RALEIGH, N.C. ― Florida basketball coach Todd Golden picked up his first NCAA Tournament win when the No. 1 seed Gators eliminated No. 16 seed Norfolk State 95-69 on Friday night at the Lenovo Center.

The 39-year-old Golden is now 1-2 as an NCAA Tournament coach. In 2022, coaching at San Francisco, Golden's squad lost 92-87 in overtime to Murray State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. In 2024, coaching the Florida Gators as a No. 7 seed, UF lost 102-100 to 10-seed Colorado.

"Very happy, and hopefully this is the first of many over the next few years," Golden said. "This team has been great for us all year and put us in a position where we could be a 1 seed and have a game like this where we're heavily favored and had a very good opportunity to win a ballgame. I'm grateful for my players and my staff for that."

At 31-4, Florida has its sights set on bigger goals after earning a No. 1 seed for just the third time in program history. The Gators next play on Sunday against 8-seed UConn (12:10 p.m., CBS).

NCAA basketball coaches who picked up first win at No. 1 seed