​Florida basketball travels to Tallahassee on Tuesday for a rivalry matchup against the Florida State Seminoles. Ahead of the Gators’ third game of the young 2026-27 season, head coach Todd Golden spoke with the press about the meeting between the two Sunshine State schools on several topics, including the status of FSU’s program, as well as its formidable frontcourt, plus how Boogie Fland has been underrated, his team’s bench production, the relationship between his two Slovenian players, coaching continuity, the special visitors weekend, and more. Below is a look at everything that Golden told the media on Monday ahead of the UF-FSU showdown in Tallahassee. What are you seeing from Luke Loucks’ Florida State program?I think he’s doing a really good job. I think they have a really good team. They’re definitely underrated. I think they are talented. They’re big. They’re long. They’re athletic, and they play with good purpose. I think it’s going to be a really good challenge for us. Honestly — close to, if not the same level as the Miami game. I think it’s going to be that difficult, going into enemy territory. A program that’s playing with some juice, some confidence. I think it’s a really good challenge for us.The quality of the transfers they added. Just what have you seen on film from them?Good players that are all skilled; they can all make baskets. I think (Sebastian) Rancik, playing their four, so to speak; they play four out. A lot of guys on the perimeter, but he can really shoot and skilled for a big guy. (Shon) Abaev is obviously a really good talent. He’s grown and played really well in some parts of this short season.Obviously, we’ve seen (Anthony) Robinson (II) a ton, being at Missouri. I think he’s a really steady, solid, physical point guard. Those guys stick out a little bit. They got (Marcis) Ponder, a freshman. (Kim) Taylor’s another really good transfer. They do a really good job of kind of identifying good players, and I think they’ve put together a really nice roster.Challenge for your front court against them. What kind of matchup is that?I think their kind of two-headed monster at the five between Ponder and (Alex) Steen is tough. They kind of play two different styles with those guys, really on both sides of the ball. They have some different tendencies when Ponder’s in and when Steen’s in the game. But you know those guys, along with Rancid and (Cooper) Schwieger, they got some real dudes on the front line.So I think it’ll be a huge challenge for us.What can you say about Boogie Fland?I think he’s one of the more underrated players in America right now, a big part of what you just spoke to being the reason why. And I think a lot of the things that he brings to the table are things that a lot of people might not appreciate, just from watching a game for 40 minutes. I think he’s a great organizer and table setter on the offensive end. In this day and age, to have a point guard that is willing to play for the team and not b