made a big jump on the defensive end in Orlando, and so for me it’s consistency right there. First of all, it’s proving that you’re capable, and once you can do that, then proving that you can be consistent. I thought in those 80 minutes, we proved that we were capable of guarding. Both those teams were good. They run good stuff. They’re hard to guard. They’ve been efficient all year, and we snuffed them out pretty good.
“So now, we don’t have the excuse of that maybe we’re not, we can’t do it. We guarded like a top-10 team defensively in both of those games. So now just doing it consistently and being able to do it while being efficient offensively and crashing the glass. When all three of those things go together like they did for the most part in the Wichita game, I feel like our ceiling’s pretty high.”
On importance of no hiccups through November
“Really important, but it’s as important going into tomorrow as it’s been all fall. That’s the concern, is we’ve got a little momentum, we’re starting to get some recognition, starting to get ranked highly, whether it’s in the AP, the Coaches, KenPom, NET, whatever it is. When you’re No. 8 on Kempom and No. 6 in the NET, you’re fighting human nature a little bit at that point as well.
“We have a good mature group. I think our guys understand where we’re at, but what our goals are and at the same time, we have to prevent ourselves from letting ourselves off the hook, making sure we continue to guard like we did in Orlando and be physical on the glass and continue to value the basketball the way we have. It just takes one bad night to ruin all that, right? So we’re just trying to do everything we can to make sure we don’t take a step back, find a way to win tomorrow night and then we’ll have a little bit of breathing room before the Arizona State game to clean up some things. But all we got for this opponent tomorrow night is it’s going to be a really tough game.”
On Will Richard’s defense improving despite offensive struggles
“I think he’s really taking pride in being a leader for this team, and with being a leader comes the responsibility of having a good attitude regardless of how it’s going for you individually. Part of our message to Will, to Walt (Clayton), to Alijah (Martin), on a daily basis, is that those guys are the leaders of our team.
“I think that’s pretty clear, whether it’s in our locker room or you guys watching. But it’s not every night those guys are going to get 30 points. It could be Walt one night, it could be A-Mart, it could be Will, and when it’s not those guys that are scoring, are they still going to A, be great leaders, focusing on what’s important to help us win, and B, making sure their energy and enthusiasm is matched to where it is when they’re performing well.
“That’s where I’ve seen big growth from all those guys, but Will, I thought was great against Wichita. To your point, only made one field goal or two field goals, but played a great floor game with five assists, one turnover, six rebounds, and was finding joy in the success of his teammates.
“Again, I think if we can consistently do that, for the rest of the year, we’re going to have a chance of a really good year. But that’s the constant battle that you’re fighting on a day-to-day basis because it’s hard to do that. It’s hard to continue to put the team in front of yourself, especially if you get to a point where you’re struggling over a consistent period of time.
“But that’s the big fight, and that’s, I think, what separates the good teams from the great teams. Right now, we’re in a great mind space that way. I think all of our guys are on the same page. Our energy is good, but it can go bad if you don’t address it, if you don’t talk about it on a daily basis. So that’s what we’re focused on. I expect our leaders to continue to lead us that way, and they’ve done a really good job so far.”
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