The Huskies have more experience in the snow than the Gators. Since head coach Dan Hurley arrived in Storrs, Connecticut, his squad has watched the spattered sky six times as the confetti fell. It occurred twice before the NCAA Tournament, twice in the Elite Eight and, most importantly, twice at the national championship.
A small town about 45 minutes up the road from Hartford, Connecticut, has been the center of college basketball for the past two years. It would be difficult to find a more dominant stretch than what Hurley’s Huskies have assembled since 2022, becoming the second team to win consecutive NCAA titles since 1992.
However, with an abruptness reminiscent of the conclusion of the Bulls’ reign in the late 1990s or the Patriots’ in the late 2010s, the good times seem to have closed. The Huskies struggled en route to the No. 8-seed line this year as Hurley has paraded the sideline, desperately claiming he’s the “best coach in the f-ing sport.” Now, top-seeded Florida basketball has a chance to swing the pendulum fully, toppling the giant.
When UF touches the court, it’ll take its next step toward the snow. It experienced the confetti storm once in Nashville, Tennessee, after the SEC Tournament. But there has always been something more in the distance — the same thing UConn currently holds onto: a National Championship.
In Raleigh, North Carolina, the Gators will take on the Huskies in the NCAA Tournament’s most engaging second-round contest at 12:10 p.m. ET. With a chance to ensure that college basketball won’t have a second squad win three consecutive titles (UCLA did it in the 1970s), Florida basketball will leap closer to its ultimate goal on Sunday. Here are three key storylines in UF’s high-profile Round of 32 contest.
Controlling the Ball (and co.)
While Connecticut has had an abnormally down year under Hurley this season, its offense has not. The Huskies are in the top 20 in offensive efficiency per Kenpom and Torvik and are nationally in the top 70 for scoring. Much of that success has been due to a trio of shot-makers: redshirt junior forward Alex Karaban, sophomore guard Solo Ball and freshman forward Liam McNeeley. All three average 14 points per game, while no other UConn contributor notches double-digits.
Entering the season, Karaban was the Huskies’ expected leader, and he’s served in that role relatively well. As UConn’s highest returning scorer, the senior is in the top 3 on the team in points, rebounds and assists despite missing two games in December.
McNeeley, a top-30 recruit who similarly missed time early in the year, and Ball, who’s broken out this season, increasing his production by 11.3 points per game from last year, aid Karaban. The trio drops 54.55% of Connecticut's points but aren’t wildly efficient, each shooting 45% or worse from the field.
To keep UConn’s offense capped, Florida will rely on its perimeter players to play up to their national No. 10 defensive efficiency, per Kenpom. They didn’t do that against No. 16 seed Norfolk State on Friday, with the Spartans at one point rattling off an 11-0 run in their 95-69 loss.
“There were possessions where Will (Richard) and Walt (Walter Clayton Jr.) were not their best defensively tonight. We need them to be better on Sunday,” Florida head coach Todd Golden said. “Collectively, I think our guys understand we just didn’t execute as well as we needed to tonight that way.”
The Gators have experienced a drastic improvement defensively this season from what was a sub-top 90 group last year. The Huskies will put that improvement to the test on Sunday afternoon.
An intelligent offensive canvas (in the paint)
Florida’s guards have been the focal point of the offensive juggernaut it's become, but over the last few weeks, the depth of its frontcourt has come into the spotlight. With sophomore forward Alex Condon winning SEC Player of the Week twice this year, including for his 44 points and 25 rebounds in the final week of the regular season, it's becoming noticeable the Gators are well-rounded. However, Condon and his fellow frontcourt mates may have their most difficult test yet looming.
UConn leads the nation in blocks per game with 6.3 and has two centers, junior Tarris Reed Jr. and senior Samson Johnson, who each average over one block per game. The 6-foot-10 duo is rarely on the court at the same time, but each provides a consistent presence around the rim.
"We're definitely mindful of that in terms of the way we want to attack them tomorrow and do what we can to keep bodies on them, to not let them… go block shots," Golden said. "That's where our physicality has got to show up, and our bigs have to do a good job of owning the paint."
The team behind UConn in blocks is one Florida has experience with: Auburn. The Gators' matchup with the Tigers earlier in the season may provide a glimpse into whether the Gators can hold up around the rim.
During Florida’s 90-81 win in Alabama on Feb. 8, the Gators blocked more shots than the Tigers and the teams were even on the boards. While Auburn scored 22 second-chance points to Florida’s 15, UF’s bigs were efficient, all shooting 40% or better from the field.
Florida will look to put together a similarly strong performance close to the hoop against UConn. Hurley, who has had multiple frontcourt players go to the NBA in the past two seasons, expressed his concern about facing UF in the paint.
"It reminds me of, kind of, what we had with (Adama) Sanogo and (Donovan) Clingan and Samson Johnson these last couple years,” Hurley said. “Where they just keep trotting out big, skilled, tenacious two-way players that are all over the glass.”
Keeping an eye on the prize
It feels somewhat straightforward, but it might be the most determinant factor in Florida’s ability to handle UConn: UF must remain focused on its ultimate goal.
When facing a two-time reigning national champion in the NCAA Tournament, it’s easy to get caught up in the shine. That’s for good reason. The Huskies have been at the throne of the sport, and tackling such a team can become mentally consuming. It has before.
Florida and UConn last met in 2022, Golden’s first year guiding the Gators and ultimately the season of Connecticut’s first title under Hurley. UConn leveled the Gators in The Swamp, winning 75-54 to solidify Golden’s first rattling loss at Florida.
Florida is in a drastically different place now, but the challenge of this type of NCAA Tournament contest remains, at least according to Hurley.
“We’ve faced the same type of pressure that Todd and his team is facing playing these games,” Hurley said on Saturday. “Todd knows what type of team he’s got. I knew what type of team I had the last couple years, and when you know you’ve got a squad, that’s a real thing when you get to these Round of 32, Sweet 16, like you know you’ve got a squad. I could relate to what he’s experiencing right now.”
UF has the talent to win, but remaining focused on the end goal will be critical. Golden and his team recognize that, and it's noticeable in nearly each of their answers during media availability. Whether a player was asked about how their leg was feeling or to scout the upcoming opponent, they frequently, and sometimes amusingly, found a way to work in a variation of “five more games.”
That’s where Florida’s priorities seem to lie. Beating UConn is great, but a national championship means more. There’s a balance to strike there — respecting the opponent, but not becoming star-struck — and Golden has accomplished that well so far. Sunday will be the next test.
"I think our guys do a good job of raising to the level of our competition, making sure that we compete at an insanely high level,” Golden said. “They understand that if we don't do that against UConn, we're going to be going home."
Contact Noah White at nwhite@alligator.org. Follow him on X @noahwhite1782.
Noah is a Spring 2025 Assistant Sports Editor and Copy Desk Chief. He's a second-year journalism major who enjoys reading and shamefully rooting for Tennessee sports teams. He is also a Liberty League Women's Soccer expert.
