By Brant Daughtry

First of Many

The Florida Gators are coached by Todd Golden, a name that should sound familiar to Auburn fans. Golden spent several years as an assistant under Bruce Pearl before being hired at San Francisco as head coach. After a short but successful tenure, he was hired at Florida this past season. He’s a good coach who’s getting his shot at a big time program at 36 years old.

The Todd Golden tenure has, unfortunately, not gotten off to the best start. The Gators are 7-5 in the early going, with big time losses to a few really good teams like UCONN, Oklahoma, and West Virginia. They did win their annual matchup with Florida State though. According to the NET Rankings, Florida is currently the 65th best team in Division 1.

They are currently averaging 76 points per game, but that number in inflated by a game where they put up 105 points. Most of their scores are closer to the high-60’s. Opponents are averaging about 67 points per game.

Players to Watch For: 

Forward Colin Castleton, #12- Auburn fans should remember Castleton. The 6’11” super senior is the main reason Auburn lost to Florida in Gainesville last season, and struggled with the Gators in Auburn. In the two games against Auburn, Castelton scored 41 points, and grabbed 18 boards. He’s a two-time All-SEC selection and gave Walker Kessler fits last year. He’s averaging just under 16 points a game this year, along with 7.6 rebounds. Both are best on the team.

Guard Kyle Lofton, #11- Lofton isn’t as important as Castleton, but he is the lead ball handler for the Gators. He’s a grad student who transferred over from four years as a starter at Saint Bonaventure, so he’s played a ton of college basketball. He leads the Gators in assists this season with 39.