One Todd Golden adjustment is quietly powering Florida’s sudden surge

One of the hallmarks of the Todd Golden Era at Florida has been his willingness to tinker when things are working out. It wasn’t that long ago when Florida picked up its 5th loss of the season, surpassing the total number of losses the Gators had in all of last year, and Golden knew he needed to keep tinkering.

So whether it was intentional or by accident, Golden has made a lineup tweak that has helped power Florida to a five-game winning streak and has helped rekindle the feeling that the Gators could make it back to the Final Four in 2026.

Florida changes lineup during five-game winning streak

X user Nick Bateman used data from CBB Analytics to point out that during Florida’s five-game winning streak, the Gators at no point have put out a five-man lineup of:

• Xaivian Lee
• Urban Klavzar
• Thomas Haugh
• Alex Condon
• Rueben Chinyelu

It’s notable because, as Bateman points out, that five-man unit was featured in all of Florida’s losses, and their efficiency in those five losses specifically equated to one of the worst NET efficiency rates in the country.

It’s a lineup that doesn’t seem that out of the ordinary, as Klavzar is the only new face compared to the normal starting five, replacing Boogie Fland. Part of the problem with the specific pairing of Klavzar and Lee is that neither is a defensive stopper like Fland is.

But when one reflects on the actual rotations Golden has been using, it hasn’t been as simple as Klavzar subbing in for Fland, and everything falls apart. In fact, in most cases, Klavzar starts off by subbing in for Lee. In those five losses, other patterns eventually led to the pairing of Klavzar and Lee to go with the three starting big men.

What has been happening during the win streak is that Klavzar is often subbing in alongside someone else, often times with Micah Handlogten. And it is the latter part that is notable because Florida was averaging 10-12 “substitution windows” in the first half of their five losses. During this most recent winning streak, Florida has reduced the number of “substitution windows” to eight in the first half.

So rather than changing one player at a time and creating more variance, Golden is now creating more predictable lineups that have more cohesion with each other.

We know Golden loves analytics, so there is more than a fair chance he knew this data and came up with a way to change it. And as long as it keeps working, there won’t be a reason to change moving forward in 2026.