Clayton 1st team All-America; Will he get a brick at the O-Dome?

Jake Slaughter, whom the Southeastern Conference football coaches didn’t put on their first, second or third All-SEC teams was the first team All-America center when chosen by the Associated Press. He got a brick with his name on it outside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, an honor reserved for Gators who make first team All-America.

Walter Clayton Jr., who made first team All-SEC, wasn’t a unanimous choice by the SEC basketball coaches. Tuesday, the Associated Press named Clayton first team All-America. Prior to the SEC Tournament in Nashville, Clayton was named first team All-America by The Sporting News. The US Basketball Writers Association will release its All-America team at noon today. Expect Clayton to be named to the first team there and other All-America teams that will be announced in the next week or so.

Football players get a brick outside the stadium. Will Walter get one outside the O-Dome? He should, particularly since no other Gator basketball player has made first team All-America.

Asked Tuesday if his leading scorer and team leader would get his own brick, Florida coach Todd Golden answered, “It’s a great question. We’ll think of something unique and creative, but maybe we need to start doing some bricks outside our building.”

Bricks outside the building? A good idea. Inside the O-Dome or any other arena where the 3rd-ranked Gators (30-4) play? Not exactly Walter Clayton Jr.’s forte. He tends to be in range when he steps off the bus. Friday it will be at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina where the Gators, the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament West Regional, open play against 16th-seeded Norfolk State (24-10).

Fresh off an MVP performance in the SEC Tournament, Clayton leads the Gators in scoring (17.5 per game) and assists (4.33 per game). He’s averaging 3.8 rebounds per game, has stolen the ball 43 times and blocked 17 shots. Clayton will obviously be a focal point of Norfolk State’s defense Friday and rightfully so, but nine other Gators have scored in double figures this season so Florida is far from a one-man show.

The Gators are third in the nation in scoring (85.4 per game) and they’re coming off an SEC Tournament that they turned into a 3-day track meet, scoring 95 against Missouri, an SEC Tournament record 104 against Alabama, and 86 against Tennessee. The Gators have so many ways to light up opponents. They’re second in the country in fast break points per game (16.62), third in rebounding (42.03).

With the Gators you pick your poison. Led by Clayton the Gators have five legitimate shooters who can light it up from the outside. Will Richard (13.8 per game) and Alijah Martin (14.5) can bomb away from the outside or put it on the deck and drive it to the rack. Focus the defense on the perimeter and the ball goes inside where Alex Condon, Tommy Haugh, Rueben Chinyelu and Micah Handlogten have intimidating size and skills. As if that’s not enough, Sam Alexis, who’s been out since February 11 with a high ankle sprain, will be back for the NCAA Tournament. Translate that to 25 fouls in the paint by five quality bigs.

Nobody in the country has that kind of balance and depth, solid reasons why kenpom.com’s analytics rate the Gators No. 1 in the country in offensive efficiency and 10th in defensive efficiency. The Gators are the only team in the country with two wins over No. 1 ranked teams (Auburn and Tennessee). They are 5-2 against teams ranked in the top 10, 3-0 against teams ranked 11 thought 25. The Gators also had wins over Arkansas, Texas, Georgia, Vanderbilt, Oklahoma and Ole Miss, all teams that made the NCAA Tournament that were at one time or another ranked in the nation’s top 25.

Thirty wins against this kind of schedule is why so many experts have declared Florida the team to beat in the NCAA Tournament. Golden has spent the year preaching that the Gators are underdogs who play with a chip on their shoulders. Now that they are one of four No.1 seeded teams in the NCAA Tournament, Golden isn’t going to let the Gators get too full of themselves.

“I understand that if we feel good about ourselves and let our intensity, our focus, slip that it could be done tomorrow,” Golden said. “Our guys are very similar that way. I think they enjoy playing the role of the underdog. They enjoy playing with the chip on their shoulder. They don’t want to be getting all the love. They want to find a way to keep that edge.

“Again, we talked about it yesterday (Monday). For the first time all year we’re starting to get a lot of credit and a lot of respect. All four guys on ESPN’s group picks us to win the national championship. It’s like, ‘Really? Okay.’ We appreciate it but we’re not going to let it slow us down. We’re not going to let it affect us and we’re going to make sure that we handle success the right way.”

Coaches top 25: 1. Duke 31-3; 2. Houston 30-4; 3. FLORIDA 30-4; 4. Auburn 28-5; 5. St. John’s 30-4; 6. Tennessee 27-7; 7. Michigan State 27-6; 8. Alabama 25-8; 9. Texas Tech 25-8; 10. Wisconsin 26-9; 11. Louisville 27-7; 12. Maryland 25-8; 13. Clemson 27-6; 14. Iowa State 24-9; 15. Michigan 25-9; 16. Memphis 29-5; 17. BYU 24-9; 18. Texas A&M 22-10; 19. Saint Mary’s 28-5; 20. Arizona; 22-12; 21. Kentucky 22-11; 22. Purdue 22-11; 23. Gonzaga 25-8; 24. Missouri 22-11; 25. Marquette 23-10

Associated Press top 25: 1. Duke 31-3; 2. Houston 30-4; 3. FLORIDA 30-4; 5. St. John’s 30-4; 6. Tennessee 27-7; 7. Alabama 25-8; 8. Michigan State 27-6; 9. Texas Tech 25-8; 10. Louisville 27-7; 11. Maryland 25-8; 12. Clemson 27-6; 13. Wisconsin 26-9; 14. Michigan 25-9; 15. Iowa State 24-9; 16. Memphis 29-5; 17. BYU 24-9; 18. Kentucky 22-11; 19. Texas A&M 22-10; 20. Saint Mary’s 28-5; 21. Arizona 22-12; 23. Missouri 22-11; 24. Gonzaga 25-8; 25. Oregon 24-9

SEC BASKETBALL

No. 7 Alabama (25-8): Grant Nelson won’t be playing against No. 15 seed Robert Morris Friday, but there is optimism that he will be able to play Sunday against the winner of 7-10 Saint Mary’s-Vanderbilt.  

Arkansas (20-13): The Hogs play Kansas in a 7-10 matchup in the West. It is a matchup of good friends. Kansas coach Bill Self and Arkansas coach John Calipari were Larry Brown’s assistants when Kansas won the NCAA in 1988 … Freshman stud Boogie Fland will be available for Arkansas.

No. 4 Auburn (28-5): The Tigers won’t have any problems against 16 seed Saint Francis. Game two could be a challenge if Creighton wins and Johni Broome has to hook horns with Ryan Kakbrenner, three-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year.

No. 3 FLORIDA (29-5): The Gators get Norfolk State, a team they should obliterate, in the first round. Second round is against the winner of UConn and Oklahoma. UConn is a No. 8 seed trying to become the only team other than UCLA to win three consecutive NCAA titles.

Georgia (22-11): Georgia got hot down the stretch to earn its way into the tournament as the No. 9 seed in the Midwest. First game is against No. 8 Gonzaga Thursday night in Wichita. Other than the COVID season of 2020 and the Zags have made it past the first round of the NCAA Tournament 15 straight years.

No. 18 Kentucky (22-11): Seeded 3rd in the Midwest, the Wildcats open with 14th-seeded Troy in Milwaukee. The Wildcats have one of the easier paths to the Sweet 16.

Mississippi State (22-12): Seeded 8th in the East, the Bulldogs play No. 9 Baylor in the opening round Friday. Win that and they get Duke, which will be playing 21 miles from its campus in Durham.  

No. 23 Missouri (22-11): Many experts believe 11th-seeded Drake (30-3) can spring the upset against 6th-seeded Missouri in a first round game in Wichita. Win that one and Mizzou gets the winner of 3rd-seeded Texas Tech and UNC-Wilmington.

Oklahoma (20-13): Should Oklahoma get by UConn in an 8-9 game in the West in Raleigh Friday, the Sooners will probably play the Gators, who beat them in Gainesville a month ago.

Ole Miss (22-11): The Rebels open Friday in Milwaukee against North Carolina, which blew out San Diego State in an 11th-seeded play-in game Tuesday night in Dayton. Win and the Rebels most like face South 3rd-seed Iowa State in  

Texas (19-15): The question of the day for the Longhorns, who have a play-in game tonight with Xavier in Dayton is will Rodney Terry live to coach another year in Austin if he loses? He’s got a $20 million buyout which doesn’t faze Longhorn boosters. Only God has more money than the Longhorns. Boosters want to make a Godfather offer to Billy Donovan.

No. 19 Texas A&M (22-10): The 4th-seeded Aggies face Yale in a South Region matchup in Denver. A year ago, Yale scored an upset win over SEC Tournament champ Auburn in the first round.

Vanderbilt (20-12): Odds are the 10th-seeded Commodores won’t make it to the second round. Their first round matchup in the East Region in Cleveland is against a very difficult No. 7 seed Saint Mary’s.