![Florida head coach Todd Golden reacts during the NCAA March Madness opening round at Benchmark international Arena in Tampa, FL on Friday, March 20, 2026. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_2600,h_1462/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/213/01kmasdz12wn8azxxjab.jpg "Florida head coach Todd Golden reacts during the NCAA March Madness opening round at Benchmark international Arena in Tampa, FL on Friday, March 20, 2026. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]")
Florida is the No. 1 seed in the South Region and probably isn’t interested in a fairy tale story this time of year. As March Madness will be whittled down to 16 teams after Sunday, there has been a notable lack of Cinderella stories in this year’s tournament. Beyond High Point winning a 5 vs 12 game and Texas going from the First Four to the Sweet 16, chalk has mostly ruled the day to this point.
Most people are going to point to NIL as the reason why Cinderella’s magic has faded this March, but Todd Golden has another explanation for why there have been so few upsets in this tournament.
Todd Golden points to roster construction as Florida gets ready for Iowa
It’s no secret that Florida’s strength this season is its front court. Florida is first in the country in total rebounding rate, and that's a major reason they have felt “upset-proof” at times. But Florida is not the only top-seeded team with a top-level frontcourt. Fellow No. 1 seeds Duke, Michigan, and Arizona are all in the top ten as well for total rebounding rate.
Golden said it’s a major factor for why there have not been as many upsets this time around in March Madness:
“That was kind of the wave for a couple of years, teams that sold themselves as playing a ‘pro-style’ offense and spread out, but when you play that way, you allow a lot of volatility to enter the equation.
When you have the opportunity to recruit bigger, stronger, faster athletes and play a style that allows you to raise your floor with high two-point field goal percentage and get on the glass, that just gives you a better chance to be consistently successful.”
Florida embraced this mold of playing with two bigs last season, who could all rotate for each other, and they have gone full speed ahead this year with Thomas Haugh playing the three spot. And when you have the size Florida has, and you go up against a team that doesn’t, like Prairie View A&M, it creates these massive beatdowns the Gators have been putting on teams this season.
On paper, Florida should be safe tonight against Iowa for these same reasons. Iowa is 119th in total rebounding rate, and they do not have the depth of size that compares to Florida’s.
Cinderella might make for a One Shining Moment, but Golden and Gator fans everywhere aren’t interested in being part of a montage tonight.