The disaster game of Todd Golden

The Florida Gators entered the NCAA tournament as the defending national champions and number one seed in the South Region, poised to make another push at a title.

Instead, the Gators flamed out and were upset by Iowa in the round of 32, where Todd Golden got taken to the cleaners by Ben McCollum.

Let’s start with some background: This game took place in Tampa, making this a de facto home game for Florida. Iowa was coming off a scrappy win versus Clemson, while Florida cruised by Prairie View A&M. Two advantages to the top seed.

Now to the game itself. The contest got testy early, as a jump ball between Alex Condon and Alvaro Folgueiras sent both players tumbling to the ground. Folgueiras then threw a forearm into the chest of Condon, causing a scuffle.

Both players received technical fouls, but during the official timeout, attention turned to Todd Golden and Ben McCollum on the sideline. The two head coaches needed to be restrained by their respective staffs as they screamed at each other, presumably over the on-court fiasco.

At halftime, McCollum did an on-air interview before heading back to the locker room, where he called the Florida coaching staff "sensitive" and highlighted the fight he saw from his Hawkeyes.

Ouch. Not only did Golden partake in the verbal altercation with a coach in his first year of Power Four basketball, but he also got punked by McCollum heading off the floor.

Even though Florida trailed at halftime by two points, this was the perfect opportunity for Golden to rally his troops and put on a second-half clinic that the Gators have proven to be capable of.

This… did not happen. McCollum and Iowa completely took control of the game, showcasing their pace of play, which ranks dead last in Division I basketball. Iowa sustained possessions that drained the shot clock for all it was worth and built a lead as large as 12 points.

However, Florida was too talented a team to go out quietly. The Gators mounted a comeback to take a 72-70 lead with nine seconds left.

Before the ensuing Iowa possession, Golden called a timeout. With the Hawkeyes inbounding underneath their own basket, there were a number of ways to prevent Iowa from going the length of the court and scoring.

Golden chose… none of these ways.

Coming out of the huddle, Florida set up in a full-court press, with a defender guarding the inbounder. An interesting decision, to say the least.

If Florida was just trying not to let Iowa roll the ball up the court, it makes sense. What does NOT make sense is why Boogie Fland trailed the first screen set on him, resulting in him attempting a steal on the inbound pass, missing, and then trailing Bennett Stirtz, who now had downhill momentum.

From there, Iowa now had a three-on-two fastbreak (which would have been three on three if Golden did not put a defender on the inbounder), which resulted in a game-winning three from Folgueiras after just two dribbles and a pass.

This situation was masterfully mismanaged by Golden. There was no reason to play for a steal, trail the initial screen or not have at least two defenders set up in the frontcourt.

The bottom line is, Iowa owned this game from start to finish. They led for two-thirds of the game, outscored Florida in the paint, and turned the ball over fewer times.

This all stemmed from the coaching battle between Ben McCollum and Todd Golden, where, just like at halftime, Golden got punked.

Brendan Kern is a second-year majoring in Broadcast Journalism. To contact him, email bwk5372@psu.edu