As the defending national champions with several All-SEC returners, Florida enters the season as one of the most promising rosters in college basketball.<\/p>\n
Florida coach Todd Golden, along with key front court pieces Thomas Haugh<\/a>, Alex Condon<\/a> and Rueben Chinyelu<\/a>, addressed wearing the bull\u2019s eye to start the men\u2019s college basketball season at SEC Media Day in Birmingham, Ala., on Wednesday.<\/p>\n Golden and company had a lot to say about Florida\u2019s road to going back-to-back. Here are the three biggest takeaways:<\/p>\n New Perspectives<\/p>\n Last year\u2019s national championship team prided itself on its underdog mentality. There wasn\u2019t a single four-star recruit on that roster, and it was ranked outside the Associated Press top-20 to start the season. Now, as the No. 3 team, the Gators have a national championship to defend, and new pressures that a Golden team has not faced.<\/p>\n \u201cThe reality of it for our group this year is that it\u2019s going to be a lot harder than it was last year, that\u2019s just the bottom line. For a lack of a better term, I think we kind of snuck up on people last year, especially in the beginning of SEC play,\u201d Golden said. \u201cAfter we had some really good road wins like at Auburn, at Bama, I think people realized what our team was capable of. Last year we went into the season ranked 24th preseason, whereas this year I haven\u2019t seen a publication where we\u2019re lower than fifth. We do have that target on our back.\u201d<\/p>\n maturity over complacency \ud83e\uddbe pic.twitter.com\/7OTp4beUpv<\/a><\/p>\n — Florida Gators Men\u2019s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) October 15, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n