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Todd Golden builds Florida’s case for a No. 1 seed: ‘I don’t even think it’s a debate’
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Todd Golden has his Florida squad firing on all cylinders at the best possible moment, and the head coach believes there should not be any doubt about his team’s case for a No. 1 seed moving forward.
On Saturday, the Gators blew past Alabama in the SEC Basketball Tournament semifinals, scoring an SEC Tournament record 104 points in the process. Florida will now face Tennessee in Sunday’s championship game, though Golden believes that game should not have a bearing on the seeding for the Gators.
After the win over Alabama, Golden went out and said that he felt the Gators secured a No. 1 seed for themselves on Saturday. “I don’t think it’s even a debate,” declared Golden while pointing to 2 wins over Alabama and a statement win over Auburn, the No. 1 team for much of the year, on the road.
Florida has just 1 loss since Feb. 4, a stunning road upset at the hands of Georgia, and checks in at No. 4 on the latest NET Rankings. The Gators have a combined record of 19-4 across Quad 1 and Quad 2 games and finished 2nd in the ultra-elite SEC basketball standings.
The good news for Golden? ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi agrees with Golden and Florida’s status to be a No. 1 seed.
Ahead of the matchup vs. Alabama, Lunardi wrote that the winner of that semifinal should be locked into the 4th and final 1-seed for March Madness. Tennessee, in spite of the win over Auburn, remained locked into a 2-seed, per Lunardi.
Regardless of the final seeding, the race to the Final Four is bound to be another epic journey, and Florida is looking like a popular pick to play deep into March.
Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.
