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Florida cements case for No. 1 seed in NCAA Tournament with SEC championship
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Florida has been surging for weeks now and on Selection Sunday, a few hours before the NCAA Tournament brackets are revealed, the Gators made their loudest statement for a No. 1 seed by soundly defeating Tennessee to win the SEC Tournament.
Todd Golden’s team took a 9-point lead at halftime of Sunday’s SEC title game in Nashville and cruised to a 86-77 victory over the Volunteers to post its 30th victory of a season that is beginning to look special. The Gators were the No. 2 seed in the SEC tourney, but they played like the top dog all week, pounding Alabama in the semifinals on Saturday before brushing aside 4th-seeded Tennessee on Sunday led by Walter Clayton Jr.’s 22 points and Will Richard’s 17 points.
Now, all Florida (30-4) has to do is wait a few hours to see the fruits of its labors in Nashville, and that labor will likely result in 1 of the 4 No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament, which begins next week for the Gators at a site to be determined. UF’s opponent is also yet to be determined, but lately most foes haven’t been at the Gators’ level, as Florida went 9-1 to end the regular season before taking apart Missouri, Alabama and now Tennessee in the SEC Tournament.
The reaction on social media was exceedingly positive as expected, as Florida looks very likely to snag a No. 1 seed as it chases a national title in the next few weeks.
Here is some of that reaction:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
