5. Todd Golden (Florida)
Year three at Florida is proving to be the best coaching effort of Golden’s career, but let’s back up a little. He’s still a relatively young head coach who learned under Bruce Pearl at Auburn before beginning his career with sharp work out at San Francisco. The Gators brought him aboard in 2022 and he led them to the NCAA Tournament last season. However, they’re no longer a borderline team in the SEC like in recent years.
The Gators won their first 13 games of the season before losing a shootout at Kentucky. They responded with a blowout over unbeaten Tennessee and have looked sharp in most of their games this season. Florida is 17-2 and remains a Top 10 team, leaning heavily on Walter Clayton Jr. and new faces like Alijah Martin. Golden built a powerful offense but now has the Gators playing some pretty solid defense as well.
Florida was picked 6th in the SEC this season but now have their best team since they made the Elite Eight in 2017, back in Mike White’s second year leading the program. A lot has changed in recent years both at the school and in collegiate athletics, but Golden has found something special here with this team. They are unquestionably a contender in this deep SEC, with the potential to hang with anyone on any night and will be a tough out in the Big Dance come March.