There are two ways to look at the pressure of being the defending champions. It can either become a weight or turn into momentum. For Todd Golden and the Florida Gators, it is starting to feel like the former. The Gators were reduced to 5-4 after their 77-73 loss to the No.5 Connecticut Huskies. Analyst Rob Dauster pointed to two long‑term sticking points for Florida that extend beyond one loss: Xaivian Lee and Boogie Fland. 

The same Xaivian Lee that scored a team-high 19 points, while Fland had a disappointing performance with just 8 points. The problem lies in their shooting. Remember, these two are being paid $8 million combined in NIL money. The NIL deal to land Fland was more than $2 million, according to CBS Sports. Per On3.com’s Pete Nakos, Lee is earning north of $6 million between his NIL earnings at Florida. So far, Florida isn’t getting their money’s worth. 

“They built this team around the idea that they are going to have two of the best off-the-dribble guards in college basketball. Two of the best shot-creating guards in college basketball. And Boogie Fland, I think, is shooting 24% from three.” Rob Dauster said on ‘The Field Of 68: After Dark’, “Xaivian Lee scored 19, but he was five for 14 from the floor. He was 1 for 7 from three.”

No player averages above 4 assists per game in this squad, and the team as a whole averages just 14.8 assists per game, which is 174th in the country. They need Lee and Fland to create their own shot and breakthrough defenses. So far, it hasn’t happened. Lee is shooting 20.8% from three while Fland is slightly better at 23.8%. That is a major drop from their previous numbers. Lee was 36.2% with Princeton last season, while Fland was 34% before arriving at Gainesville. In nine games, Fland and Lee have scored 10+ only twice.

The only semi-reliable perimeter shooters Todd Golden has are Urban Klavzar from the bench and Thomas Haugh. They are still shooting at 36.7% and 34.7% respectively. As a domino effect, their offense has struggled, scoring just 87.2 points per game. For Florida to thrive again, they need Lee and Fland to stretch the floor. Todd Golden himself echoed the same need. “We need him and Boogie to play well together,” Golden said. Dauster further mentioned an airball from Fland and some poor shots from Lee against UConn, narrowing down the problem to confidence.

“I feel like those guys are getting the shots the staff wants them to get, but there is just something between the ears. It’s in their head,” Dauster said. “I don’t think Xaivian Lee is this bad of a shooter. I think he thinks he’s this bad of a shooter, and the confidence is in the toilet right now.”

With little to no outside shooting, Todd Golden is dependent on their paint-play. Their rebounding and paint play have been better than most. Florida averages 46.8 boards per game, the second-best in the country. Their offensive rebound percentage of 38.5% is among the best, too. Their shooting is still not doing enough, even when it comes to two-pointers. Florida shoot 65.1% around the rim, but their 2-point percentage is dragged to 54.4%.  Todd Golden has this major problem to fix, but he is confident of getting there. 

Todd Golden Still Hopeful After UConn Loss

In complete honesty, the Gators haven’t been as bad as the 5-4 record shows. Golden has had one of the toughest schedules, facing Arizona to open the season at a neutral location. Then they faced TCU at a neutral location and travelled to Duke, capping off with the most recent UConn game. 

That is 3 Quadrant 1 opponents and 1 Quadrant 2. Florida has had the seventh most difficult schedule according to the Warren Nolan website. Despite that, their margin for the loss has been pretty slim. Their four losses have come with an average margin of just 3.75 points. That includes a 1-point loss to one of the best teams in the country, Duke.  

“We did a lot of good things, but not quite good enough to get over the hump,” Todd Golden said. The UConn game was the third time in the last four matchups where Florida held a lead in the second half, but couldn’t close out the game. The Gators now have the same number of losses as they did through the entirety of last season (four). “We’re right there. And I think if we can get 5% better here over the next couple of weeks, we’re gonna be pretty good in SEC play.” Golden further said. 

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It’s just a matter of one game. If Florida manages to get one 50-50 game to fall their way, it can all turn around. The luck factor from KenPom shows they have been very unlucky, 362nd most unlucky team to be exact. Florida has the pieces to become the team they were last year. Golden must find a moment of inspiration to push this team back on the right path.