GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Florida coach Todd Golden never really planned to open the season in Tampa, the site of one of the most painful NCAA Tournament losses in program history.
It just sort of worked out that way.
Nonetheless, facing No. 14 Miami at Benchmark International Arena on Monday night should provide the top-ranked Gators a chance to purge eight months of bitterness.
Winning a second national title in three years would be the ultimate atonement
for a stunning, 73-72 loss to ninth-seeded Iowa in March — the one that wiped out any shot at winning back-to-back championships.
For now, though, Florida will use a return to Tampa as motivation while essentially trying to pick up where it left off last season and reignite its chase for another crown.
“It’s awesome; I love it,” guard Urban Klavzar said. “I love going back there, and we’re definitely going to have a different result. I don’t think we should think too much about (being) in the same city, same arena. I think we should take it as, ‘just remember the loss.’”
It’s impossible to forget.
Florida had a three-point lead and the ball with 1:30 to play. But All-American Thomas Haugh shot an air ball and missed a 3-pointer on one possession. Isaiah Brown missed a free throw on another. And the Gators had a defensive lapse in the final seconds that led to Alvaro Folgueiras’ 3-pointer from the corner.
Golden’s group had one final chance with 4.5 seconds left. Xaivian Lee drove the length of the court and into the paint before delivering a low pass to Haugh that bounced off his legs as time expired.
Haugh and several Florida teammates were in tears after the final buzzer, which sent the Hawkeyes and their fans into a frenzy. Haugh called it the most distraught he’s ever been after a game.
“I may have watched it a couple times, but that was like right after it happened,” Haugh said. “That feeling is still deep in our hearts somewhere with everybody that came back, and we’re not going to let that happen again. That’s why we came back.”
Rueben Chinyelu, Alex Condon and Haugh started contemplating a return to Florida a few weeks later. All of them credited that loss as the catalyst for wanting another year – another title shot, really – in college.
Florida made it happen, spending roughly $25 million to bring back four starters and retain nine of its top 11 scorers.
And the setback that defined last season — and set the stage for this one — has been a driving force ever since, whether it was on the court or during 6 a.m. workouts.
“For us to achieve what we want, we have to come out every day and give it our all,” Chinyelu said. “And every guy, from the coaches today, last month, they understood that, and every day they bring it up.”
Florida and Miami played early last season in Jacksonville and had discussed making it an annual series that moves to other neutral sites around the state. Orlando and Tampa were obvious options.
Tampa made more sense because of how last season ended. Florida State and Florida A&M will play in the first game of a double-header.
“It’s a great venue,” Golden said. “It’s been good to us, and we’re not going to let one poor performance dictate whether we play there again or not. Just something that everything kind of aligned for us to be back there.”
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