Clayton makes 1st team All-SEC; Condon makes 3rd team

Walter Clayton Jr. made first team Coaches All-SEC (Photo by Chris Spears)

The Gators (27-4, 14-4 SEC) moved up one place to No. 4 in both the Associated Press and Coaches top 25 polls Monday. Monday also saw senior Walter Clayton Jr. named first team All-SEC and sophomore Alex Condon named to the third team.

Clayton, who scored 23 points and handed out eight assists in Florida’s regular season-ending win over Ole Miss, is averaging 17.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game. Clayton ranks sixth in the SEC in scoring and assists. His 84 3-pointers are third most in the league.

Condon is averaging 11.4 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. Condon ranks fourth in the SEC in rebounding, 8th in blocked shots per game (1.4).

For his efforts last week when the Gators beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa and Ole Miss, Condon was named SEC Player of the Week for the third time this season. Condon had 27 points, 10 rebounds, one assist and two blocked shots against Alabama, 17 points, 15 rebounds, three assists and a steal.

The Gators rank 9th in the country in scoring (84.5 per game), 4th in scoring margin (16 points per game), third in fast break points per game (16.84), 2nd in rebounding (42.42 per game), 10th in rebounding margin (8 per game) and 10th in 3-point defense (29.6 percent).

The Gators are idle until Friday when they play in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference in Nashville.

Coaches All-SEC

First team: Johni Broome, Auburn; Walter Clayton Jr., Florida; Mark Sears, Alabama; Wade Taylor IV, Texas A&M; Zakai Ziegler, Tennessee

Second team: Josh Hubbard, Mississippi State; Tre Johnson, Texas; Chaz Lanier, Tennessee; Collin Murray-Boyles, South Carolina; Otega Oweh, Kentucky

Third team: Chad Baker-Mazara, Auburn; Alex Condon, Florida; Jason Edwards, Vanderbilt; Mark Mitchell, Missouri; Sean Pedulla, Ole Miss

Coaches All-Defensive

Zakai Ziegler, Tennessee; Denver Jones Auburn; Jahmai Mashack, Tennessee; Cameron Matthews, Mississippi State; Anthony Robinson II, Missouri; Zakai Ziegler, Tennessee

Coaches All-Freshman

Jeremiah Fears, Oklahoma; Tre Johnson, Texas; Asa Newell, Georgia; Tahaad Pettiford, Auburn; Labaron Philon, Alabama

Coach of the Year: Bruce Pearl, Auburn; Player of the Year: Johni Broome, Auburn; Defensive Player of the Year: Zakai Ziegler, Tennessee; Sixth Man of the Year: Caleb Grill, Missouri; Newcomer of the Year: Chaz Lanier, Tennessee; Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk, South Carolina; Freshman of the Year: Tre Johnson, Texas

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

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

Countdown to Firing Day, Basketball Edition

Extinct Species List

Kevin Keatts, North Carolina State: He went to the Final Four a year ago. If they’re smart, they hire Ryan Odom from VCU. He’s the son of former Wake Forest Gump and South Carolina coach Dave Odom.

Steve Donahue, Pennsylvania: At one point, Penn and Princeton were the hot teams in the Ivy League. No more. If Penn wants to become relevant again it will hire Matt Langel, a former player who has been to five straight NCAA Tournaments at Colgate. Langel might be holding out for something bigger.

Jim Engles, Columbia: Nine years, no winning seasons, no facilities and tons of bad publicity for the university. Shall we call this a dead end job?

Russell Springmann, Oral Roberts: Look for him to resurface on Rick Barnes’ staff at Tennessee. Former Okie State coach Mike Boynton’s name is being prominently bounced around.

Craig Smith, Utah: Andre Miller, who was a great player for the Utes under the late Rick Majerus, is likely. He coaches in the G-League.

Bob Marlin, Louisiana: The new coach is Quannas White from Kelvin Sampson’s Houston staff.

Kyle Keller, Stephen F. Austin: The new coach is Texas Tech assistant Matt Brauer.

Buzzards Are Circling

Bobby Hurley, Arizona State: They fired the women’s coach; Hurley is next.  

Rodney Terry, Texas: If he loses to Vandy in the first round of the SEC and Texas is NIT bound, figure they’ll be searching. There are alums who want to make Billy Donovan a Godfather offer to leave the NBA.

Matt McMahon, LSU: Three years, three losing seasons. Florida hired Todd Golden at the same time and he might win a national championship.

Kyle Neptune, Villanova: Nova won’t make the NCAA for a third straight year. The natives are restless.

Johnny Dawkins, UCF: Two bad things happened to Dawkins. First, all of Donnie Jones’ recruits graduated or left. Second, UCF joined the Big 12 where he’s 14-24 in league play.  

Tad Boyle, Colorado: Funny but he was a good coach a year ago when he had NBA caliber talent. This year he’s dead last in the Big 12.

UF BASEBALL: GATORS FACE NO. 5 FSU IN TALLAHASSEE

The 7th-ranked Gators (15-2) will send Billy Barlow (1-0, 2.51 ERA) to the mound tonight when they travel to Tallahassee to face 5th-ranked Florida State (15-0) at Dick Howser Stadium (6 p.m., ACC Network Extra).

After their three-game sweep of Harvard, the Gators remained 7th in the D1Baseball rankings, 6th in Baseball America.

The Gators are 9th in the country in team batting average (.336). The Gators rank 3rd in strikeouts per nine innings (13.3).

D1Baseball top 25: 1. LSU 16-1; 2. Tennessee 16-0; 3. Arkansas 15-1; 4. Georgia 18-1; 5. Florida State 15-0; 6. North Carolina 14-2; 7. FLORIDA 15-2; 8. Oregon State 10-3; 9. Oregon 14-2; 10. Clemson 15-1; 11. Texas 13-1; 12. Oklahoma 13-1; 13. Ole Miss 14-1; 14. Wake Forest 13-3; 15. UC-Barabara 13-2; 16. Vanderbilt 14-3; 17. Alabama 16-1; 18. Stanford 12-3; 19. Texas A&M 9-6; 20. Dallas Baptist 11-4; 21. Troy 13-3; 22. Southern Miss 11-5; 23. Virginia 9-5; 24. Coastal Carolina 12-4; 25. Auburn 13-3

Baseball America top 25: 1. Tennessee 16-0; 2. LSU 16-1; 3. Arkansas 15-1; 4. Florida State 15-0; 5. Clemson 15-1; 6. FLORIDA 15-2; 7. Georgia 18-1; 8. Oklahoma 14-1; 9. Texas 13-1; 10. North Carolina 14-2; 11. Oregon State 10-3; 12. Oregon 14-2; 13. Wake Forest 13-3; 14. Vanderbilt 14-3; 15. Ole Miss 14-1; 16. Alabama 16-1; 17. Stanford 12-3; 18. UC-Irvine 11-4; 19. Virginia 9-5; 20. Dallas Baptist 11-4; 21. Texas A&M 9-6; 22. Mississippi State 11-4; 23. Kentucky 12-2; 24. UC-Santa Barbara 13-2; 25. Louisville 12-2

UF SOFTBALL: GATORS REMAIN NO. 3

After taking two out of three from Texas A&M in the first Southeastern Conference weekend series of the season, the Gators (26-2) remain third in the Softball America top 25. The Gators will host No. 1 Texas this weekend in the biggest softball showdown of the season.

The Gators are third nationally in batting average (.387), third in scoring (9 per game) and first in home runs (56) led by freshman Taylor Shumaker, tied for first with 13. Shumaker leads the country in RBI with 46.

The Gators are fourth in the country in team ERA (1.65).

Softball America top 25: 1. Texas 24-1; 2. Oklahoma 22-0; 3. FLORIDA 26-2; 4. LSU 23-1; 5. UCLA 23-4; 6. Texas A&M 21-4; 7. Arizona 22-4; 8. Oregon 23-2; 9. Tennessee 21-4; 10. South Carolina 20-3; 11. Florida State 20-5; 12. Texas Tech 20-7; 13. Duke 17-7; 14. Oklahoma State 16-6; 15. Mississippi State 21-3; 16. Ole Miss 20-4; 17. Georgia 19-4; 18. Arkansas 20-3; 19. Virginia Tech 19-5; 20. Nebraska 19-6; 21. Stanford 17-3; 22. Alabama 19-7; 23. Auburn 20-3; 24. Liberty 20-4; 25. UCF 19-8-1

UF Gymnastics: GATORS MOVE UP TO NO. 3

With their win over Alabama in Tuscaloosa last week, Florida’s second consecutive meet exceeding a 198 team score, the Gators moved into third in the weekly rankings. The Gators close out their regular season Friday night when they host 10th-ranked Kentucky at the O-Dome.

Friday will be the final home meet for senior Leanne Wong, who is currently ranked second nationally in all-around. Wong is tied for seventh nationally in vault, third in bars and ninth on balance beam.

WCGA top 25: 1. Oklahoma; 2. LSU; 3. FLORIDA; 4. UCLA; 5. Utah; 6. California; 7. Missouri; 8. Michigan State; 9. Georgia; 10. Kentucky; 11. Oregon State; 12. Alabama; 13. Stanford; 14. Auburn; 15. Minnesota; 16. Arkansas; 17. Michigan; 18. Denver; 19. North Carolina State; 20. Nebraska; 21. Arizona; 22. Southern Utah; 23. Ohio State; 24. North Carolina; 25. Penn State