When former Florida men’s basketball head coach Billy Donovan arrived in Gainesville in 1996, he was tasked with leading a program that had appeared in just five NCAA Tournaments throughout its 76-year history. By the time Donovan departed in 2015, he brought Florida into the national spotlight of the sport. The Gators reached the pinnacle of college hoops not once, but twice, with back-to-back national championships in 2006 and 2007.
It isn’t just the teams that cut down the nets after The Big Dance that have left legacies in Florida history as all-time great squads. Donovan led the Gators to four Final Fours and three national championship appearances. Florida hasn’t been able to reach those same heights since its former Hall of Fame head coach departed for the NBA, though the 2024-25 Gators have looked up to par with Donovan’s dominant squads of the past.
“It's a direct result of the work that our players have done all year and the work my staff has done,” UF head coach Todd Golden said. “They've all, to a man, been incredibly consistent, unselfish and worked their tail off.”
With Florida notching its third-most wins in program history this season (34) while reaching its sixth Final Four, a legitimate comparison can be drawn to other all-time-great teams at UF. Here’s a look at how this year’s Florida team stacks up against its historic seasons.
2024-25: 34-4, 14-4 SEC (Final Four appearance)
Since Golden began his tenure in Gainesville in 2022, he consistently reiterated getting the program back to a place of prominence. The Gators have done just that this season. UF recorded its most wins and fewest losses since 2014 this year and currently stands as the second-highest scoring team in program history (85.4 points per game).
Florida peaked as high as No. 2 in the AP poll and captured its fifth SEC Tournament championship. Despite the program’s long list of prolific players throughout the years, this Gators squad features its first-ever first team All-American: senior guard Walter Clayton Jr., who has been sensational throughout Florida’s run in March.
The Lake Wales, Florida, native is averaging a team-best 18.1 points and 4.2 assists per game this season. Moreover, if Clayton Jr. can pull off similar heroics in the Final Four to what he did against Texas Tech in the Elite Eight, the Gators may end up going home with their third national championship.
2005-06: 33-6, 10-6 SEC (National Champions)
As dominant as Florida was this season, it certainly didn’t come without its ups and downs. The Gators were on a tear, ripping off 19 straight wins to start the campaign. However, in late January, Florida experienced a cold spell. The Gators went 3-3 over their next six games before going on a three-game losing skid near the end of SEC play.
Like most successful teams in March Madness do, UF got hot at the right time. Florida ripped off three straight wins in the SEC Tournament and carried its momentum into the NCAA Tournament en route to the program’s first-ever national championship.
Perhaps the most memorable part of this Florida team was its elite core of players. Al Horford, Joakim Noah and Corey Brewer led the way, all scoring 11 or more points per game en route to cementing their names in the history books.
2006-07: 35-5, 13-3 SEC (National Champions)
With the door to the NBA wide open for Horford, Noah and Brewer, the trio decided to run it back for one more year at UF — a decision which paid off. Florida entered as the No. 1 team in the AP Preseason Poll and went on to record its second-most wins in a single campaign in program history.
The Gators earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time ever following their second-straight SEC Tournament championship. Florida was 26-2 heading into the home stretch of SEC play before dropping three of four in late February. Though, much like the 2005-06 team did, UF caught fire heading into March Madness, winning 10 straight games to hoist the national championship trophy for the second-straight year.
No team came within seven points of the Gators in the 2007 NCAA Tournament. Five players averaged double-digit scoring marks for Florida, with six Gators (Horford, Noah, Brewer, Taurean Green, Chris Richard, Marreese Speights) carrying their talents into the NBA.
2013-14: 36-3, 18-0 SEC (Lost in NCAA Tournament Final Four)
Perhaps Donovan’s best team throughout his tenure at Florida never won the national championship. No team in UF history has won as many games as this squad did, all without losing a single game during SEC play. Moreover, UF went the entire campaign without losing back-to-back games.
After reaching the Final Four as the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, the Gators seemed destined to hoist their third national championship trophy. That was until UConn guard Shabazz Napier and the Huskies shocked the college basketball world and took down top-seeded Florida before cutting down the nets.
Nevertheless, the 2013-14 Gators aren’t a squad that will be forgotten any time soon. UF held its opponents to 57.8 points per game, good for third-best in the nation. Four players scored 11 or more PPG, with Casey Prather and Scottie Wilbekin leading the way with 13.8 and 13.1, respectively.
1999-00: 29-8, 12-4 SEC (Lost in National Championship)
It took nine years for Donovan to win the national championship at Florida, but this group of young and high-scoring Gators almost delivered one in just his fourth season. Sophomores Mike Miller and Udonis Haslem combined to average nearly 26 points and 12 rebounds per game, leading Florida to a national championship appearance before falling to Michigan State.
The Road Ends Here
There’s little doubt this year’s Florida team has already cemented itself as one of the greatest squads in the program’s storied history. Though, if the Gators can notch just two more victories in San Antonio, they would reach a status just two other teams have reached.
Florida will take on Auburn in the Final Four in San Antonio on Saturday at 6:09 p.m. ET.
“We’ve played well against this team before,” Golden said. “We understand they’re gonna have some tricks up their sleeve and some things they want to do differently this time around, and we’re gonna have to adjust.”
Contact Max Tucker at mtucker@alligator.org. Follow him on X @Max_Tuckr1
Max Tucker is a senior transfer student at UF. After obtaining his A.A. in Journalism from Santa Fe College in 2023, he chose to further his education at Florida's College of Journalism and Communications. Max is currently pursuing his Bachelor of Science in Journalism with a specialization in sports and media. He enjoys golfing and going to the beach with his friends in his free time.
