In March, college basketball belongs to teams that get hot at the right time.
Right now, that team looks like Florida.
The Gators just topped Kentucky March 7 to extend their win streak to 11 games, secured their first SEC regular-season title since 2014 and put together consecutive 100-point games in SEC play for the first time since 1975.
Florida hasn’t lost in over a month — which is roughly how long it takes to camp outside the O’Connell Center for a seat in the prized student section.
But rewind the tape to November 2025, and the Gators’ season looked very different.
The defending national champions stumbled out of the gate. Shots weren’t falling, and fans panicked early and loudly. At the time, the Gators might've been, by their own admission, “the most hated backcourt in the whole country.” But when doubt rushed in from the outside, they never let it enter the locker room.
And here’s the reality: Those early season losses may have been the best thing that happened to this team. That, and the game against Vanderbilt where senior guard Xaivian Lee forgot his correct jersey.
Fans love the underdog story. But less talked about is the other side of success: the challenge of defending the crown.
When you’re the reigning champions, every team circles your name on its schedule. Every missed free throw feels magnified. Florida started the season with a target on its back. But the Gators kept their heads down, stayed at work and did what they needed to do: trusted one another and played better.
“The first four or five games, it was just ridiculous,” said Lee in a YouTube video Jan. 14. “I was missing the wildest shots.”
Haugh’s response to his teammate?
“I didn’t even think anything of it, bro. Everybody has confidence in [Lee].”
That right there is belief. The kind built long before the sold-out student sections and Boogie Fland's infamous haircut. It’s a trust built during grueling pre-season workouts in the summer Florida heat, led by strength and conditioning director and Marine veteran Victor Lopez.
“V-Lo always said brotherhood is built through the sharing of pain,” said senior center Micah Handlogten in another video, posted by the Florida Gators channel Oct. 30, 2025.
Talent makes highlight reels, but trust wins in the long run. Trust wins in March.
On the tennis team, it’s the same.
When I’m battling in a third set, Gabia “Gabs” Paskauskas will run over and give me a high five, saying, “You’ve got this, girl.” Or if someone’s having a rough day at practice, the rest of us are right there to lift her through it.
When you trust the people beside you — when your teammates are your family — pressure doesn’t feel isolating. It feels exciting.
Now, it’s March, and the Gators are one of the hottest teams in college basketball. Their timing couldn’t be better.
Their focus shifts to the postseason, beginning with a chance to defend their SEC Tournament title in Nashville this Friday.
Watch one of Cooper Josefsberg’s postgame TikToks of him and his teammates dancing and you can see it: They have the moves, and they’re ready for The Big Dance.
“We’re peaking at the right time,” said assistant coach Taurean Green in a March 3 video.
March isn’t just about talent. It’s about rhythm, confidence, chemistry and trust. Right now, the Gators have all of those.
Which raises the only question that really matters this time of year: Can the Gator boys stay hot this March?
Contact India Houghton at ihoughton@alligator.org. Follow her on X @indiahoughton16.
India Houghton is a graduate student studying Business Management and a member of the UF women’s tennis team. She is the sports opinion columnist for The Alligator. A Northern California native, India completed her undergraduate studies at Stanford University in Science, Technology and Society, competing for the Cardinal women’s tennis team. She enjoys playing the piano, taking ice baths, and rooting for her hometown 49ers.
