Ad Disclosure
Forget the conversation about whether Florida is worthy of the 1-seed. As of this writing, which is minutes after the conclusion of the Gators’ 86-77 victory against Tennessee in the SEC Tournament Championship, it’s unknown what that looks like.
That shouldn’t be the conversation. Instead, we should be asking a more important question.
Why shouldn’t Florida be the national title favorites?
For my money, they are. For the people who’ll actually spend money to determine such a thing, we’ll wait and see on that.
Again, though. Why not? Why not appreciate the fact that a 30-4 Florida squad ran through the SEC Tournament in a year in which the SEC was historically good. Just in case you forgot what “historically good” was, here’s a reminder (via the SEC Tournament Championship broadcast on ESPN):
- 14 SEC teams ranked in AP Poll at some point in 2024-25 (Division I record)
- .889 nonconference winning percentage (most by any conference since 1983-84 ACC)
- .724 win percentage vs. AP Top 25 (no other conference above .500)
And as of this writing (before the Selection Show), Joe Lunardi has 13 SEC teams projected in the NCAA Tournament, which would best the 2011 Big East’s record of 11. The SEC has been the king of the 2024-25 regular season. To win the conference tournament with a 17-4 record against conference foes is no small feat, and if Florida isn’t rewarded with a 1-seed, internet riots would be justified.
Ah, but now is the part in which we’re supposed to reference that Auburn and Duke still exist, and they’re the only teams allowed to carry the “favorite” moniker into March Madness.
Let me stop you right there. Notice I said nothing about the credentials of Auburn’s résumé, which includes a ridiculous 16 Quad 1 victories (Florida notched its 11th on Sunday). I also didn’t knock Duke’s No. 1 ranking in both KenPom and NET, which it earned after suffering 1 post-November loss. Both teams are worthy of a 1-seed and if they end up playing for a national title, nobody should be surprised. Give either one of those teams the No. 1 overall seed. That’s totally fine.
But being the favorite comes down to who is playing best. What’s the case against Florida? We certainly know the case for the Gators.
Since they got blown out by Tennessee on Feb. 1 — a loss that they avenged by never letting the Vols have a second-half lead on Sunday — Todd Golden’s squad is 12-1 with a 4-0 mark against the SEC’s 4 best teams, all of which happened away from home. Florida will go into the NCAA Tournament with a 5-1 overall mark against Tennessee (2-1), Auburn (1-0) and Alabama (2-0).
If the argument against Florida as the national title favorites is “the nonconference slate was weak,” ask yourself this. Did the SEC slate more than make up for it? It should’ve. If you’ve watched Florida, you’ve seen a team with ideal depth (it’s a true 9-man rotation), all-world guard play (SEC Tournament MVP Walter Clayton Jr. is somehow always in control), a vastly improved defense (Florida No. 7 in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency entering Sunday) and a relentless offensive attack (it had a school-record 4 consecutive 90-point games until an 86-point effort stopped that on Sunday).
Florida might not have Final Four experience outside of former FAU transfer/lockdown backcourt defender Alijah Martin, but it’s got a whole lot of championship DNA.
Maybe Duke and Auburn will prove to have more, but remember this. The Blue Devils watched Cooper Flagg go down in the ACC Tournament, and while they still won it, the conference wasn’t exactly a gauntlet to test the true strength of Jon Scheyer’s squad. Auburn, on the other hand, has lost 3 of its last 4 games. And while some might say that the Tigers already had a 1-seed locked in by the time they endured that late-season hiccup, remember that Florida came into Neville Arena and took care of business 5 weeks ago.
Anytime, anywhere. Florida doesn’t flinch, and it imposes its will.
As Jay Bilas mentioned several times on the broadcast, the Gators just wear you down. While a Tennessee-heavy crowd might not have agreed with the frequency of the whistles blown on Sunday, the Gators fouled out both Jahmai Maschak and Chaz Lanier before the under-4 timeout of the second half. They beat Tennessee 39-25 on the glass and 15-5 on the offensive glass. The Gators are a highly skilled team that plays like a desperate mid-major. It’s proven to be an elite combination.
No matter what the draw is for Florida, it could prove to be the toughest out of anyone in the field. To catch the Gators on a bad day might not be realistic at this point. Not with the variety of ways they can excel against elite competition.
It’d be foolish to assume that the Gators’ first SEC Tournament title in 11 years is the preamble to a Final Four run. Even for the most battle-tested squads, March is far too fickle of a beast to etch anything in stone.
But after Florida players playfully messed with Golden’s gelled hair and hoisted their SEC Tournament title in the confetti bath, it was hard not to buy into the words of the Year 3 head coach when he was asked the all-important question heading into the NCAA Tournament.
Why is this team the team to beat in March?
“I think we’ve shown that over the course of the last couple months,” Golden said. “This conference tournament is very similar to what the NCAA Tournament is gonna be … I think we’re just getting started.”
Agreed.
Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Down South. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.
