How Florida’s loss against UGA powered them to the national championship

The Gators men’s basketball team, riding a six-game win streak with playoff seeding on the line, seemed to have a walk in the park taking on the Georgia Bulldogs in February.

But at the end of the contest, the only ones walking were the Florida players. They strolled off the court while the rest of Stegeman Coliseum was filled with players, staff and fans running onto the court to celebrate Georgia's biggest win in program history since 2004.

At the time, Florida suffered one of its most heartbreaking losses to one of its biggest rivals. Disappointed and unsure of whether they could still make it to March Madness as a No. 1, the Gators went on to bounce back from the heartbreak.

"It was really tough," said junior guard Urban Klavzar. "The loss … It was good for us. The talk after the game was that this has to be the last loss of the season." 

That upset was Florida's last of the season. The Gators turned things around, becoming comfortable playing from behind. With this mentality, Florida went on to a 12-game win streak en route to its third national championship in program history.

The upset

In January, Florida and Georgia faced off in Gainesville, with the Gators cruising to an 89-59 victory. 

In the return matchup, Georgia flipped the script. 

With eight minutes to go in the first half, the Bulldogs took a commanding 39-13 lead. During that stretch, Georgia made 15 of their 20 field goal attempts, including seven shots from beyond the arc. But Florida shot 36.4% from the field in the first half.

"We started off too slow," senior guard Will Richard said after the game. "They shot 68% in the first half. You can't let a team do that."

At the start of the second half, Florida regained control of the game. Shooting 45% from the field and draining six threes during the latter 20 minutes, Florida began to cut into Georgia's lead. The Gators cut the deficit to seven with just over six minutes to go.

With just over a minute left in the contest, Florida took its first lead of the game following a 13-0 run. Georgia fought back, hitting a three to start its own run to finish off the Gators at 88-83.

"We put ourselves in too big a hole, and [that made] us have to play perfect down the stretch," coach Todd Golden said after the game. "We almost did it but fell a little short."

The comeback

Caught up in the frustration of the upset loss, Florida quickly switched gears as it hosted No. 12 Texas A&M in March, with College GameDay coming to campus for the conference matchup.

"We'll respond real good," Richard said after the loss to Georgia. "It was a wake-up call. Won't happen again."

The Gators embraced the challenge and dominated the Aggies. Richard lived up to his promise, leading Florida with 25 points and six three-pointers en route to an 89-70 win. 

Just like with the Bulldogs, the Gators started from behind, with the Aggies taking a 16-10 lead. However, unlike last time, Florida stopped the bleeding early with its own 12-3 run in two minutes. The home team never looked back, keeping the lead for the remainder of the contest.

The Gators continued their momentum, finishing conference play with a 99-94 win at No. 7 Alabama and a 90-71 victory at home against Ole Miss. 

To start the postseason, Florida made quick work of its opponents in the SEC Tournament. Golden's men won their first two games by double digits and took the tournament title game against Tennessee.

Heading into the NCAA Tournament as a No. 1 seed, Florida was a favorite to win in a majority of its matchups, just like in the Georgia game. However, the Gators used the loss in Athens as a lesson on how to stay the course in games that did not go their way down the road.

"That game was super important because it was a reminder … you have to come prepared to play 40 minutes of basketball," said Neil W. Blackmon, founder of the Florida Basketball Hour podcast. 

In the round of 32, Florida faced back-to-back defending champion Connecticut. 

After a tied first half, the Huskies maintained a lead over the Gators until there were three minutes left to play. With a ticket to the Sweet 16 on the line, Florida stayed on course to take a 62-61 lead and eventually took down Dan Hurley's team 77-75.

"Florida felt the pressure," Blackmon said. "But they got it together obviously at the end and made enough plays to win."

In its Elite Eight match against Texas Tech, Florida came back from down nine with less than three minutes to go and prevailed 84-79 over the Red Raiders. 

To end the season, the Gators made one last late-game comeback against Houston. Florida was down 12 with 15 minutes left in the second half, but yet again, it fought back to defeat Houston 65-63, crowning the Gators the kings of college basketball.

Contact Jeffrey Serber at Jserber@alligator.org. Follow him on X @JeffreySerber.

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