The Duke basketball program picked up a huge 67-66 victory over No. 15 Florida on Tuesday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium as part of the third annual ACC/SEC Challenge. It certainly wasn't a perfect game on the offensive side of the ball for the Blue Devils, but defensive tenacity mixed with a clutch dagger from Isaiah Evans down the stretch earned Duke a third ranked victory. However, Florida head coach Todd Golden didn't seem too happy with the officiating and seemingly took a cheap shot at the Blue Devils following the loss.
The reigning national champions have gotten off to a frustrating start to the 2025-26 campaign, now sitting at 5-3 overall with a 1-3 record in the first two Quadrants. Guard play continues to lack for Golden's Gators, and it looked like he was taking some of his frustrations out on the officiating crew. Granted, there were some bogus calls made throughout the night, but some went against the Blue Devils, too.
Todd Golden rants over officiating after brutal 67-66 loss to Duke basketball
Golden spoke to the media following the marquee matchup against the Blue Devils, and took a bit of a shot at the officiating crew, or maybe even Duke as a whole.
"I told our guys, to win in a place like Cameron, you’ve got to outplay Duke by 10 points because you’re not going to get any 50-50 calls," Golden said. "Things aren’t going to go your way, and we certainly had a little bit of that tonight. Again, overall, I thought we played a good game."
In Golden's defense, there were some pretty ridiculous calls. Maliq Brown was charged with a Flagrant 1 foul in the second half for contact with the head and neck area after going to strip a ball. Then, Florida star big man Thomas Haugh was called for a technical after flailing an elbow while driving and getting fouled. Admittedly, both seemed pretty soft.
Whether Golden took that shot at the Duke program or not, the Blue Devils are still walking away with their third ranked win of the young season. However, the team's grueling non-conference slate doesn't end here, as it will face No. 7 Michigan State in East Lansing on Saturday before facing No. 19 Texas Tech at Madison Square Garden on December 20th.