Florida basketball is carrying a preseason No. 1 ranking into a new season, but Todd Golden says the weight on his shoulders feels lighter than it did a year ago.
That might sound backward for a program coming off an early NCAA tournament exit after failing to defend a national championship. But Golden said the pressure has changed because this group is more settled, more experienced and less of a mystery than the team he was trying to steer last season.
“I don't feel as stressed going into the season,” Golden said. “I feel like last year kind of carrying the torch of the national championship into the season was a lot.”
Florida’s biggest advantage is continuity. Instead of replacing key pieces and figuring things out on the fly, the Gators bring back four starters, including Thomas Haugh, Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu. All three passed on the NBA to return, a decision helped along by a mix of last year’s disappointment and NIL.
Golden said last season’s version of the Gators needed time to come together.
“We had a new team,” Golden said. “We had some returners, but we had a new team.
I feel like, for myself and some of the guys on the team, it took us a little bit to get comfortable. Whereas this year, I feel like all of us kind of got through that last year, and we know we're going to have a lot of expectations.
“But we're not as worried about it this year. So I think we'll collectively, myself included, be more prepared and better ready to handle that earlier in the year.”
For Chinyelu, the decision to come back was about unfinished business. The National Defensive Player of the Year last season said Florida’s loss to Iowa still sits with him, especially because he was scoreless in that game after setting a school record in double-doubles.
“Being back here, doing it one more time, going to get a national championship again, that’s the ultimate reason why I’m back,” said Chinyelu, who was named the National Defensive Player of the Year last season.”
The Gators open the 2026-27 season Nov. 2 against Miami in Tampa, the same city where their season ended last March with the upset loss to Iowa. Fans and media have framed it as a return to the scene of the crime, though Golden said that wasn’t part of the scheduling plan.
Still, the memory lingers.
“I was really upset because I just didn't play my game,” Chinyelu said. “We didn't play our game.
We didn't play like us. We let too many mistakes get us in that spot, and I was pretty upset at myself for not being able to do more.
“So, it wasn't a good taste, and I don't want to taste that.”
Chinyelu said he has watched the Iowa loss at least twice, and that experience factored into his choice to go through the NBA draft process and still return.
“You want to be able to come out each game and feel like, ‘I did everything I can,” Chinyelu said. “That day, I don’t think I did everything that I can. I don’t want to be in that spot again.”
Florida’s returning core also includes Sixth Man of the Year Urban Klavzar, key bench player Isaiah Brown, and underclassmen CJ Ingram and Alex Lloyd. Boogle Fland is back too, and he could be joined by Denzel Aberdeen depending on a court decision.
Fland said the preseason No. 1 spot doesn’t change the standard inside the program.
“I think it's the same,” said Fland of the expectations. “We're going to be the preseason number 1 team. You know we fell short last year, but it's pretty much the same as last year, honestly."
“You want expectations, you know, because it means you're doing something right.”
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